The way in which the Chinese conceived their past - and therefore themselves - was profoundly shaped by a book written during the Han, Historical Records (Shiji) by Sima Qian. Before Sima Qian could finish his story, he made the political mistake of defending a general who had surrendered to the Xiongnu. Faced with the choice between death and becoming a palace eunuch, he chose the humiliation of castration and servitude rather than leave his story unfinished. He wrote to a friend that he had chosen to live in disgrace "because I have things in my heart that I have not been able to fully express." (Cambridge Illustrated, p. 67) Qian lived a life marked by devoted piety, righteousness, and dedication to a cause; however, he still felt worthless. In a letter to his friend Jen An, he explains why he cannot recommend anyone to the imperial service. Sima Qian did not respond to his offense with suicide, as would have been appropriate, customary and, in many ways, honorable. Instead, driven as he was to complete his private project of writing a complete and universal history, he accepted the alternative punishment of castration. Sima Qian tells us very clearly in a letter to her friend Jen An, one of the most moving and poignant Chinese writings of all time: “If I hid my feelings and clung to life, burying myself in filth without protesting, it was because I could not bear to leave my dear project unfinished, because I rejected the idea of ​​dying without leaving my literary work to posterity." Sima Qian quotes from many examples of famous historical figures who, in times of crisis, wrote books that ultimately earned them the recognition due to them by posterity. Basically, Sima Qian wanted to anchor his personal philosophy in....... middle of paper ... towns, permanent settlements or agriculture Where the Xiongnu excelled was in warfare, as their men could all ride horses and shoot and attack without hesitation: "When they. see the enemy, eager for spoils, they swoop like a flock of birds. (Cambridge Illustrated) In Sima Qian's ethnography of the Xiongnu, we encounter a similar inversion of the standard Chinese view of the "barbarians" of the North. The common view was, of course, that the customs of the Han Chinese were in every way superior to those of the nomads. Sima Qian, however, first explains the workings of Xiongnu society in remarkably neutral and impartial terms, then asks a Chinese who sided with the Xiongnu to explain why the customs of the nomads are reasonable in the environment steppe, and in some ways are even superior to those of the Han. (The Treatment of the Xiongnu by Sima Qian)