Popular History of China in the MEDIA: A Case Study of SIMA GUANG (1019–1086)

Using the example of Sima Guang (1019–1086), a prominent historian, political thinker, and a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official, and his monumental work of history Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government (1084), this article demonstrates how Chinese history is transmitted and transformed in the modern media, primarily in new media of the People's Republic of China, becoming part of contemporary everyday life. The name Sima Guang has been familiar to everyone since childhood, and the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, as one of the fundamental classical historical texts, remains popular and is widely represented in the modern information space through numerous print and digital editions. These include editions with classical and popular commentaries, parallel translations into modern Chinese, solely modern Chinese versions, selected excerpts, and special editions for children of various ages. In media, this text is embodied in a wide variety of genres and formats. Particular attention is paid to long-term television lecture series, as well as multi-year audio and video podcasts on social networks and in applications. The article shows that contemporary popular history is organically multi-genre and multimedia, it realizes itself as a vast range of different level of detail and complexity — from ‘historical stories’ (lishi gushi) for young children and manga for a lazy reader to long-term close-reading courses dedicated to individual works. In this context of information abundance, any significant project faces intense scrutiny on social media, yet even highly specialized and niche projects have a chance of success. The media presence and entertaining presentation style of authors and lecturers are highly valued; however, authority and professionalism remain equally in demand.