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Herodotus (approximately 484 BC - 425 BC) was the greatest historian and writer in ancient Greece. Chinese readers often compare him to Sima Qian (145 BC-90 BC), the author of the great historical work "Historical Records". Sima Qian's son inherited his father's legacy and served as the Taishi Ling. He traveled around various places to learn about customs and collect rumors. Herodotus also used vivid writing to record what he heard and saw during his long journeys in his life, as well as the history of Persia and other countries, and wrote a book that influenced later generations for more than two thousand years - "History of Herodotus".
Cicero, the famous political orator in ancient Rome, called Herodotus the "father of history" (pater historiae). It can be said that it is not an exaggeration at all, just as Sima Qian can be regarded as the "father of Chinese history."
The book "History of Herodotus" mainly records many historical stories Herodotus heard. Indeed, this is similar to Sima Qian. In fact, there are many stories in "Historical Records" that Sima Qian heard. But this does not prevent Sima Qian from becoming a great historical recorder. Precisely because of his records, even the stories heard from hearsay were completely recorded and passed down to this day more than two thousand years later in the form of books. Isn't this a miracle in itself? Assuming that without Sima Qian's records, many wonderful stories in Chinese history might have fallen into darkness and remained unknown.
Herodotus recorded or dictated many battles, histories, and many interesting stories in his books. It is precisely because of Herodotus's records that later generations have a basis for studying the Peloponnesian War and have historical data for reference. Herodotus once said that the reason why he wanted to record these things and pass them on to future generations was "to preserve the achievements of mankind so that they would not be forgotten due to age, to prevent the admirable achievements of Greeks and foreigners from losing their luster, and especially to record the causes of their disputes."
Of course, it is undeniable that in his book that influenced the world, many of the stories were imagined by him, and many of them were seriously distorted. But after all, this is the earliest record of human history left to the world. If we don’t read it, what can we read? In the same way, if we don't read Sima Qian's "Historical Records" to understand the history he knew, even if it was hearsay, who can we read? There is no room for choice. Therefore, we can only look at the people and events at that time from Herodotus's historical perspective, and we can only observe the first-hand historical information he provided us from Sima Qian's historical perspective. There is no other choice.