Gushi 古史

Gushi 古史 "History of antiquity" is a history written by the Song period 宋 (960-1279) scholar Su Zhe 蘇轍 (1039-1112). Su Zhe was of the opinion that the oldest universal history of China, Sima Qian's 司馬遷 Shiji 史記, lacked a sense of emotion towards the saintness of the age. He therefore compiled a history of the ages from mythology to the unification of the empire in 221 BCE reflecting his own spirit towards the gloriousness of that age and its most important protagonists.

The 60-juan long book imitates the structure of the Shiji and includes 7 dynastic biographies (benji 本紀), 16 biographies of the houses of regional states (shijia 世家), as well as 37 normal and collective biographies (liezhuan 列傳), but no treatises.

The history includes some materials not used by Sima Qian. Su Zhe undertook a critical view on the reasons for the excellency of virtuous persons and the downfall of such less inclined towards the Confucian model of benevolent ruler or virtuous minister. Later scholars have added comments to the main text.