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I have, it may seem, inserted an abundance of lengthy quotations in this book. I have done this because since this is a seminal discussion of Ban Gu, I think it is important to provide ample examples from primary early Chinese texts. While I argue that Ban Gu’s History of the Han is an inscription of his self-identity, I also believe that so is the present book. There is no production of text without the looming presence of the producer; all text is inscribed or, rather, represented by the author. All authors inscribe themselves into their work as James Joyce inscribed himself into Ulysses and inscribed Homer’s Ulysses into Joyce’s Ulysses. In some sense, even a book about the Han is an autobiography, be it by Ban Gu two thousand years ago or my book, written in my office.
Finally, I would like to comment on why I chose to write on the present topic. There can be little doubt that Ban Gu’s Hanshu and other works have been extremely influential in shaping two millennia of Chinese literature and historiography. Indeed, perhaps only the Shiji and Zuozhuan 
(Commentaries of Mr. Zuo) have contributed more common expressions to classical and modern Chinese than Ban Gu’s Hanshu. The qualities of Ban Gu’s literary style are emulated and alluded to in Chinese works of history, poetry, and narrative—novels and short stories—from after his death to the present. Whereas Sima Qian’s emotive and rhapsodic style became a standard form of personal expression, Ban Gu’s conciseness and urbane calmness influenced how most later historians narrated the events of their works. Beyond my interest in Ban Gu as an intellectual and literary innovator, I was compelled to write about him precisely because of his sophistication as a writer.