From the journal

Above the river at Zhichuan

Ten kilometres south of Hancheng, a 45,000-square-metre shrine on Hanyi Slope commemorates Sima Qian without retelling his book.

In the same city · Weinan ↗

Forty-five thousand square metres of memory

Local discipline-committee publishing identifies the Sima Qian shrine—also called Sima Temple—as a memorial to the historian, ten kilometres south of Hancheng in Zhichuan Town on Hanyi Slope, covering 45,000 square metres. The complex is a built landscape of gates, paths and courtyards meant to honour a writer whose work is not retold here.

The hall of the Sima Qian shrine in Hancheng
The hall of the Sima Qian shrine in Hancheng · Sima Qian Shrine, Weinan
The tombstone of Sima Qian inside the shrine grounds
The tombstone of Sima Qian inside the shrine grounds

Heritage lists that include Hancheng

Provincial heritage statistics place Great Wall World Heritage components in five Shaanxi prefectures, including Hancheng alongside Tongchuan, Weinan, Yan'an and Yulin. That administrative fact situates the shrine in a county city tied to wall heritage even though the memorial itself is a Tang and Song literary pilgrimage rather than a beacon tower.

Continue exploring · Sima Qian Shrine ↗
Photo credits and rights
  1. The hall of the Sima Qian shrine in Hancheng · Sima Qian Shrine, WeinanN509FZ / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗
  2. The tombstone of Sima Qian inside the shrine groundsN509FZ / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗