The title combines the common Chinese words shì 世 "generation; epoch; hereditary; world" and běn 本 "root; stem; origin; fundament; wooden tablet".

The (111 CE) Book of Han bibliography section (Yiwenzhi ) has a list of Warring States period (475–221 BCE) texts including the Shiben in 15 volumes (pian).

[7] The eight compilers were Wang Mo, Sun Fengyi 孫馮翼, Chen Qirong 陳其榮, Qin Jiamo 秦嘉謨, Zhang Peng 張澎, Lei Xueqi 雷學淇.

With the exception of Wang Zicai's version that rearranged the text in chronological order, the others all have three similar chapters (pian) on Shixing 氏姓 "Clan names", Ju 居 "Residences [of Rulers]", and Zuo 作 "Inventors"; but different arrangements of noble genealogies.

This was the genre of lexical works devoted entirely to explaining the origins of things, inventions, customs and affairs—very characteristic of Chinese literature but liable to be puzzling to any Westerners who still cherish the illusion that that civilisation was 'timeless' and 'static'.

The early history of science and technology in China regularly cites Shiben records about names of the legendary, semi-legendary, and historical inventors of all kinds of devices, instruments, and machines.

He made a plaiting of bamboo which he filled with clay (ni 泥), to decorticate grain and produce hulled rice; this was called wei 磑 (actually long 礱).