About “Shitong”
The Shitong, also known as A Thorough Exploration in Historiography, is one of the first Chinese-language works focused on the theories of history and a detailed analysis of historiography. It is considered "the first comprehensive work on historical criticism in any language." Written by Liu Zhiji between 708 and 710 during the Tang dynasty, the text examines the structure, method, and organization of official dynastic historiography, including the arrangement of content, sequence, captions, and commentary. It traces these elements back to the pre-Qin era. The Shitong provides a critical evaluation of historical writing and its conventions. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)
Some summaries adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.