Zi Zhi Tong Jian is an unprecedented chronicle general history masterpiece compiled by Sima Guang, a famous historian and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty, and his assistants Liu Ban, Liu Shu, Fan Zuyu and Sima Kang in Li Shi 19. In this book, the editor summed up many experiences and lessons for the rulers to learn from. The title of the book means: "In view of the past, we should rely on governance", that is, take history as a mirror and strengthen governance, so it is called "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government
Zitongzhijian has 294 volumes, about 3 million words, and Kaoyi and Catalogue have 30 volumes. The historical boundaries recorded in Zi Tong Zhi Jian began in the 23rd year of King Weilie Zhou (403 BC) and ended in the 6th year of Xiande Zhou (959 BC), with a period of *** 1362. The book is divided into sixteen dynasties, namely, five volumes of Zhou Ji, three volumes of Ji Qin, sixty volumes of Han Ji, ten volumes of Wei Ji, forty volumes of Jin Ji, sixteen volumes of Song Ji, ten volumes of Miracle, twenty-two volumes of Liang Ji, ten volumes of Chen Ji and Sui Ji.
There are four volumes of Post-Han Ji and five volumes of Post-Zhou Ji. The content of Zi Tong Zhi Jian mainly focuses on political, military and ethnic relations, as well as the evaluation of economic, cultural and historical figures, with the aim of warning future generations through the description of the ruling class policies related to the rise and fall of the country and the rise and fall of the nation. The origin of Sima Guang's title is that Song Shenzong thought the book was "rich in governance" and gave it this name. It can be seen that the name of Zi Tong Zhi Jian is not only the conscious expression of historians' management of history, but also the conscious expression of feudal emperors' use of history to serve politics.