Thus, in the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of the distant past have a double tradition: one tradition which presents a more historicised and one which presents a more mythological version. This is also true in the case of Zhurong. In Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji), Zhurong is portrayed as a historical person, who held the governmental office of Minister of Fire.
This leads to the existence of two parallel traditions in the study of historical Chinese culture: one that focuses on historically verified accounts and another that emphasizes mythological narratives. This dualism is also evident in the case of Zhurong. In Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji), Zhurong is presented as a verifiable historical figure, who held the office of Minister of Fire.