The source is the Biography of Sima Qian written by Ban Gu, a writer and historian in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
It mainly tells the family history and life of Sima Qian, and also includes two articles: On the Essentials of Six Schools and Bao Ren An Shu.
Extended data:
Ban Gu made a biography of Sima Qian in Hanshu with materials such as Preface to Taishi Gong and Letter to Ren An, and described the history, thoughts and spirit of this great historian. This is the first biography of historians in the history of Chinese historiography, which embodies the purport and spirit of historians and is of great significance.
The commentary at the end of the biography is well written and can be described as a concise work of historical criticism; However, the criticism of Sima Qian's "right and wrong are misunderstood by saints" reflects the ideological differences between Ma and Ban, and provides clues for us to explore the thoughts of Historical Records.