"Ji" was originally a general term for ancient history books. Since the Three Kingdoms, Historical Records has gradually become the proper name of Taishi Gongshu. Author Sima
Move, word length, Zuo Fengyi Xiayang people. Born in the fifth year of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, he died in the third year of Emperor Zheng of Han Dynasty. Sima Qian's father teacher
Ma Su served in the central government of Han Dynasty, and was responsible for managing royal books, collecting historical materials and studying astronomical calendars. Sima Tan is going to write a newsletter.
History, he died before his wish came true. On his deathbed, he told Sima Qian to finish his unfinished business. Sima Qian worked hard as a child.
At the age of ten, he began to learn the ancient prose at that time. Later, he followed Dong Zhongshu and Kong Anguo to study The Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ram and the history of ancient Chinese prose. Emperor yuan Shuo of Han dynasty
In three years, Sima Qian was twenty years old, full of curiosity, roaming the famous mountains and rivers of the motherland, inspecting historical sites and collecting legends everywhere. Cross the right
Sima Qian broadened his horizons and increased his knowledge by on-the-spot investigation of places of interest and historical facts before and after the founding of the Western Han Dynasty, which paved the way for later compilation of historical records.
Made full preparations. After Sima Tan's death, Sima Qian inherited his father's business and made an official order, so he was able to see a large number of books, documents and national archives.
Case, this is an indispensable condition for Sima Qian to compile historical records. In the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian began to write historical records.
In the second year of Tianhan, Li Ling led the troops to attack the Huns with Li Guangli, and they were defeated and surrendered. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked Sima Qian what he thought of Li Ling, so Sima
It is said that Li Ling surrendered because he was outnumbered and had no reinforcements, and the responsibility was not entirely on Li Ling. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that Sima Qian intended to replace Li.
Ling excused himself and condemned Li Guangli, Li Furen's brother and the daughter of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. As a result, Sima Qian was thrown into prison and sentenced to corruption. Three years later.
He was pardoned from prison and worked harder at writing history books. In about two years, the compilation was basically completed. Years after Sima Qian's death,
His grandson, Yang Yun, made this immortal masterpiece of more than 520,000 words public.
Historical Records is a general history that runs through ancient times and modern times, starting from the legendary Huangdi until the first year of Emperor Wudi's Yuanshou, describing China.
It has a history of about 3000 years. According to Sima Qian's records, there are 12 biographies, 10 tables, 8 books, 30 aristocratic families and 70 biographies.
* * * one hundred and thirty articles. Ban Gu mentioned in the Biography of Sima Qian in Hanshu that there are ten missing pieces in Historical Records. Wei of the Three Kingdoms pointed out that these ten articles are all "landscapes"
Biography of Emperor, Biography of Emperor Wudi, Book of Rites, Le Shu, Law and Discipline, Chronology of Generals Since Han Dynasty, Biography of Japanese,
Three Kings Family, Biography of Tortoise Shell, Biography of Fujin. Most descendants disagree with Zhang Yan's statement, but not all of the Historical Records are true.
There is no doubt about it. Today's Historical Records is also 130, and several chapters are obviously not written by Sima Qian, but by Bo when Emperor Han and Yuan were emperors.
Scholar Chu supplemented Historical Records, and "Mr. Chu said" in this edition of Historical Records is his supplement.
Historical Records has a wide range of materials. At that time, world books, Mandarin, national policies, Ji Qin and Chu were circulated in the society.
Works such as Spring and Autumn Annals and A Hundred Schools of Thought contend, national documents and archives, and materials obtained from field investigation were all written by Sima Qian.
Sources of important materials. What is particularly valuable is that Sima Qian carefully analyzed and screened the collected materials and eliminated some nonsense.
For some problems that cannot be clarified, we either take a skeptical attitude or record various opinions. Due to the extensive materials, the history was revised.
Therefore, seriously speaking, Historical Records is rich in information and content.
Tao Yuanming
Tao Yuanming was the most outstanding writer in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and even the whole Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Tao Yuanming (365-427) was born in Xunyang Chaisang (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi), with a clear or hidden word. There is Tao Yuanming's collection. His great-grandfather Tao Kan was a great star in the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He put Qiang Bing in charge of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, served as the military commander of eight states, and made Changsha a county magistrate, which made him famous for a while. Posthumously presented to Fu. Grandfather Tao Maoguan is a prefect and father is an official. As the founding father of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Dao family was not as noble as the famous family in the south, but also a big family in Xunyang. It's just that Tao Yuanming's family came down because his father died when he was young. At the age of 29, he became an official, offered drinks in Jiangzhou, and soon retired. Later, he served as a junior official in Zhenjun, Jianwei and other places, and lived a life of anonymity.
In the first year of Yixi (405), Tao Yuanming was forty-one, and was once again appointed as Pengze County Magistrate. However, after more than eighty days, he left his post and officialdom. He has his own grange and servants in his hometown. At first, his life was calm and content. Sometimes he also takes part in some agricultural labor personally as the practice of his social outlook and philosophy of life. In this kind of working life, I am close to farmers. Later, due to the continuous disaster of farmland, houses were burned and the situation deteriorated. But he never wants to be an official again. The court once called him a writer, but he refused. The reason why Tao Yuanming is so is not that he is not interested in politics. Tao Yuanming, born in the family of several generations of bureaucrats and a founding father, had expected to make progress in his official career and make a difference in politics. "Miscellaneous Poems" said: "When I was young, I was happy but not happy, eager to escape from the world and fell in love with Philip Burkart." You can see his thoughts. But at the same time, the literati in the Eastern Jin Dynasty generally advocated seclusion and pursued spiritual freedom, which also left a profound influence on him. "Returning to the Garden" says that "less should not be vulgar, and nature loves autumn mountains" and so on, which reflects another aspect of his thought. He embarked on the road of life with two contradictory wishes. At the beginning, the former desire dominated. But this is a turbulent era: the internal struggle of the imperial clan and the warlord's ambition for political power continue to cause bloody killings and even fierce fires. This kind of social unrest not only brings disaster to the people, but also causes serious insecurity in the upper class of society. This made Tao Yuanming's political ambition have to be reduced. On the other hand, in this power struggle, all dirty and bloody plots are under the guise of lofty morality, which makes Tao Yuanming, who is really pure in nature, unbearable. So in the end, the desire to "love Qiushan" overwhelmed the ambition to "escape from the four seas". When he joined the army, he was a member of the town army. He wrote a poem called "Qua of the first town army joining the army", which said: "Looking at Sichuan and tired in different places, the heart is mountains and rivers. Chatting and chatting will move. After all, the class is going to be born. " When Ren Jianwei joined the army, he wrote the poem "Going to Qianxi to join the army at the age of three to build prestige" and said, "Gardening dream and gardening dream have been separated for a long time?" It can be seen that he is already in his official career and his heart is in the garden. Judging from Peng's farewell speech when he was dismissed from office, he even described being an official as "deeply ashamed of his lifelong ambition", so his seclusion was actually the result that his ideal could not be reconciled with the reality at that time. Tao Yuanming's literary creation has made great achievements in poetry, prose and ci fu, but poetry has the greatest influence on later generations; Among Tao Yuanming's poems, pastoral poetry is the most representative. The artistic charm of this pastoral poem lies not so much in its true portrayal of rural life as in its sustenance of Tao Yuanming's ideal of life. The pastoral is highly purified and beautified by Tao Yuanming's poetic structure and becomes a spiritual refuge in the painful world.
Tao Yuanming's thought is a special "natural" philosophy, which is based on the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi and harmonizes the thoughts of Confucianism and Taoism. His ideal society is a "natural" society. He often praised the pure and indisputable ancient world invented by Confucianism and the social model of small countries and few people advocated by Taoism as an ideal world. For example, the poem "Encourage Agriculture" says: "You were born in ancient times, proud and self-sufficient, simple and true." The poem "Fu Bao" said: "Huang can't catch it, he is alone." The poem "Drinking" said: "Xi Nong has been away from me for a long time, and there are few true feelings in the world!" The same idea, with the help of novels, is vividly expressed in The Peach Blossom Spring. In this "natural" society, everyone works intensively, lives honestly, and there is no competition, no fraud, and even no monarch or minister. In Tao Yuanming's view, history is a process of degeneration. Due to people's excessive material desires, endless competition has resulted in all kinds of hypocritical, pretentious and cruel behaviors, which have plunged society into darkness. However, in ancient times, leisure was hard to find and heaven was nowhere to be found. Tao Yuanming can only regard simple rural life as a realistic but very limited sustenance of his social ideal. A large number of his pastoral poems not only reflect his life in his hometown, but also reflect that a considerable part of his content is not completely realistic, but the result of processing realistic materials according to certain concepts. The poem "Returning to the Garden" has a long reputation and has similar characteristics: it is not suitable for vulgar rhyme, and nature loves autumn mountains. I sneaked into the official career network and have been away from the game for more than ten years. Birds in cages are often attached to the forests of the past, and fish in ponds yearn for the abyss of the past. I want to open up wasteland in Minamino and keep my humility to the fields. The house is surrounded by about ten acres of land, thatched cottages. Willow trees cover the eaves, and peach trees cover Li Lieman in front of the hospital. The neighboring village of the neighboring village is faintly visible, and there is smoke in the village. Several dogs barked in the alley, and the mulberry tree was barked by a rooster. There is no dust and sundries in the yard, and the quiet room is comfortable and leisurely. Trapped in a cage without freedom for a long time, I finally returned to the forest today. This poem is about a year after Peng was dismissed from his post and returned to his hometown, expressing his joy of returning home. In the middle of the scenery, the following four sentences of "Fang Zhai" outline the simplicity and beauty of their residence with simple pen and ink; "It's warm in a distant village, and there is smoke in a market in Iraq", and the sight turns to the distance, which makes the whole picture present a leisurely, empty, quiet and peaceful charm. The author takes this as the opposite of the dirty and noisy officialdom-the so-called "cage"-to express his social ideal and life concept. "Nature" ending with "return to nature" refers to both natural environment and natural life. As a part of natural life, Tao Yuanming's pastoral poems also wrote about agricultural labor; During his retirement, he also participated in farming. What is the significance of his manual labor in his economic life? About is very limited, even, perhaps is dispensable. The practical significance of this farming is that it embodies a belief of Tao Yuanming. "Geng Xunian's September Harvest of Early Rice in Westfield" begins with: "Life belongs to the Tao, and food and clothing are solid. I don't want to camp, but I want to be safe! " Self-cultivation and self-reliance are ideal social and personal lifestyles. Although the poet can't actually do this, he tried, which is remarkable. At the same time, he said, "Isn't Tian Jia bitter? It is difficult to resign. Four-body sincerity is fatigue, and ordinary people are no different from doing it. Wash under the eaves and fight for wine. " Here, I wrote about the hardships of manual labor and the psychological peace and happiness it brought. Among similar poems, the most beautiful artistic conception is "Returning to the Garden" (III): beans are planted at the foot of Nanshan, the grass is full of beans, and the seedlings are sparse. Get up early in the morning to get rid of weeds, and come back with hoes in the moonlight at night. The narrow path covered with vegetation, the night dew wet my clothes. It's not a pity to get wet, but I hope it won't be against my will. The last two sentences once again show that Tao Yuanming's writing about rural life and physical labor is actually singing his own ideals and showing the joy of realizing them.
The above mainly analyzes the social ideal embodied in Tao Yuanming's pastoral poems, as well as his thoughts on personal life style in society. In addition, Tao Yuanming's pastoral poems also involve the question that literature has been focusing on since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty: What is the meaning and value of life? How can life be liberated? In this regard, we first see that Tao Yuanming is more anxious about the fact that life is short than anyone in his contemporaries. There are only over a hundred of his poems, but dozens of them mention "old" and "dead". However, in philosophy, he has an open-minded explanation, which is most clearly expressed in the group poem "Form, Shadow and Spirit". The poet borrowed the dialogue style of ci and fu, which made Xing put forward the attitude of people who indulge in drinking and forget everything (which is close to 19 ancient poems), so that he should emphasize the pursuit of achievements and make a name for himself (which is close to Jian 'an literature). In fact, both of them are hard for Tao Yuanming to give up, but as the final philosophical conclusion, he denied them in the third book "Analysis of God", thinking that daily drunkenness hurts life, which is just an external pursuit and meaningless. It should be: "The waves are getting bigger and bigger. I don't like them and I'm not afraid." You should do your best, there is no need to worry about it. "That is, naturalization, without consciously pursuing something other than life, is liberation without seeking liberation. The connotation of this "natural" philosophy has been reflected in the picturesque pastoral poems. For example, the most famous poem "Drinking" in Tao Shi is the fifth one: building a house in a person's environment, but there are no chariots and horses. What can you do? The heart is far from being self-centered. Picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, you can see Nanshan leisurely. The mountains are getting better and better, and the birds are back. This makes sense. I forgot to say it if I wanted to defend myself. The first four sentences say that as long as you have foresight, you will not be disturbed by the world. Besides, picking chrysanthemums in Dongli, I accidentally met Nanshan (Lushan Mountain), felt the mystery of creation in the twilight and purple haze, and realized the true meaning of life. Although it is clearly stated in the poem that "I want to argue but forget what I said", the life truth implied by a series of images in this poem can still be explored if we examine it in connection with other works of Tao Yuanming. Don't the eternity of Nanshan, the atmospheric beauty of mountains and the freedom of birds reflect the greatness, perfection and richness of nature, especially self-sufficiency, and have no other essence? Then, in the short life of mankind, what else can we pursue except to return to nature, conform to nature and feel the meaning of our life in the eternity, beauty and freedom of nature? So this poem is still the sustenance of Tao Yuanming's life ideal, but it is different.
Of course, this outlook on life in poetry is only a poetic and philosophical yearning. Because people can't get rid of the pursuit of self-realization on a certain object, nor can they get rid of the contradiction of real interests. But as a philosophical reflection on life, it is valuable; As the essence of poetry, it brings unique effects. To sum up, Tao Yuanming's social outlook and outlook on life are all centered on "nature". The society he yearns for is a society that is peaceful, self-cultivation, without competition, hypocrisy, mutual oppression and harm; The life he pursues is simple and sincere, indifferent to lofty ideals, entrusted with transportation, and has no external demand; His favorite living environment is also a quiet and natural country. Because of these pursuits, most of his pastoral poems present a diluted and peaceful appearance, which was called "silence" by predecessors, but behind it, they are full of hatred and anxiety about the real society and the short life. In other words, "silence" is an aesthetic realm constructed under the control of "natural" philosophy, and the internal motivation to arouse this pursuit is precisely a high degree of anxiety. The most concentrated part of Tao's poems is writing about rural life. In addition, his representative works include Relocation, Master Book of the Republic of China, Ode to the Poor, Miscellaneous Poems, Poems of Complaining and Master Book of Pang Zhizhong.
However, Tao Yuanming is not the only one whose main feature is to downplay peace. He also wrote some poems directly related to real politics or directly expressing his strong inner feelings. For example, the poem "Drinking Wine" is obscure, but its content is related to some political events in the Jin and Song Dynasties, so there is no doubt. Another example is "A Long History of Grazing Sheep". I'm glad to have Yixi's Northern Expedition to break Chang 'an's thirteen-year Song Wudi Yu War. "Sage, everything is in the capital. Don't forget to swim and don't cross the river. The nine realms have just merged into one, and death will manage the boat. " It embodies the distinct national feelings. In addition, several articles in Ode to Jing Ke and Reading the Classics of Mountains and Seas express sympathy, admiration and praise for some heroic images in history and myths and legends, although they are still glorious and never give up, and have a generous and tragic style. At the end of Ode to Jing Ke, I said, "I'm not good at fencing. Sorry, I can't do my wonderful work." Although he is dead, he has been in love for a thousand years! "It clearly reveals the passion in the poet's heart. Another example is an article in "Reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas": Jingwei holds the micro-wood and will fill the sea. Xingtian United and danced, aiming high. Similarly, all beings have no residual sorrow, become foreign bodies and have no remorse. The past that has just been fixed in my heart, good morning can wait! Jing Wei is a humble bird, but he has the ambition to fill the sea. The stars and the sky broke their heads and resisted, all showing the great spirit of not giving in to fate. The last two sentences are about Jingwei and Xingtian, and also about myself: Although there was Mr. Thank you in the past, I didn't have time to fulfill my wish! The factual background of these poems cannot be proved conclusively, but at least it shows that Tao Yuanming still yearns for a strong and productive life in seclusion. Mr. Lu Xun pointed out that Tao poetry has both a "quiet" and a "carefree" side, and it also has a "king kong glare" side, mainly referring to these works. However, it should be noted that the two are not diametrically opposed. Judging from the origin of poetry, Tao Yuanming has a long history of Ruan Ji. This is mainly manifested in his poems expressing deep feelings, expressing his exploration of life, using philosophical observation and using the form of group poems. On the other hand, Tao poetry is obviously influenced by metaphysical poetry. This is not only reflected in many metaphysical words in his poems, in his plain language style, but also in his understanding of the relationship between man and nature. In Ruan Ji's poems, the eternity of nature contrasts with the brevity of life, and people feel strong oppression in front of nature; However, in the metaphysical poems of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was transformed into people's understanding and pursuit of nature. When Tao Yuanming arrived, he put forward the concept of returning to nature more clearly, and the consciousness of harmony between man and nature became the decisive factor of the unique artistic conception of Tao poetry. Of course, Tao poetry attaches importance to expressing philosophy through artistic images rather than abstract language, which is essentially different from the boring metaphysical poetry.
Wei Zhi (580-643) was born in Guantao (now Hebei). He lost his parents when he was a child, and his family was poor, but he loved reading and ignored family affairs. He used to be a monk. At the end of the great cause of Sui Dynasty, Wei Zhi was appointed as Minister of Yuanbao in Wuyang County (now northeast of Daming, Hebei Province) of Sui Dynasty. After Yuan Baoju surrendered to Shi Mi, he was appointed by Shi Mi as a marshal's office document to join the army, specializing in document archives.
In the first year of Wude, Tang Gaozu (6 18), after Shimi failed, Wei Zhi entered Shanhaiguan and followed him to the Tang Dynasty, but it was useless for a long time. The following year, Wei Zhi invited him to appease Hebei. After the imperial edict was granted, he took a post station to Liyang (now Xunxian County, Henan Province) to persuade Xu Shiqi, the commander of Liyang, to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. Soon, Dou Jiande occupied Liyang, and Wei Zhi was also captured. After Dou Jiande's defeat, Wei Zhi returned to Chang 'an and was quoted by Prince Li as a member of the East Palace. Wei Zhi saw the contradiction between the prince and Li Shimin, the king of Qin, deepening day by day, and repeatedly advised Cheng Jian to take the initiative and start work as soon as possible.
After the change of Xuanwu Gate, Li Shimin, who had long valued his courage, not only didn't blame him, but appointed him as an admonition officer, often introducing the imperial palace to inquire about political gains and losses. Kevin·Z likes to be the master of every intimate friend, helping him wholeheartedly, knowing everything and talking about everything. Coupled with his honest and frank personality, he often argued and never compromised. On one occasion, Emperor Taizong asked Wei Zhi, "What is a wise monarch and what is a dark monarch? Wei Zhi replied, "You are smart because you listen, and you are dark because you believe. In the past, Qin Ershi lived in the palace, but he didn't see the minister. He just trusted eunuch Zhao Gao and was kept in the dark until after the chaos. Emperor Yang Di preferred Historical Records, and many counties in the world fell, but he didn't know it. " Taizong deeply agreed with these words.
In the first year of Zhenguan (837), Wei Zhi was promoted to Zuo Cheng as prime minister. At this time, someone told him to promote his relatives to be officials privately. Emperor Taizong immediately sent an ancient imperial doctor, Wen Yanbo, to investigate the matter. As a result, there was no evidence, which was a false accusation. However, Emperor Taizong sent someone to tell Wei Zhi: "We should stay away from suspicion in the future and never create such troubles again." Wei Zhi immediately said, "I heard that the monarch and ministers help each other, and justice is one. If justice is not done and suspicion is avoided, then the rise and fall of the country may be unknown. " And asked Tang Taizong to make himself a good minister rather than a loyal minister. Emperor Taizong asked what was the difference between a loyal minister and a good minister. Wei Zhi replied: "It is a good minister to be able to justify himself, to make the monarch a wise monarch, and to have children, and to have no boundaries." Killing yourself, turning the monarch into a tyrant, losing his home and country, is a loyal minister in name only. In this respect, the two are far from each other. " Taizong nodded.
In the second year of Zhenguan (628), Wei Zhi was appointed as the secretariat, in charge of state affairs. Soon, the eldest grandson heard that an official surnamed Zheng had a daughter, only sixteen or seventeen years old, with both talent and appearance, which was unique in Beijing. He told Emperor Taizong to take him into the palace as a concubine. Emperor Taizong appointed this woman as his concubine. Wei Zhi heard that this woman had been betrothed to the Lujia, and immediately went to the palace to remonstrate: "Your Majesty is a parent and cares about the people, so you should worry about their worries and enjoy them. Living in a palace pavilion, we should think that all people have the safety of their houses; Eating delicacies, we should think that the people are free from hunger and cold; When concubines are in the courtyard, you should think that they are happy with their families. Now, Zheng Min's daughter has been betrothed to Lujia, and your majesty took her into the palace without asking in detail. If the rumor goes out, is it for the parents of the people? After hearing this, Emperor Taizong was shocked and immediately felt guilty and decided to take it back. However, Fang and others believe that the promise of the Zheng family is false and insist on the validity of the imperial edict. Lujia also sent someone to hand in the form, indicating that although there were wealth exchanges before, they were not engaged. At this time, emperor Taizong with a grain of salt, and called Wei Zhi to ask. He said bluntly, "Lu refused to admit it because he was afraid that your majesty would use it to harm him in the future." The reason is clear. No wonder. " Emperor Taizong suddenly realized this, so he resolutely withdrew the imperial edict.
Because Wei Zhi was able to protest face to face, even if Emperor Taizong was furious, he dared to argue face to face and never gave in. Therefore, Emperor Taizong sometimes felt awe of him. On one occasion, Emperor Taizong wanted to go hunting in Qinling for fun, and all his luggage was ready, but he couldn't make it. Later, when Kevin·Z asked about this matter, Emperor Taizong replied with a smile: "I did have this intention at the beginning, but I was afraid that you would tell me again, so I quickly dismissed it." On another occasion, Emperor Taizong got a good kite and carried it on his shoulder. He was very proud. But when he saw Wei Zhi coming towards him from a distance, he quickly hid the bird in his arms. Wei Zhi deliberately played for a long time, causing the kite to suffocate in his arms.
In the sixth year of Zhenguan, the ministers invited Taizong to meditate on Mount Tai. In order to show off achievements and national prosperity, only Wei Zhi objected. Emperor Taizong was surprised, so he asked Wei Zhi, "You don't advocate meditation. Do you think that my contribution is not high, my virtue is disrespectful, China is uneasy, my clothes are worn out at the end of four years, and my harvest is not abundant? " Wei Zhi replied: "Your Majesty has the above-mentioned Liu De, but since the chaos in the world at the end of Sui Dynasty, the registered permanent residence has not been restored until now, and the warehouse is still empty. Driving here and there and riding thousands of miles is expensive, which is unbearable for the people along the way. Besides, your meditation is bound to be a gathering of all nations, and Yuanjun will also be a squire. Nowadays, the Central Plains is vast and sparsely populated, and there are many shrubs. When ambassadors of all countries and commanders in Yuan Yi see that China is so weak, won't they feel contempt? If the reward is not good, it will not satisfy the desires of these distant people; Exempting and taxing taxes is far from rewarding people's expenses. Why does your majesty want to do such a thing that only seeks fame but actually harms? Soon, floods occurred in several states in the Central Plains, and the matter of Guan Chan went away.
Zhenguan seven years (633), supplemented by Kevin·Z on behalf of the baron. At the end of the same year, Huangfu Deshen of Zhongmu County wrote to Taizong: "Building Luoyang Palace will harm the people; Collecting land rent is too much; Women like to wear a high bun, which is very popular in the palace. Emperor Taizong was furious when he received the book and said to the prime ministers, "Deccan wants the country not to serve one person and not to collect land rent. The rich have no money, which is exactly what he wants. "Want to cure HuangFuDeShen libel. Wei Zhi protested: "Since ancient times, the writing style has not been extreme, and it can't touch people's hearts. The so-called madman's words, saints choose good and follow. Please consider this truth. Finally, he stressed: "Your Majesty is not outspoken recently, but he is not as open-minded and natural as before." Emperor Taizong felt that Wei Zhi had a point, so he turned anger into joy. Instead of punishing Huang Fude, he was promoted to supervise the empire.
In the tenth year of Zhenguan (636), Wei Zhi was ordered to preside over the compilation of Sui Shu, Zhou Shu, Liang Shu, Shaanxi Shu and Shu Qi (known as the History of the Five Dynasties), which lasted seven years and the manuscript was completed. Among them, the prefaces of Sui Shu, Liang Shu, Chen Shu and Shu Qi were all written by Zheng Wei, and they were praised as "good history". In June of the same year, Wei Zhi, who suffered from eye diseases, asked to remove his assistant. Although Emperor Taizong appointed him full-time, he still put him in charge of provincial affairs, and his salary, rewards and other benefits were exactly the same as those of officials.
In the twelfth year of Zhenguan (638), Wei Zhi saw that Emperor Taizong was getting lazy, lazy in politics and pursuing extravagance, so he wrote the famous "Ten Gradually Difficult Situation" and listed ten changes in his attitude at the beginning of his reign. He also taught Emperor Taizong the "Ten Thoughts", that is, "When you see what you can do, you must think about contentment, when you are happy, you must think about Zhi Zhi, when you are in high risk, you must think about humility, when you are full, you must think about future troubles, when you are happy, you must think about procrastination, when you are sick, you must think about yourself, and when you are rewarded, you must think about arrogance.
In the 16th year of Zhenguan (642), Wei Zhi was ill in bed, and the envoys sent by Emperor Taizong watched from across the road. Wei Zhi was thrifty all his life and had no family to stay overnight. Emperor Taizong immediately ordered that all materials for building a small hall for himself should be used to build a big house for Kevin·Z. Soon, Wei Zhi died at home. Emperor Taizong personally mourned and wept bitterly, saying, "My husband can dress himself up with bronze as a mirror; Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall; Take people as a mirror, you can know the gains and losses. I have kept these three mirrors in case I miss them. Now Wei Zhi is dead. He died in a mirror.