Sima's famous letter to his friend Ren An about his sufferings during the Li Ling Affair and his perseverance in writing Shiji is today regarded as a highly admired example of literary prose style, studied widely in China even today.
A célebre carta de Sima ao seu amigo Ren An sobre o seu sufrimento durante o caso Li Ling e a súa perseverancia na escritura de Shiji está admirada como exemplo de estilo literario en prosa e amplamente estudado na China.