There are achievements in politics, history, literature, calligraphy and classics.
1. Politics
In the first year of Baoyuan (1038) of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, he passed the Jinshi title and moved to Longtuge to become a direct bachelor. He served as an official in the four dynasties of Renzong, Yingzong, Shenzong and Zhezong, and he reached the rank of Shangshu Zuopushe and also served as a minister. In the first year of Yuanyou (1086), he passed away and was given posthumously to Taishi and Wen Guogong, with the posthumous title Wenzheng. He was listed as a "Yuanyou party member" and was entitled to enjoy the temple of Zhezong of the Song Dynasty, with the figure of Zhaoxun Pavilion; he was worshiped in the Confucius Temple and was called "Sima Zi"; he was worshiped in the temples of emperors of all dynasties.
2. Historiography
"Zi Zhi Tong Jian" Sima Guangming's main achievements are reflected in academics. The greatest contribution among them is presiding over the compilation of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". During the Xining reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Sima Guang strongly opposed Wang Anshi's reform and asked Shangshu to be appointed as a foreign minister. In the fourth year of Xining (1071), he was sentenced to the Yushitai of Xijing. From then on, he lived in Luoyang for fifteen years and did not care about political affairs. During this leisurely period, Sima Guang presided over the compilation of the 294-volume chronological history book "Zizhi Tongjian" with nearly 4 million words.
3. Literature
Sima Guang spent his main energy on compiling history and engaging in politics. He did not pride himself on literature. He commented that "as for literature, it is not really my specialty." However, his knowledge is profound and profound, and he combines learning and writing, although he has no intention of writing for the sake of writing. Sima Guang "worked to provide usable writing and respected writing to convey the truth" and believed that flashy poetry was useless. What he praised was not poetry filled with rhetoric, but poetry that was plain, leisurely and distant, expressing true temperament and true self.
4. Confucian classics
In Confucian classics, Sima Guang promoted Confucianism, tried hard to defeat Buddhists and elders, and made many groundbreaking interpretations of Confucian classics. Zhu Xi compared him with Zhou Dunyi and Zhou Dunyi at the same time. Shao Yong, Er Cheng (Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi), and Zhang Zai are collectively known as the "Six Masters of Taoism" in the Northern Song Dynasty
5. Calligraphy
Sima Guang has not many surviving calligraphy works. The handwriting is thin, strong and square, and every stroke is written very regularly. Even if it is a long and large piece, it is not sloppy. The characteristics of its official script are: clear strokes and strokes, regular and flat structure, and the horizontal strokes at the entrance and exit of the stroke often have the intention and shape of the official meaning of silkworm head and phoenix tail, which is obviously integrated into the tradition of official script. The characteristics of official script are: its purity is not as good as that of Han official script, and its beauty is not as good as that of Tang official script. However, its writing style is square and sharp, its strokes are deep and strong, and its structure is mostly vertical. Although the font is small, it is powerful and powerful. The turning points are sharp and sharp, combining hardness and softness.
Reference: Shanxi Provincial People's Government-Sima Guang (Northern Song Dynasty historian, Xia County)