Sima Tan died in the first year of Emperor Yuan Feng (11 BC). Before he died, he entrusted Sima Qian with the unfinished business of writing history as a last wish. In the third year of Yuanfeng (the first 18 years), Sima Qian succeeded Taishiling. Since then, he has tirelessly read the national library, studied various historical materials, devoted himself to writing history, and participated in the formulation of taichu calendar.
in the process, a great disaster happened. In the second year of Tianhan (99 BC), Li Ling fought against the Huns, and after a vigorous battle, he was defeated and surrendered. When the news came, Emperor Wu was furious, and courtiers followed suit and scolded Li Ling. Sima Qian was angry that the courtiers who enjoyed wealth were so unsympathetic to the generals who risked their lives, so he said that Li Ling surrendered out of helplessness and would wait for an opportunity to repay the Han Dynasty in the future. Li Ling's defeat was caused by Emperor Wu's appointment of incompetent consort Li Guangli as the commander-in-chief. Sima Qian's defense also angered Emperor Wu. Therefore, he was punished by "corruption" For Sima Qian, this is a great shame in life, far more painful than the death penalty. In this incident, he had a new understanding of the unreasonable power of the autocratic monarch and the situation that life was fundamentally oppressed by external forces. He once thought of suicide, but he didn't want his precious life to end in a worthless situation, so he "lived in silence" and sought the highest realization of life in the history of writing. This is exactly what a scholar can do to resist the monarch's arrogance and cruel fate. Finally, Sima Qian gave a complete account of his fate and mood in the book "Report to Ren An" written in the fourth year of Taishi (before this year). Since then, his deeds are unclear and he probably died in the last year of Emperor Wu.
Historical Records was originally named Taishi Gongshu, and it was called Historical Records at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is the first book with a complete system completed by individuals in ancient times. Total * * * one hundred and thirty volumes, more than five hundred and twenty thousand words, and by then the largest book. The book consists of five styles: biographies, biographies, biographies and biographies. "Benji" is an outline of the whole book, which describes the political traces of monarchs or actual rulers in the past dynasties in a chronological way. "Table" lists the major events in each historical period in tabular form, which is the supplement and contact of the narrative in the whole book; "Book" is a record of astronomy, calendar, water conservancy, economy and other special matters; The "aristocratic family" is a biography of hereditary families and people who have been sacrificing for generations, such as Confucius and Chen Sheng. "Biography" is biographies of all kinds of people outside the family and family, and some of them record the history of all ethnic groups in the marginal areas of China. Through these five different styles, Historical Records cooperates and complements each other, forming a complete historical system.
① Before Historical Records, all historical works had the nature of data compilation and collation, and most of the authors were unknown, so it is difficult to say that they were completed by an individual alone: the books of various schools were actually the compilation of documents of various schools, not completed by the pioneers of the schools alone, and most of the articles were independent.
this genre is also called "biographical style" for short, and it has been slightly changed since then, becoming the general genre of official history in past dynasties.
The Chronicle of Historical Records dates from the Yellow Emperor, who was regarded as the beginning of history at that time, to the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty when Sima Qian wrote this book (the first 14-1 spaces include the whole territory of the Han Dynasty and all the areas around it that the author can understand. It is not only a summary of the history of politics, economy, culture and other aspects in ancient China for 3, years, but also the history of mankind and the world in Sima Qian's consciousness throughout the ages. In this extremely grand structure, there is an intention to explore and grasp the way of human existence fundamentally and integrally. For example, Sima Qian himself said in the book "Report to Ren An" that his goal is to "learn from the changes of ancient and modern times and become a family statement when studying the relationship between man and nature". Therefore, Historical Records can't be regarded as a simple historical record. It has made great achievements in history, literature and philosophy.
Historical Records is listed as the first "official history" in China. Since then, the compilation of "official history" has never stopped, and it has merged into a long river of written history, which can be called a miracle in the history of world historiography. However, the situation of Historical Records is very different from the official history of future generations. With a few exceptions, the official history of all previous dynasties after Historical Records was presided over by the court and compiled according to the will of the monarch, which is a veritable official history. Although Sima Qian was a court historian, Historical Records did not reflect the will of the supreme ruler, Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. It is said that after reading Historical Records, Emperor Wudi was angry with some of them and ordered them to be deleted. This is also possible (some of the Historical Records today were supplemented by later generations). So, what kind of position did Sima Qian stand on to write Historical Records? This is also one of the keys to understanding Historical Records.
We need to note that before the absolute authority of the monarch was established from Qin Shihuang to Han Wudi, the power of the monarch was restricted by the whole aristocratic group to a certain extent. In this context, historians not only enjoy a high status, but also have the obligation and right to "write straight". Sima Qian's ancestors were historians. Although he realized that in his own time, historians had fallen to the position of "being teased by the Lord and advocating superior and storing them", he consciously inherited the ancient tradition of historians and did not want to turn his pen into a tool to sing praises to the monarch.
another important point is that Sima Qian has a special worship of Confucius. He is not completely convinced of Confucius' theory, and he despises contemporary Confucian scholars, but he admires Confucius' personality, especially Confucius' grand ideal of establishing cultural norms for the world as an ordinary scholar. Sima Qian regarded his work of writing Historical Records as the inheritance of Confucius' career of compiling Spring and Autumn Annals, which made him occupy a high position in spirit. Broadly speaking, it also inherited the rational attitude and critical consciousness of pre-Qin philosophers.
The times gave Sima Qian a grand vision and the task of comprehensively summing up history. His extensive travel enabled him to get an unprecedented understanding of society. His cruel fate prompted him to think deeply about life and inherit the tradition of historians and the cultures of various schools in the pre-Qin period. Sima Qian also established a relatively independent and critical writing position that would not yield to the monarch's arrogance. It was in a special historical stage and personal experience that the great Historical Records came into being. In this great Historical Records, Sima Qian's unique understanding of human history and society in many aspects is also shown.
First of all, as mentioned above, Historical Records is a critical work rather than a eulogy. Especially for the history of the Han dynasty, Sima Qian always kept a cold eye on the politics of the contemporary era of Emperor Wu. On the premise of affirming the historical achievements of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, he vividly described Liu Bang's rural rogue appearance and selfish and mean psychology without mercy. Sima Qian also boldly exposed his actions of appointing cruel officials, harming the people, cronyism, suppressing talents, superstition and abuse of people's power. As for all kinds of intrigue and brazenness in the bureaucratic class, it is more colorful in his sharp pen. These exposures and criticisms do not have the tendency of uglification or simple negation, but are concrete and credible historical records that reflect the true character of the characters. It reflects a profound suspicion and thinking: the successful figures in history and those who are in power do not get their status because of their noble quality and moral justice, as they claim. Sometimes, on the contrary, people with noble quality and abiding by morality often encounter misfortune and failure, just like Xiang Yu, who is far more frank and self-respecting than Liu Bang, and Li Guang, who is far more upright and brave than Emperor Wu's minion, all inevitably end in suicide. Although Sima Qian did not reveal the law behind these phenomena in theory, it is enough to inspire people to make a deep reflection.
Historical Records, the first historical genre based on biographies, is the first time to record history with people as the center, which shows that it attaches great importance to people's position and role in history. Past historical works have recorded people's historical activities, but these records are based on time or events, and people's dominant position has not been fully realized and manifested. Moreover, on the whole, the characters in these historical works are limited to the upper class of society, including at most tourists and counselors, and the second is limited to political figures. Although the figures described in Historical Records are still dominated by upper-level political figures, their scope has expanded to the whole society, including middle-and lower-class figures and non-political figures. We can see that in Historical Records, emperors, governors, peasant leaders, ministers, generals, empresses, eunuchs, writers, thinkers, assassins, rangers, businessmen, actors, doctors, Toy Boy and diviners all show different aspects of human life, and together they form a colorful and magnificent historical scroll. In the history books before and after this, it is rare to see so many types of characters, especially those in the middle and lower classes of society. This shows that Sima Qian realized that society is a complex combination, and people from all walks of life play different roles in society. This kind of understanding, especially the attitude towards the middle and lower classes in society, is almost invisible in the general "official history" < br> Sima Qian further noticed: What kind of power dominates people's historical activities? He did not deny the power of morality, but also commended many gentlemen who adhered to "benevolence and righteousness" and even had some idealistic attitude in this respect. But as a loyal observer and a profound thinker, he did realize and openly put forward that it is man's material desire and the requirement of pursuing life satisfaction that dominate man's historical activities. In the Biography of Huo Zhi, he took pains to list many facts, proving that "the rich people have a passion for what they don't learn" and "from the son of heaven to Shu Ren" are all "good interests". He attributed the brave men's courage to fight, the young men in the alley robbing money and robbing tombs, the geisha and dancers selling their erotic colors, the fishermen and hunters rushing through the wind and snow, the gamblers competing for each other's victory, the doctors' painstaking research, the various operations of agriculture, industry and commerce, and even the officials' dancing and tricks to get bribes, all of which were not afraid of suffering and death, to the pursuit of wealth and material interests. Although this juxtaposition is hard for many people to accept (because there is a difference between kindness and disobedience after all), at that time, Sima Qian realized that it was the pursuit of material interests rather than abstract moral principles that was the potential motivation of human historical activities, which was very remarkable. To measure the status of historical figures, Sima Qian is based on their actual achievements, not what kind of fame they obtained. Xiang Yu never claimed the title of emperor, but for a period of time he was the master of the world, and the Biography of Xiang Yu was established in Historical Records. After the Chronicle of Emperor Gaozu, it is the Chronicle of Empress Lu, but there is no "Chronicle of Filial Piety", because although Hui Di has the name of emperor, he is actually just a puppet. Here, Sima Qian has no enthusiasm for Confucius to "correct his name." The Preface to Historical Records of Taishigong claims that one of the purposes of writing Historical Records is to make those who "help others, do not make themselves lose time, and make contributions to the world" famous for their later generations. Therefore, he also appreciates people who are willing to suffer a moment of humiliation in order to achieve extraordinary achievements. For example, Han Xin was not ashamed of his crotch, and Ji Bu, who once won the title of the armed forces, was willing to be a slave. In Sima Qian's view, it was a feat that only a "strong husband" could have. This also includes Sima Qian's life experience of enduring humiliation in order to complete Historical Records. In Historical Records, there is a certain ethical evaluation standard and a sense of praise and criticism. However, its standards are not completely in line with the interests of the ruling class or secular moral consciousness, nor are they narrow and single. Even, there may be some contradictions between before and after. For example, Biography of Uncle Boyi eulogized the loyalty of two virtuous gentlemen who did not eat Zhou Su, while Biography of Guan Zhong praised Guan Zhong, who helped Gong Zijiu compete with Qi Huangong at first, refused to be martyred after his failure, came out of prison and became an important official of Huan Gong, saying that he was "shameless, but his shame and fame were not obvious to the world". Rangers have a certain destructive effect on the social ruling order. Sima Qian clearly pointed it out, but he might as well praise their righteous style of valuing life and death. Even, Biography of the Cool Officials strongly criticized the cruelty of the cool officials, and Preface to Taishigong said that "the people are all clever, and the good people can't be transformed", so the cool officials also have reasons to exist. This is not because Sima Qian's concept is chaotic, but because he sees the complexity of society itself and needs to understand the living styles of various people from a wide range of perspectives. Even the characters he dislikes, describe them as truthfully as possible, and don't simply erase them. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Gu accused Sima Qian of "the right and wrong is quite absurd to the sage: when discussing the avenue, Huang Lao first followed by the Six Classics, while the sequence ranger retired from Chu Shi and entered the treacherous man, and when describing Huo Zhi, he worshipped power and was ashamed of poverty" (Biography of Sima Qian in Han Dynasty). However, these are precisely the places where Sima Qian is far superior to Ban Gu's generation. It is precisely because Sima Qian has a unique and profound understanding of history and society, has a great tolerance for the survival activities of various characters, is not bound by the Confucian ruling ideology that is being established, dares to despise secular moral dogma, and does not understand and describe people from a single theory that Historical Records can become rich and broad, producing a unique charm, which is different from all other official histories of future generations.