Historians are upright and serious in their work. They use this as a standard to ensure the authenticity of history; their knowledge is extensive and enhances the literary and scientific value of history.
1. Zhishu
Chinese tradition emphasizes virtue,
and historians regard their own virtue as their life. Take an allusion from 548 BC as an example, Qi Zhuang, the king of Qi The duke had an affair with the wife of Qi State minister Cui Zhu, and Cui Zhu killed Duke Zhuang of Qi in anger. Qi Taishi wrote directly:
"Cui Zhu killed his king." When Cui Zhu learned about it, he was furious and asked the historian to change it immediately. For Qizhuang, the Duke died of illness, and the historian was killed if he refused. However, Taishi's three younger brothers obeyed their elder brother's wishes and still insisted on respecting the facts. Cui Zhu killed two more people in a row. Finally, when it came to Taishi Ji, the youngest brother in Taishi's family, Cui Zhu was ultimately no match for the justice of the four brothers, so this historical fact was passed down. Taishi was also known as the "good history" at that time, and became a famous example of straight writing in the history of secretaries. A mere historian has no power and no profit. Qi Taishi would rather die than to be an innocent person and to sacrifice himself for justice. For example, during the Zhenguan period, Taizong wanted to see Chu Suiliang record his words and deeds. According to the actual record, Chu Suiliang insisted on refusing, and refused on the grounds that he "did not listen to the emperor's observance of history". This was because in ancient times, the emperor had no right to check the historian's records of himself. After Taizong was rejected, he asked Chu Suiliang: "If I have any shortcomings, will I record them truthfully?" Chu Suiliang replied: "I am admonishing my husband and recording your daily behavior. Record it truthfully.” Facing the king of a country, Chu Suiliang insisted on writing directly, which shows his integrity. It can also be seen that direct writing has always been the professional and academic ethics of secretaries.
Of course, there are also historians with crooked writing in history, but historians are proud of seeking truth and ashamed of crooked writing. Historians with crooked writing will definitely be spurned by history. Furthermore, the spirit of direct writing by historians also had a more or less restrictive effect on ancient kings. The king knew that there was such a group of realistic and truthful historians under his rule to supervise him. In order not to become a king who would be notorious for thousands of years, then in Behavior is naturally much restrained.
2. Meticulous
In addition to seeking truth and truth, historians will also be meticulous and well-founded when recording history. Let's talk about the "Song of Righteousness" written by Wen Tianxiang of the Song Dynasty: "In Qi Taishi Bamboo, in Jin Dong Hu's pen..., Jin Dynasty" Dong Hu's allusion occurred in the Spring and Autumn Period, when Zhao Dun, the prime minister, persuaded the brutal Jin Linggong to change. Duke Linggong of Jin was dissatisfied and had murderous intentions, so Zhao Dun had no choice but to flee. Before he could escape from the border of Jin, his younger brother Zhao Chuan had already assassinated Duke Linggong of Jin. Upon hearing this, Zhao Dun returned to the country to rule. Taishi Dong Hu wrote in the history book: "Zhao Dun killed his king." Zhao Dun refused to accept it. After all, it was Zhao Yue who killed the king, so he asked Dong Hu to rewrite it. Dong Hu's righteous statement stated: "The son is the chief minister. If he dies, he will not cross the border. On the contrary, he will not seek thief. Who but the son?" It means that as the prime minister, if the king is killed and you do not seek thief, you will be the mastermind. I won't change this even if I die. Confucius also commented on this matter. As for Zhao Dun, he could only lament that he did not escape the country and bear the crime of regicide. However, his evaluation of Dong Hu was: "Dong Hu is a good historian in ancient times, and his calligraphy is not good." Hidden" ("Zuo Zhuan: The Second Year of Xuangong".
3. Knowledgeable
The ancient historians not only pursued the highest ethics in history, but also In the pursuit of excellence in knowledge, most ancient historians were rich in knowledge and knowledge. "Shuowen·Xu" says: "When a student is over seventeen years old, he can write a book of 9,000 words and write it as history." Only children who are seventeen years old or above can take the exam, and those who can recite more than 9,000 words of ancient literature (i.e. seal script) can become historians.