This authoritative new work replaces the author's 1968 edition. It takes into account recent advances in scholarship with entirely revised notes on the text passages and improved and simplified explanations. The book's expansion also permits the author to continue the story beyond the fourth century B.C. and introduces the reader to the writings of the great Han Dynasty historian, Ssu-ma Ch'ien, who perfected a narrative style which became a model for future generations of Chinese writers.