Sima Qian (135 BC ~ 87 BC)
Zichang, a native of Xia Yang (now Hancheng, Shaanxi Province). He was born into a family of historians, and his ancestors had served as royal historians since the Zhou Dynasty and were in charge of literary and historical divination. After Emperor Wu ascended the throne, his father Sima Tan served as Taishi Ling for thirty years. Sima Tan was erudite and proficient in astronomy, the study of "Yi" and the study of Huang and Lao. Sima Qian began to recite "ancient prose" at the age of ten and received enlightenment education from his father. His long-standing family education had a profound impact on his later academic path. Later, he went to Chang'an with his father and studied "Guwen Shangshu" and "Spring and Autumn Annals" with Kong Anguo and Dong Zhongshu, the famous classics masters at that time. At the age of nineteen, he became a disciple of a doctor. At the age of twenty, he "traveled around the world" with Dr. Mrs. Chu and six other people, and began his traveling life. His footprints reached Kuaiji and visited the remains of Xia Yu; he went to Gusu and looked at the five lakes where Fan Li was boating; he went to Huaiyin and asked about the story of Han Xin; he went to Fengfei and visited the hometowns of Liu Bang and Xiao He; he went to Daliang and visited Yimen. , and inspected the situation of the Qin army diverting river water to flood Daliang; visited Chu to visit the palace ruins of Chun Shenjun; In addition, he also traveled to Zhuolu in the north, climbed the Great Wall, traveled to Yuanxiang in the south, and reached Kongtong in the west. The grand tour broadened his horizons and increased his knowledge. After returning to Chang'an, Emperor Wu attached great importance to this knowledgeable and knowledgeable young man, appointed him as a doctor, and asked him to carry the emperor's order as an envoy to Bashu and arrive in the southwestern region of today's Kunming.
Reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles laid a solid foundation for Sima Qian’s subsequent writings. In the first year of Yuanfeng (110 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty granted the title of Taishan. Sima Tan was appointed Taishi Gong but was unable to do so and died of anger. Before he died, he sadly said to Sima Qian: "After I die, you will be the Taishi. When you become the Taishi, don't forget my last wish. Today, the Han Dynasty is prosperous and the country is unified. There are wise rulers above and loyal ministers and righteous men below. I am here. I am so ashamed that I failed to record it. You must complete my unfinished business!" After Sima Tan died, Sima Qian succeeded his father as Taishi Ling, which gave him the opportunity to read all the literature and history collected in the stone room of the Royal Library. Classics, hundreds of schools of thought, and various archives and historical materials. In the first year of Taichu (104 BC), as Taishi Ling, he reformed the calendar together with more than 20 people including Sun Qing, Hu Sui, senior officials, Deng Ping, Luo Xiahong, and astronomer Tang Du. After this group of experts worked together and made repeated calculations and selections, a new calendar was finally created in May of this year. This is the famous "Taichu Calendar". The "Taichu Calendar" changes the first month to the first month of the year (the Qin calendar uses October as the beginning of the year), the number of days in a month is 29.53, and the number of days in a year is 360 Five point twenty-five days, this was the most advanced calendar in the world at that time, and it was also the first major reform in the calendar history of country A. After that, he followed his father's will and prepared to compile "Tai Shi Gong Ji" ("Historical Records").
In the second year of the Tianhan Dynasty (99 BC), his colleague Li Ling was surrounded when he went on an expedition against the Huns. He surrendered to the Huns after running out of arrows and food. When the news reached Chang'an, Emperor Wu was furious. All the civil and military officials in the imperial court cursed Li Ling for his shameful surrender. Sima Qian remained silent. Emperor Wu asked him what his opinion was, and the bookish Sima Qian said without hesitation: "Li Ling traveled thousands of miles to fight, and the road was exhausted, and the famous generals in ancient times were no more than that. Although he surrendered, it was excusable. I thought that as long as he didn't die, he would He will still be loyal to the Han Dynasty." After hearing Sima Qian's words, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought that he was defending Li Ling and deliberately belittling Li Guangli, who was fighting against the Huns and was not going well, so he ordered Sima Qian to be sentenced to death. Death penalty (or corruption instead). In the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, those sentenced to death could pay 500,000 yuan to reduce their death by one degree. But Sima Qian, who was not from a wealthy family, could not afford the money, so he had to suffer "corruption" (castration) to choose the path of "illegal living". The unfortunate encounter greatly stimulated Sima Qian's spirit and he once wanted to commit suicide. However, he remembered his father's last words and encouraged himself by citing the achievements of ancient Confucius, Qu Yuan, Zuo Qiuming, Sun Tzu, Han Fei, etc. in adversity. Finally, he endured the humiliation and survived with amazing will. Sima Qian, who was physically and mentally tortured and lived a humiliating and humiliating life, knew very well that "all people are destined to die, and death may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather." He is determined to use his remaining years to complete the history book that his father asked him to complete. After six years of imprisonment, he was finally released from prison in the first year of Zhenghe (93 BC). Emperor Wu still cherished Sima Qian's talents and appointed him as Zhongshu Ling. From then on, he devoted himself to writing and finally completed the masterpiece "Historical Records", which "study the relationship between heaven and man, understand the changes in ancient and modern times, and formulate the words of the Chinese family".
"Historical Records" was originally called "Tai Shi Gong Shu", also known as "Tai Shi Gong Ji" and "Tai Shi Ji". It was not called "Historical Records" until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Sima Qian intended to "hide the famous mountain and serve as a deputy in the capital, waiting for future generations of saints and gentlemen." During the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian's grandson Yang Yun made it public to the world. At that time, there were a few missing chapters, which were filled in by later generations such as Chu Shaosun.
"Historical Records" is the first biographical general history in Chinese history, setting a grand precedent for biographical general history. "Historical Records" contains 12 chapters, 70 biographies, 30 aristocratic families, 10 lists, 8 books, 130 chapters, and 525,600 words, recording the history from the Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty The historical events of Emperor Wu about three thousand years.
"This Chronicle" is the general outline of the book. It is based on chronology and records the lineage of emperors of the past dynasties. The older ones are mainly dynasties, and the more recent ones are mainly emperors or those who are actually in power. "This Chronicle" is essentially a national chronicle of major events, which serves as an outline.
"Aristocratic families" are also based on chronology, describing the princes and feudal lords, the founding heroes, and people with special status and special influence. The matter may not involve the whole country, but it has a huge impact on a certain country or a certain aspect of social life across the country. Most of them can be regarded as "country histories", such as "Jin Family", "Chu Family", and "Confucius Family" , "Chen She Family", etc.
"Biographies" take up the most space and can be divided into two categories: one is biographies, which are individual biographies of one person and joint biographies of two or more people, arranged according to the nature of the characters. pass. The range of characters recorded is extremely wide, involving nobles, bureaucrats, politicians, economists, military strategists, philosophers, writers, economists, strategists, hermits, lobbyists, assassins, rangers, doctors, soothsayers, actors and other people from all walks of life. class. The other category is the records of foreign or domestic ethnic minorities, involving the history of Sino-foreign relations and the history of domestic ethnic relations. The former category of biographies includes "Biography of Boyi", "Biography of Sun Tzu Wuqi", "Biography of Assassins", "Biography of Scholars", etc.; the latter category includes "Biography of Xiongnu", "Biography of South Vietnam", "Biography of Southwestern Yi", "Biography of Korea" "Biography" etc. "Biography" plays a substantial and concrete role in "This Chronicle".
"Table" is used to list the lineage, titles and brief political achievements of emperors, princes, nobles, generals and ministers. It is divided into world tables, chronological tables and lunar tables based on the age and the complexity of historical events. . Today's view can also be divided into two categories: a list of major events and a list of characters, such as the "Three Generations List", "The Twelve Princes Chronology", "The Great Ancestor's Meritorious Ministers Chronology", "The Years of Generals and Ministers since the rise of the Han Dynasty" Table" etc. The function of "table" is to be vivid, intuitive and easy to read. It can make up for the shortcomings of "Benji", "Family" and "Biography". It can also save a lot of words and avoid cumbersome records.
"Books" record the calendar, rituals, music, Zen, water conservancy, economy and other laws and regulations of the past dynasties in categories. They reflect all aspects of social life and are a very important part of "Historical Records", such as "Books of Rites" , "Leshu", "Almanac", "River Book", "Pingzhengshu" and so on. Among them, the "Pingzhunshu" is the most exciting, recording the social and economic conditions, especially the evolution of the economic policies of the Han Dynasty, and setting the precedent for later generations' official history "Shi Huo Zhi".
People have always called "Historical Records" a biographical history book, emphasizing the importance of the chronicles and biographies. In fact, as an integral part of the whole book, tables, books, and aristocratic families all have independent values ??that cannot be replaced by chronicles and biographies. Strictly speaking, it should be a chronicle-biography style, a comprehensive history book.
Sima Qian not only recorded a large number of historical facts in "Historical Records", but also wanted to "examine his actions, review his successes and failures", and "study the relationship between heaven and man, and understand the past and present." Change and become a family." He wants to explore some truths from the intricate historical facts and put forward his own opinions. Therefore, he is not only a organizer of historical events, but also a great thinker.
"Studying the relationship between heaven and man, and understanding the changes in ancient and modern times", that is, the purpose of exploring the relationship between heaven and man and unblocking the changes in ancient and modern times, reflects the essence of Sima Qian's historical philosophy.
"When studying heaven and man," Sima Qian first emphasized the separation of heaven and man, that is, he believed that the way of heaven and human affairs were irrelevant. In "The Biography of Boyi", he used Boyi, Shuqi and Yan Yuan as examples to criticize the saying that "the way of heaven has no relation and always associates with good people", saying, "How can heaven benevolent to good people?" In modern times, those characters It is not good that people who commit taboos will "live their whole life in happiness and wealth for generations to come." On the contrary, people who are just and angry will often "encounter disasters that are innumerable." From this, he wrote profoundly: "I am very confused, what is the so-called way of heaven, is it evil or not?" He never self-examined Xiang Yu's heroic life, and before his death, he repeatedly said, "The way of heaven is to kill me, not evil." "It is also a crime of war." He took a serious and critical attitude and said, "Isn't it absurd!" He profoundly exposed Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's extravagant activities of offering sacrifices to gods and praying to gods, and believed that such activities poisoned the social atmosphere. "But its effect can be seen", which is a strong irony. When writing about human activities, I deliberately wrote about the important role of personnel in historical development. He said in "Tai Shi Gong's Preface" that the purpose of the Thirty-Year-Old Family is to write about the "ministers who assist the emperor" and "to serve the Lord faithfully and faithfully." "The activities of people who do not let themselves lose their time and make meritorious deeds and make a name for themselves in the world." This is the first time in the development of Chinese history that human activities have been placed in such an important historical position. He also connected human activities with the rise and fall of the country. He believed that "gentlemen are active while villains retreat", which is a sign that "the country will prosper"; while "virtuous people are hidden, and chaotic ministers are noble" is a sign that "the country will be destroyed". . He further pointed out: "What's more, 'safety lies in issuing orders, and survival lies in taking charge.' This is a true statement!" ("The Family of the Kings of Chu and Yuan Dynasties") In the following discussion, he also pointed out with profound meaning: To make the country strong and peaceful , "Only by selecting generals and ministers! Only by selecting generals and ministers!" (Post-discussion of "Biography of the Xiongnu")
"Through the changes of ancient and modern times" contains the rich content of Sima Qian's historical philosophy. First of all, he put forward a relatively complete view of the process of historical evolution, from "The Chronicles of the Five Emperors" in "Tai Shi Gong's Preface" to the preface to "The Chronicles of Gaozu", "Three Dynasties" to "The Moon Table between Qin and Chu" You can get a rough idea of ??it from the preface of "". The history of the Five Emperors and the Three Dynasties is too long to be "taken by time". The "Chronology of the Three Dynasties" to the "Chronology of the Twelve Princes" are from "from the Han Dynasty to Confucius", "the dictatorship of the princes" and "the rise and fall of the five hegemons".
Next is the "Chronology of the Six Kingdoms", starting from King Zhou Yuan (475 BC) to Qin II (207 BC). The historical characteristics are "accompanying ministers to govern", "competing at home for military exploits", "strengthening the army and defeating the enemy". , Talking about conspiracy and deception, and the short and long sides." "Moon Table between Qin and Chu" starts from July of the first year of Qin II (209 BC) to September of the fifth year of Emperor Gaozu (202 BC), eight years from the beginning to the end. Regarding this period of history, Sima Qian wrote: "The first trouble came from Chen She; the violence and violence destroyed the Qin Dynasty, from the Xiang family; the chaos and violence were brought to an end, the country was pacified, and the emperor Zuo was killed, and he became the Han family." These four tables are not only linked from beginning to end, running through ancient and modern times, but also outline the characteristics of each historical era, reflecting Sima Qian's outstanding insights into the historical process.
Secondly, he also expounds his view of historical evolution in the process of narrating historical changes. This view of his is particularly prominent in the "Eight Books".
Third, it puts forward the historical proposition that "things prosper and then decline, and times change." When "Tai Shi Gong's Preface" talks about the writing of "This Chronicle", it is proposed that the achievements of the emperors of the past dynasties should be "observed from the beginning to the end, and the decline should be seen from the perspective of prosperity", that is, to deduce how they began and to observe in detail how they ended; signs of its decline. In Sima Qian's philosophy of history, history is always changing: either from prosperity to decline, or from decline to prosperity. He used this historical philosophy to observe history, "examine the actions and examine the principles of success and failure."
In addition to "Historical Records", Sima Qian also wrote eight poems, all of which have been released. Only Volume 30 of "Yi Wen Lei Ju" contains a fragment of "Ode for a Sad Scholar Not Encountered".
His "Report to Ren An (Shaoqing)" is a famous essay. The article narrates the process of his being castrated due to the Li Ling Incident; expresses the grief and indignation of being loyal but suspicious and being innocently tortured; it exposes the tyranny and cruelty of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the cruel politics of the time; finally, it expresses his determination to write a book and create "Historical Records". 》determination.
Sima Qian’s academic thoughts occupy an important and prominent position in the history of ancient Chinese thought and culture. "Historical Records" was praised by Lu Xun as "the swansong of historians, the most rhymeless Li Sao", which is well deserved.