Is it Liu Zhiji’s "Zhishu"?
Original text:
The wife is endowed with the five constant virtues, and the scholar has all kinds of skills. There are differences between evil and good, and different merits. Those who are crooked and crooked are despised by others, and this is the way of a villain; those who are upright are valued by others, and are the virtues of a gentleman. However, there are many people in the world who tend to evil and abandon the right, and do not practice the deeds of a gentleman, but act like a villain. Why? A saying goes: "Straight like a string, on the edge of the road of death; curved like a hook, on the contrary, a prince." Therefore, it is better to obey to ensure good luck than to disobey and suffer harm. Kuang Shi is responsible for his work, Shen is admonished, and the wind of the tree is heard. There are traitorous ministers and rebellious sons, who are lecherous with the monarch. If they do not write down their affairs directly and do not cover up their flaws, their dirty deeds will be obvious in one dynasty, and their bad reputation will last for thousands of years. If that’s true, it’s so scary!
If you do something that can be done, you will obey it; if you do something that cannot be done, you will be cruel. Just like Dong Hu's calligraphy is not hidden, Zhao Dun's calligraphy is wronged, I have no dissatisfaction and do it without doubt, and then I can become upright and good at the present and ancient times. As for Cui Ji's book on the history of Qi, Ma Qian's account of Han Fei, Wei Zhao's battle in the Wu Dynasty, Cui Hao's taboo in the Wei state, some of them were anointed with axes and axes, which made fun of the time; some of them were written to fill the pits and cellars, and were unknown to future generations. The world is like this, and it is difficult to blame the ministers for not being able to express their strengths and encourage them to be ruthless. Therefore, Zhang Yan got angry and secretly kept the text of "Hey Ji"; Sun Sheng was dissatisfied and secretly wrote the book of Liaodong. This is to avoid disaster, but fortunately, everything is safe. It is enough to experience the many obstacles in the world and to know that it is difficult to find true records.
However, after studying the past history and searching for all the direct poems, although the ancients are dregs and the truth is confused, they can pick gold from sand and sometimes find treasure. Cases of gold are in history, especially those of Shi family. At the beginning of Xuan and Jing's foundation, when Cao and Ma were in dispute, they might form a camp in Weiqu to meet Marquis Qu Wu, or they might attack Yuntai to take out the wounded and help them. Chen Shou, Wang Yin, Xian Du were speechless, Lu Ji and Yu Yu each spoke in detail. When he got to know his teeth, he said that he would kill Ge Zuda, and that he would commit a crime by drawing a sword. The thick accusations of past generations are like snow in one day. Are the writings of the people of Kaos a relic of ancient times? Next, there are "Customs" by King Xiao of the Song Dynasty and "Qi Zhi" by Wang Shao. Their narratives were also based on factual verification at the time. The case was reported to the prince of Heshuo at that time, but Ji Qiu had not died; the generals and ministers of Yecheng still had their salary structures. The second son wrote his taboos without any fear. He just doesn't vomit, what kind of person is he?
Gai Lishi is a man of fame, a strong man and a strong spirit. He would rather be an orchid and destroy a jade than to remain as rubble forever. Ruonan and Dong wrote with great courage and did not avoid strong resistance; Wei and Cui wrote vigorously and passionately, leaving nothing to be desired. Although the whole body's defense was insufficient, it still left a lingering beauty, which people still call it today. Shen and her husband Wang Shen "Book of Wei" pretended to be evil and stole the throne; Dong Tong's "History of Yan" used flattery to steal glory, penetrated three lights and penetrated nine springs, which was not enough to describe his superiority.
The translation for you is as follows:
People follow the "Five Constants (benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom, trust)", and scholars have various behaviors, some are evil and some are righteous, some are crooked and some are straight. If it is evil or crooked, it will be looked down upon by others, because it is the way of a villain; if it is upright, it will be respected by others, because it is the way of a gentleman. However, most people in the world tend to go astray and abandon integrity. Instead of practicing the behavior of a gentleman, they follow the behavior of a villain. Why? As the saying goes: "As straight as a string, you will die on the side of the road; as curved as a hook, you will be enfeoffed. (When an upright person dies, no one cares about it, but when an unrighteous person dies, he becomes a high official)" So people would rather obey it to keep themselves safe than to Disobey it and suffer consequences. What's more, the purpose of writing history books is to advise the world and establish a good atmosphere. If you encounter traitors, traitors, rebellious sons, or lewd monarchs, if you write down their deeds without scruples and do not cover up their faults, their bad reputation will spread for an era. Wouldn’t it be awe-inspiring to write history so bluntly?
If the social environment allows for frank writing of history, there will be no problem. If the environment does not allow it, there will be dangers. For example, Dong Hu (the historian of the Jin State in the Spring and Autumn Period) did not hide the truth when writing history. Zhao Dun suffered humiliation because of this principle of recording history. They did not make mistakes and insisted on "straight writing", which eventually achieved the reputation of "good straightness" and famous biography. Present and ancient. For example, the history of Qi recorded Cui Zhu's regicide, Sima Qian wrote about the faults of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Wei Zhao recorded events in Soochow Bingzhi, and Cui Hao wrote history that violated Wei's taboos. Some of them were punished and laughed at by the people at the time; The written book was buried and was not passed down to future generations. Things are like this, but it is really difficult to blame Shi Chen for not being able to maintain a strong character and stick to his unyielding integrity. Therefore, Zhang Yan got angry and recited and silently wrote "Hey Ji" in private. Sun Sheng was dissatisfied and wrote "Jinyang Qiu" privately and sent it to Liaodong to preserve its authenticity. By using this to avoid disaster, fortunately both historical facts and ourselves were preserved. This is enough to prove how difficult the world is, and also understand how rare historical records are.
However, when we examine past historical events and seek verification from the recorded words, although there are dregs of the ancients and a mixture of truth and falsehood, as long as you dig for gold in the sand, you can sometimes still harvest treasures. There are many historical events when studying the succession of Wei and Jin (Jin Xing: Jin Dynasty). When Emperor Xuan of Jin (Sima Yi) and Emperor Jing (Sima Shi) of Jin founded the Jin Dynasty, the Cao family and the Sima family alternated in power. Either Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang were fighting in Weinan and were defeated by Zhuge Liang's plan; or Wei Emperor Cao Maoyun Tai sent troops to attack Sima Zhao, but was assassinated by Cheng Ji. Chen Shou and Wang Yin both kept silent, and Lu Ji and Yu Yu also stopped writing. It was only after the practice of chiseling that there were records of dead Zhuge retreating and living Zhongda (Sima Yi) and Cheng Ji stabbing Wei Emperor Cao Mao with a knife. The deceptions of the past have deceived us, and now we are clearing up. Studying the records of chiseling teeth is probably the spirit of direct recording left over from modern times, right? There are also "Customs" written by King Xiao of the Song Dynasty and "Qi Zhi" written by Wang Shao. When they describe the events at that time, they must carefully examine the true situation. It should be noted that the descendants of the princes and nobles of the Northern Wei Dynasty were still in power; the generals and ministers of the Northern Qi Dynasty still had the legacy of their ancestors. But these two people were not afraid at all when they wrote about things they were taboo about. Is this the kind of person who is not afraid of rape?
Martyrs sacrifice their lives for fame, and strong men value integrity. They would rather be a broken orchid or a broken jade than a preserved tile. For example, Nan Shi and Dong Hu relied on upright and true records and did not avoid violence; Wei Zhao and Cui Hao wrote straightly and did not cater to the powerful. Although they were deficient in protecting themselves from harm, they left their names and achievements behind, and people still praise them to this day. Compared with Wang Chen who wrote the "Book of Wei" and used evil writing techniques to steal his official position, Dong Tong wrote the "History of Yan" and used flattering records to gain glory. The former went straight up to the three lights, while the latter went straight down to the nine springs. (Even saying this) is not enough to explain the difference between them.