The source of historical records
Historical Records covers a history of more than 2,000 years from the Five Emperors to the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Sima Qian also consulted a large number of ancient books and collected works on the spot. It took many years to complete this historical masterpiece.
The content before the Spring and Autumn Period refers to the historical books of the pre-Qin period, such as Zuo Zhuan and Guoyu, among which there are many quotations. The warring States part refers to the history books, warring States policies and so on. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Xiao He collected some contents from Qin Gong, and some contents in biographies were inquired from colleagues.
Before the Spring and Autumn Period, from my personal point of view, I still believed in the historians before the Spring and Autumn Period, even if my life hung by a thread, I had no regrets. For example, Cui Yi, a doctor in the State of Qi, killed three Qi historians to cover up the fact that he killed the King of Qi. Of course, for the sake of the monarch's reputation, they sometimes use taboos, but they don't scribble. Zuo Zhuan basically explains some taboo words in Chunqiu in detail.
During the Warring States period, it was really an era when rituals collapsed and music broke down. It is hard to say that historians can stick to the principle of straight pen as always, because you will find that the history books at that time have changed. We take Sanjin as an example.
For example, most of the contents of Zhao in Historical Records are quoted from Zuo Zhuan, but the contents of Zhao Orphan are quite different. Then it can only be said that Sima Qian quoted the history books of Zhao. The culprit of Zhao's tragedy is a promiscuous mother in Zuo Zhuan, and a courtier in Zhao. Obviously, the latter makes the Zhao family more respectable, and Zuo Qiuming has no reason to deliberately bend the facts to damage the reputation of a doctor in the State of Jin. In fact, since Duke Xiang of Jin, many Qing doctors have been killed, such as Xian, Fox and Luan. Why is the version of Zhao Juejia different?
Having said that, I have to mention Guo Wei's Annals of Bamboo Books. Many people, if they get the most treasures, can finally overthrow some benevolence and morality advocated by Confucianism. However, I want to remind you that it is only a history book written by Wei historians during the Warring States Period. How reliable is it? Since Zhao's history books are changing, why can't Wei sort them out? After all, the separation of Sanjin is a landmark event since the Zhou Dynasty.
Except Tian, other countries, such as Chu State, which is often ridiculed as barbarians, and Qin State in Xirong, have never done such heinous things. The great discovery in the annals of bamboo slips overthrew Yu Shun's abdication and Yi Yin's loyalty. So many historians in the pre-Qin period are not clear, and Wei historians all know? But it also makes people feel that whitewashing three points is in line with etiquette. Since this is the case with Yi Yin, why not let Zhao, Wei and Han join the Kim family?
As for Qin and Han Dynasties, it was almost written by Sima Qian himself. It is not difficult to see that it is mixed with personal feelings. Among them, the biographies of Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty and Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty seem to be more derogatory than positive, while some personal biographies, such as Li Guang's, obviously magnify personal achievements. The reason is nothing more than that Sima Qian was subjected to unbearable corruption for protecting Li Ling.
archaeology
The source of the original data of Historical Records is extensive, so it is really difficult to distinguish its authenticity by Tai Shigong's own efforts. Perhaps modern archaeology can reveal more facts for people, because the cultural relics unearthed in those ancient tombs may be even older than the references recorded in historical books.
Personally, the older the cultural relics, the higher the reliability. The later, the more vulnerable to human intervention. Because of the arrival of bad times, the world is getting worse, but people are not old. Who can be sure that the bamboo slips unearthed during the Warring States period must be true?
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How to judge the authenticity of things in Historical Records? Considering the possibility of human intervention in the history books of all times it covers, I personally think we can proceed from the following two points:
First of all, modern archaeology is the most authoritative, and the older the unearthed cultural relics, the more reliable they are; Secondly, starting from the quotations in historical records, it is difficult to judge between the Five Emperors and the Shang Dynasty, and the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period are more accurate. During the Warring States period, there were traces of human intervention, and the evaluation of characters between Qin and Han Dynasties was mixed with Tai Shigong's personal feelings.