Biographical history book
"Historical Records"
"Historical Records", originally called "Tai Shi Gong Shu", is both the first biographical general history of our country and the The first collection of biographical literature in my country. It records more than three thousand years of history from the legendary Yellow Emperor to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Sima Qian (about 145 BC - 90 BC), named Zichang, was born in Xiayang (now Hancheng, Shaanxi) in the Western Han Dynasty. He began to receive education when he was about ten years old. He studied "" "Guwen Shangshu" and "Gongyang Chunqiu", his thoughts are mainly Confucianism, but also have elements of Huang-Lao's learning. His father Sima Tan, when he was serving as Taishi Ling, wanted to write a history book to commend "a wise ruler, a wise king, and a loyal minister who died righteously", but he failed to do so. In the third year of Yuanfeng (108 BC), when Sima Qian was thirty-eight years old, his son inherited his father's legacy and succeeded him as Taishi Ling. In order to fulfill his father's last wish, he wrote "Historical Records". By the second year of Zhenghe (91 BC) ) was completed.
"Historical Records" includes twelve chronicles, thirty families, ten lists, eight books, seventy biographies, one hundred and thirty articles, and 526,500 words.
"This Chronicle" is the outline of the book. It uses time as the outline and records the emperor's verbal and administrative achievements and major events in various aspects by year and month. Some chapters in the Pre-Qin Dynasty are organized according to dynasties (such as "Xia Benji", "Yin Benji", "Zhou Benji", etc.), while some in Qin and Han Dynasties are organized into chapters according to emperors (such as "Qin Shihuang's Benji", "Gaozu's Benji", etc.). If the year can be tested, it will be divided into years; if the year cannot be tested, it will be divided into generations.
"Biao" was first created by Sima Qian. It records the major events of the princes and kings in the form of tables, and concisely arranges lineages, characters and events. These include world tables, lunar tables (such as "Moon Table between Qin and Chu") and chronological tables (such as "Chronology of the Six Kingdoms"), with a clear context.
"Book" refers to the "Eight Books" : Rites, Music, Bing, Laws and Calendars, Tianguan, Fengchan, Hequ, Pingzhun, which records the laws and regulations of the past dynasties, social economy, astronomy, laws and calendars, rivers and canals geography, etc. The important affairs of the country are recorded in special topics.
"Family" records the history of hereditary princes, as well as individual famous figures (such as "The Family of Confucius").
"Biographies". It mainly focuses on representatives of various social strata, and also covers the customs and deeds of the four barbarian countries. "Biography" includes special biography (one biography for one person, such as "The Biography of Wu Zixu" and "The Biography of Mengchang Jun"), and combined biography (two or more people). Biography of a person, such as "The Biography of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Shen (Buha) and Han (Fei)"), type biography (combined biography of a person, such as "The Biography of Scholars"). All biographies also include appendices, which function as the main biography and indicate the priorities of the characters in the biographies. Some appendices only include their names, and generally list their descendants. , Relatives and Friends.
1. Characteristics of "Historical Records"
Sima Qian once said that he wrote "Historical Records" not only to record historical facts, but also to write a comprehensive book. It is a new history book with extensive content and novel style, covering ancient and modern times. It aims to "study the relationship between heaven and man, understand the changes in ancient and modern times, and form a family story" ("Book of Bao Ren'an")
1. It is uniquely endowed with natural resources, fully prepared, and comprehensive information.
It is no accident that Sima Qian became a famous historian through the ages. Before writing "Historical Records", he made full preparations: "At the age of twenty, he traveled south to the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, went to Kuaiji, explored Yu's cave, and had a glimpse of Jiuyi. , floating in Yuan and Xiang, crossing Wen and Si in the north, talking about the capital of Qi and Lu, observing the legacy of Confucius, the countryside shot Zou and Yi, and was trapped in Po, Xue and Pengcheng, and returned to Liang and Chu." (" "Historical Records·Tai Shi Gong's Preface") Sima Qian made the motivation for the Zhuang Tour very clear, that is, he was not satisfied with the book knowledge of "the world's relics and ancient events, and collected Tai Shi Gong's endless collection", but purposefully and plannedly went to the real society to make contributions. On-the-spot investigation, contact with the magnificent rivers and mountains of the country and the living customs of people in various places, observe the situation of mountains and rivers, understand and search for ancient, modern and contemporary historical legends and various historical materials, visit old people and relics, collect historical rumors, and collect historical rumors very carefully He researched historical facts and clarified a lot of historical data through on-the-spot social investigation. He himself called this grand tour "collecting the world and letting go of the old news" ("Tai Shi Gong's Preface"). The emergence of "Historical Records" also depends on Sima Qian's family background and private book collection conditions. During the Zhou Dynasty, Sima's ancestors had been historians for many generations. The legacy of learning still exists. Sima Chang and Sima Wuze successively served as capital officials during the Qin and Han Dynasties. There were ancient banned books in their homes. Precautions should have been taken before Qin Shihuang burned the books, so Sima Tan was able to revive the family's unique learning, making Sima Qian ten years old. He was able to recite ancient Chinese at the age of 10.
In addition, Sima Qian's family background also provided him with an innate advantage in writing historical records. Sima Cuo, the eighth ancestor of Sima Qian, was a famous general of the Qin State during the Warring States Period. Sima Qian's ancestors moved from the Jin Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty and lived in Shaoliang. They were in the battlefield between Qin, Jin and Qin and Wei. They had been baptized by the storms of war, which led to the emergence of famous generals in the Sima family in large numbers. Sima Qian was influenced by his family knowledge, so he recorded the war vividly.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "built a book collection, rushed out the officials who wrote the books, and filled the secret palace with the legends of various scholars" ("Hanshu Yiwenzhi"), which provided Sima Qian with rich historical documents. These materials include classics, history, Fu, Zhuan, Zi, Sao, imperial edicts, merit records, etc.
Furthermore, when Sima Qian's father Sima Tan was appointed as Taishi Ling, he had already made considerable preparations for the compilation of history books. Sima Qian himself said that writing "Historical Records" was "the father and son usurping their business one after another."
2. Five-body structure, flexible narrative, and true historical events
Sima Qian drew on the strengths of many ancient books and creatively used five genre structures in "Historical Records" to create a novel A great history book that spans three thousand years and covers all aspects of history. The emperors are recorded in "Ben Ji", the princes are recorded in "Family", the subjects are recorded in "Biographies", the dates of major events are recorded in "Ten Tables", and the evolution of the system is recorded in "Eight Books". This complete style makes "Historical Records" 》Reflects the activities of all levels of society and the truth of human history. The five styles of "Historical Records" each have their own writing techniques. When viewed separately, each style forms an independent system, complete from beginning to end. In terms of connecting the clues of historical development, each has different aspects and focus; when viewed together, the five styles , and it is a whole that is tightly organized and integrated with each other. Precisely because of its complete format, it can accommodate rich historical materials and cover everything from politics, economy, culture, academics, nation, society, as well as natural astrology, calendar, geography, etc. within a limited space. As the Qing Dynasty historian Zhao Yi said: "Sima Qian considered the past and present, initiated routines, and created the whole history." "From then on, the rules were fixed, and the historians of the past dynasties could not go beyond their scope. This is the ultimate rule of historians." ( "Twenty-Two Historical Notes")
Making exceptions and making exceptions (the so-called "setting up exceptions" and "breaking exceptions" are relative terms) are a reflection of Sima Qian's innovative spirit in "Historical Records". Without examples and lack of standards, the narrative of historical facts will inevitably become chaotic. If we stick to established conventions, we will not be able to capture the rich historical content and will inevitably fall into rigidity. Therefore, the flexible use of exceptions and exceptions is an objective need of history.
Although "Historical Records" is mainly classified into five styles: Benji, family, biography, book, and table, in its specific application, "exceptions" are made at any time according to the nature of historical facts, which can be said to be flexible and changeable. , free control. This kind of exception is commonly used to connect the five bodies with the "mutual recognition method". The "Mutual Interpretation Method" is a narrative method created by Sima Qian to meet the needs of the five types of chronicles and biographies. Specifically, a person's deeds and a historical event are scattered into several chapters to complement each other. This narrative method has been skillfully used in "Historical Records", which has both historical function and literary value. Su Xun of the Song Dynasty was the first to discuss the method of mutual recognition. He said:
It was passed down to Lian Po who was planning to save Yan, but he was not allowed to do so, so he passed it on to Zhao She. It was passed down by Hou Hou. Fu Po and Shi Shi both have ten meritorious deeds, but one is better than one. If one of them is listed as one but only has ten flaws, the mediocre people in the future will say: "Wisdom is like an honest Po, discernment is like Li Shi Shi, but ten merits cannot redeem one fault." It's hard to be lazy. Therefore, if the original biography is obscure, but someone else spreads it, then its goodness is not hidden but also obvious!
"The original biography obscures it, but others pass it on" is not only the most concise summary of the mutual understanding method, but also a full disclosure of its literary function. Li Li's "Historical Records Supplement", Zhang Xuecheng's "Literature and History General Meanings", Jin Dejun's "Historical Records Interpretations" and other books also elaborate on this point. They basically reveal the role of the mutual recognition method from a historical perspective. . In essence, the mutual understanding method is a reflection of Sima Qian's use of historical comparison method in historical research. It generally connects and compares historical figures and historical events, organizes the materials with things that best reflect the essence of the characters and events, highlights the center of gravity, and then intersperses the spreading materials with other chapters. For example, in this era, the five emperors are combined into one era, with Xia, Shang, and Zhou each in one era. Xiang Yu, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Empress Lu, Emperor Xiaowen, Emperor Xiaojing, and Emperor Xiaowu are all in one era. This adopts the principle of being careful about what is near and how far away. . Neither Xiang Yu nor Empress Lu were emperors. They were included in this chronicle because they had a significant impact on the current situation. Both of them once dominated the world and commanded the world. The same is true for the aristocratic family. It was originally a record of the lineage of princes, but Chen She and Confucius were both included in the aristocratic family. Some scholars once believed that this was "an impure example" or "confused by one's own example". In fact, this was the embodiment of Sima Qian's unique "historical knowledge".
3. Created the historical discussion method of "Tai Shi Gong Yue"
The "Tai Shi Gong Yue" in "Historical Records" is the customary preface, praise, and discussion. It is Sima Qian's unique initiative in the way of historical theory. "Tai Shi Gong Yue" is very rich in content, involving politics, economy, thought, culture, history, astronomy, geography, ethics, secularity, military, personnel affairs and so on. The style of "Tai Shi Gong Yue" is unique. It is discussion, textual research, or revelation. The writing style is vertical and horizontal, the language is concise, and the meaning is profound. It may praise or criticize characters, discuss historical events, or covertly ridicule. All of them have clear and direct views. Chest. All this constitutes Sima Qian's systematic historical theory. Sima Qian transformed all the quoted classics and other people's words, such as "Poetry", "Book", "Analects of Confucius", Zhuzi, etc. into his own language. In addition, in order to make his comments vivid and popular, he also quoted a large number of poems, songs and folk slang and proverbs. The form of "Tai Shi Gong Yue" is neat but flexible. The so-called neatness refers to the complete style of "Tai Shi Gong Yue", which is divided into three forms: preface, praise and argument - preface to the chapter, praise and argument after the chapter, and biography with narrative and discussion. The preface is placed at the beginning of the chapter and is a large paragraph of grand discussion, mainly concentrated in the Ten Tables, Eight Books and Analogous Biographies. Because the Ten Tables, Eight Books, and Lei Zhuan all connect ancient and modern times, the preface is used as a coherent summary, which elevates the article to a systematic and theoretical level.
Praise and comments are placed at the end of chapters of this era, famous families, and biographies. This century, the family, and the biographies arrange the characters in order, and the praise and commentaries are mainly used to praise and criticize the characters. The biographies are used to reveal meanings and examples, such as "Biography of Boyi", "Biography of Ri Zhe", "Biography of Guice", "Praise to Tianguan" and "Preface to Taishi Gong", which focus on the purpose of the narrative and are the general outline of the whole book. The three forms are neat, concentrated and unique. The so-called flexibility refers to flexibility within order. For example, in the Eight Books, "Li", "Yue", "Lü", and "Li" are in order but not in order; "Hequ" and "Pingzhun" are in order but not in order; "Feng Chan" is orderly and praised, "Tianguan" contains narratives and discussions, etc. Nevertheless, as for all the commentaries and praises in "Historical Records", not all of them are comments. Some describe travels, some supplement historical events, and some express anger. Flexible variations are exceptions, which are changes made to meet the needs of the content. As mentioned before, making exceptions is a major feature of "Historical Records". There are exceptions in all five styles of the book. Making exceptions and making exceptions are the manifestation of Sima Qian's excellent historical knowledge. Therefore, the form of "Tai Shi Gong Yue" is rich and colorful. of.
4. Adhere to the principle and method of "understanding the changes in ancient and modern times"
Regarding the relationship between ancient and modern times, Sima Qian insisted on "change" and "detailing the present and sketching the ancient" and "detailing the changes and sketching the gradual" (detailed in times of change, brief in times of peace), and under the guidance of these two principles, the history of change is rewritten. The one hundred and thirty chapters of "Historical Records" run through nearly three thousand years of history. In the more than two thousand years of ancient history of the Five Emperors and Three Dynasties, there are only five chronicles of the Five Emperors, Xia, Yin, Zhou, and Qin, and two chronologies of the Three Dynasties and the Twelve Princes, including Boyi, Guan Yan, Laozi, Han Fei, and Sima Juju. There are fourteen biographies of seven figures including Sun Tzu, Wu Zixu, and Zhongni's disciples. There are seven chapters covering ancient history, twelve chapters on aristocratic families, and biographies of five ethnic groups. The total number of chapters written about ancient history is thirty-four, with more than 100,000 words. However, the history of the Han Dynasty, which spans just over a hundred years, accounts for 62 special chapters, and there are 13 chapters that also cover the history of the Han Dynasty, for a total of 75 chapters, more than half of the chapters. "Historical Records" describes and records the history in detail in four stages: 1. The founding period of the Western Zhou Dynasty; 2. The entire Warring States period; 3. The changes of the Qin and Han Dynasties; 4. The period of Emperor Wu's founding of the Yuan Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. What these four stages have in common are periods of historical change. The total of the four stages is less than three hundred years, but the length is more than three-quarters. In other words, the nearly three thousand years of history in "Historical Records" uses more than 526,000 words, while the period of change is only three One hundred years, but it takes up nearly 400,000 words. For example, "Zhou Benji" has more than 17,000 words. The two hundred years of Western Zhou history account for about two-thirds of the length, while the more than five hundred years of Eastern Zhou history only accounts for one-third, and the Western Zhou part is particularly detailed. It writes about the founding history of the country when King Wen, King Wu and Duke Zhou assisted King Cheng. The advantage of highlighting "change" is that it makes the historical narrative ups and downs, concise and profound, and focused. The purpose of "overcoming changes in the past and present" under the guidance of "detailing the present and briefing on the past" and "detailing changes and brief changes" is to focus on the present and the future, and learn from the past. Sima Qian gave a theoretical description of the present and the past and drawing lessons from the past: "A wild proverb says: 'Never forget the past, you will be the teacher of the future.' This means that a gentleman is the country, observes the past, experiences the present, and refers to Use human affairs to observe the principles of prosperity and decline, and judge the appropriateness of power, and the removal will be orderly, and changes will occur occasionally, so the country will be stable for a long time." This shows that Sima Qian's purpose of summarizing historical experience and lessons is to meet the needs of reality. "Observe the past, experience the present, and participate in human affairs." The three are combined with each other to "observe the principles of prosperity and decline" and find the rules for governing the country, so as to "evaluate the appropriateness of power" and adopt appropriate governance methods to achieve the goal. The long-term peace and stability of the country.
Sima Qian’s theory of “understanding the changes from ancient times to the present” is mainly concentrated in his Ten Tables Preface. For example, the "Preface to the Chronology of the Great Ancestor's Meritorious Ministers" says: "In today's world, we aspire to the ancient ways, so we may not all be the same. Emperors have different rituals and duties. If we want to take success as the unified discipline, how can we continue to do so?" Really? Looking at the reasons for being respected and favored, as well as the reasons for being despised and disgraced, are also the same as the gains and losses in the world. Why bother with old news?" He not only recognized that the past should be used as a mirror, but also emphasized that the past and the present are different and cannot be confused. This shows that Sima Qian has a clear understanding of the past and the present. Dialectical thinking of change. "Preface to the Chronology of the Six Kingdoms" says: "The contingency changes of the Warring States Period were also admirable, so why go back to ancient times? The Qin Dynasty conquered the world violently, but the changes in the world led to great success. Why is it said that 'the King of Dharma' is used? It is similar to others in disguise, and it is easy to practice when talking about inferiority." This means that we should pay close attention to the present and ignore the past, and adopt the method of emulating the king. "Preface to the Monthly List of Qin and Chu" says: "Tai Shigong read Qin and Chu: The first trouble was caused by Chen She; the Qin was destroyed by cruelty and violence, and the Xiang family was his own; the chaos and violence were brought to an end, the country was pacified, and the emperor was executed. Zha was born in the Han Dynasty. Within five years, he gave orders to three masters. Since the birth of the people, there has never been such an urgency to receive orders. "This means that the historical experience in the period of violent turmoil should be easily summarized. Sima Qian paid special attention to the historical experience of the Qin Dynasty, and his purpose was to teach the rulers at that time a lesson.
Sima Qian also proposed a series of methods and theories to explore the laws of governing chaos in ancient and modern societies. The most important ones are two principles: one is to "originally observe the end, see the prosperity and decline", and the other is to create similar patterns. Biography and combined biography, making a vertical and horizontal comparison between ancient and modern times. "Original observation and end" refers to tracing its origin and examining its beginning, which means observing its origin, process, development and results through the entire process of historical evolution. "Seeing prosperity and watching decline" means that when things are prosperous, they must see their future decay and transformation. Sima Qian used these eight words to summarize the development of human social history. Throughout history, human society is actually a continuous process of continuous rise and fall, change, and development. To grasp the laws of its development, we must not only study it as a whole, but also examine it in stages.
According to the continuity of historical development, the previous stage is the cause of the later stage, and the latter stage is the result of the previous stage. The five-part structure of "Historical Records" is arranged in stages in chronological order. Sima Qian divided the historical stages according to the law of "change" and the detailed historical facts. The detailed changes are gradual. This is the historical perspective of "seeing the prosperity and observing the decline". What needs to be emphasized is that it was the method of "original observation of the end, observation of the prosperity and decline" created by Sima Qian that divided the continuous history, established the ancient historical chronology, and led the historical narrative to a scientific level. trail of. This theory and practice of Sima Qian was the highest level of the simple historical materialism of his era. As for analog biography and combined biography, they are the compilation methods and research methods created by Sima Qian.
If you look at the value and significance of analogous biographies and combined biographies from a research perspective, you will find that the purpose of following analogous biographies, combined biographies, and the arrangement of seventy biographies is to make a vertical and horizontal analysis of history. Comparatively, such as "Biographies of Zhongni's Disciples", "Biographies of Laozi and Han Fei", "Biographies of Mencius and Xunqing", "Biographies of Scholars", etc. These biographies have made a systematic discussion of the changes and development of academics, dividing the origins and combining them, and providing clues. distinct. "The Biography of Mencius and Xunqing" summarizes the outline of hundreds of schools of thought during the Warring States Period. It is a kind of biography, and at the same time it uses the title of combined biography, which highlights that the two schools of Mencius and Xunqing are the mainstream of Confucianism. In "The Biography of Laozi and Han Fei" (or "The Biography of Laozi, Zhuang, Shen and Han"), the reason why Sima Qian ranked Han Fei and Shen Buhe of Legalism together with Laozi and Zhuangzi of Taoism was to show the origin of the two academics. Relationship, such as Han Fei's works "Jie Lao" and "Yu Lao". "The Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng" was written by Sima Qian, who believed that both Jia Sheng and Qu Yuan had similar experiences because of their unfulfilled ambitions, so he biographed them together to alert the world.
In short, in order to "understand the changes between ancient and modern times", Sima Qian created the methods of analogy and combined biography, with the purpose of emphasizing learning from the past in historical analogies. This progressive view of history still has its unique value and significance today. Sima Qian's method and theory of "understanding the changes of ancient and modern times" are also worth learning from.
5. The spirit of straight writing
Also known as straight writing or factual records, it is a fine tradition of Chinese historiography. Historians of all ages have respected this spirit of "Historical Records". Ban Gu cited Liu Xiang and Yang Xiong in "Hanshu·Sima Qian Biography" to praise "Historical Records": "Its writing is straightforward, its affairs are focused, it does not pretend to be beautiful, and it does not hide evil, so it is called a true record."
< p> Specifically manifested in the following aspects:(1) The text is straight and the facts are clear
"The text is straight and the facts are clear", this is the most basic spirit of the actual record, and it is also The most basic requirements for historical writing. It emphasizes that historians should write down historical events comprehensively and systematically based on objective facts, without making any distortions, exaggerations, or omissions. The higher standard for being faithful to actual records is not to keep a running account, but to be good at capturing typical events and characters. This is also a yardstick for measuring whether a historian has high foresight. The specific manifestation of this spirit is that Sima Qian wrote chronicles for Xiang Yu and Empress Lu, and established aristocratic families for Confucius and Chen She. In "Historical Records", Sima Qian showed social life in an all-round way. He wrote biographies of various characters, which reflected the essence of history. This is a higher realm of the spirit of recording. The basic requirement of the record spirit is to describe specific historical facts, not to follow popular customs and habits, but to be consistent with the original appearance of the facts, and to conduct detailed investigation and textual research on the rumored historical events. Sima Qian did an excellent job in these aspects. He explained the historical books he quoted in many chapters, such as "Yin Benji" "Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been adopted from "Books" and "Poetry", "The Chronicles of the Five Emperors" "I read "Spring and Autumn" and "Guoyu"", "The Chronology of the Heroes of the Great Ancestor" "I read the meritorious officials of the Great Ancestor and examine their first titles", etc. Another example is that in the "Tai Shi Gong Yue" in the Five Emperors, Xia, Yin, and Zhou chapters, Sima Qian explained the research on ancient history. The deeds of the Five Emperors were synthesized from various materials and "selected to express their elegance"; for The surnames of the Xia and Yin dynasties, the death of King Yu in Kuaiji, the customs of the Yin people, and when the Zhou family moved to Luoyi have also been carefully researched. As for Su Qin, Sima Qian did not follow the popular tradition to overturn his verdict. He explained in his praise: "Su Qin started from Lu Yan and connected the six kingdoms with each other. This is a man whose wisdom is superior to others. Therefore, I will list his actions and follow the order of time. No order. Su Qin behaves strangely and treacherously, so in folk talk, "Anyone with similar circumstances is attached to Su Qin." Many legends of attachment are attached to Su Qin. Due to Su Qin's premature death, Zhang Yi "exploited his shortcomings to support his theory and achieve balance." In order to promote himself, Zhang Yi deliberately exaggerated and slandered Su Qin, making "all the people in the world laugh at him". Therefore, Sima Qian objectively described Su Qin's deeds based on factual records, allowing readers to distinguish right from wrong. Another example is the Biography of Li Si, which records that Li Si, the Prime Minister of the Qin State, although he made great contributions to the Qin State, was eventually sentenced to death by five punishments, which aroused the sympathy of the world. Sima Qian used a dialectical method to list Li Si's achievements in assisting Qin Shihuang to unify the six countries. At the same time, he also described his responsibilities for conspiring with Zhao Gao, coveting high titles and salaries, and helping the second generation to commit cruelty. This shows that although his death was tragic, it was not regrettable. , virtually refuting the common theory that Li Si died out of loyalty.
China has despised women since ancient times, but Sima Qian had no such prejudice. In his writings, the images of women were objectively and fairly described. For example, Empress Lu entered the "Benji" and the concubines entered the "Aristocratic Family".
According to the factual records, Sima Qian truthfully exposed all the evil deeds of Empress Lu, but he did not accuse women of causing harm to the country and chaos in politics. Instead, he focused on the "resolute and cruel" character of Empress Lu and pointed out that she was a similar figure to Qin Shihuang. Not only that, Sima Qian also made a pragmatic evaluation of the social stability brought about by Empress Lu's inaction in politics, which is commendable. In "A Family of Wife and Relatives", Sima Qian first affirmed the role of the concubines in assisting the government, and raised women to a height that affects the rise and fall of the country. The positive and negative examples also illustrate that the development of society is inseparable from women.
Sima Qian faithfully recorded the role of women in various fields of social life. He was also the first historian in Chinese history to pay attention to women. The reason why he has such extraordinary insights and achievements is, as historian Ji Zhenhuai said: "The reason is very simple, it just implements the spirit of factual recording that historians should have."
(2) It is not false, Do not hide evil
This is a higher requirement of "writing straight to the core". It emphasizes that historians must not only record good and evil, but also "clear right and wrong" and "accept good and criticize evil", which means Historical figures should be praised for their good deeds and criticized for their evil deeds, and this should be done appropriately. Sima Qian opposed subjective assumptions: "Those who praise may exaggerate the truth, and those who criticize may exaggerate the truth." Sima Qian neither fully affirmed nor completely denied historical figures, but explained the development and changes of characters and events objectively and clearly, And make appropriate evaluations based on the facts, so as to achieve "no false beauty and no hidden evil." For example, although Sima Qian opposed the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty, he affirmed the Qin Dynasty's unification of the country and the series of systems it formulated; although he praised the unification of the Han family, he cleverly exposed and satirized some of the emperor's privacy and current affairs; even though Xiang Yu Shaping him into an all-powerful hero, he affirmed his achievements in destroying the Qin Dynasty, but also exposed and criticized his cruelty and inhumanity; Sima Qian vividly described Li Guang's bravery and patriotism, and sympathized with his experience, And he spoke highly of him, but he did not pretend to do so; although Sima Qian hated cruel officials very much, he also affirmed the cruel officials who were honest and did not violate the law. Throughout the "Historical Records", there are many examples of implementing this spirit. Only by reflecting objective reality can history provide truly valuable reference for future generations and serve as a warning.
(3) The critical spirit of "calligraphy is not hidden"
Sima Qian adhered to the intention of "combining good and evil" and boldly "stated the non-Chinese", and his writings mostly contained praise and criticism. As a historian, if you do not have a clear stance on love and hate, the courage to criticize reality, and the spirit of outspokenness, then your value and role as a historian will be lost. Sima Qian's "Reporting the Feud of the Han Dynasty" not only boldly criticized the supreme rulers of the Han Dynasty, such as Han Gaozu Liu Bang and Han Emperor Wu Liu Che, but also comprehensively exposed the entire social contradictions in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Even the Confucian scholars, who were polite and courteous and pursued honor and profit, also made profound "micro-textual ridicule". In Sima Qian's writings, Liu Bang, who "becomes emperor upon orders", is vividly portrayed as a selfish, mean, jealous, and ruthless image. Shusun Tong, Gongsun Hong, and Dong Zhongshu are representatives of Han Confucianism. Sima Qian, while affirming their respective achievements, also made meaningful satires on their personality weaknesses of these three famous figures. Shusun Tong drafted the Han Yi Law, but its shortcoming was "flattering"; Gongsun Hong advocated Confucianism, but its shortcoming was "fraudulence"; Dong Zhongshu governed the "Gongyang Spring and Autumn Period" and advocated great unification, but his problem was "breaching"; three The personal images are all vividly and vividly depicted. Sima Qian's account of the century-old history of the Han Dynasty focused on the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and profoundly exposed the social contradictions in all aspects of politics, economy, and culture at that time. "Biography of Cruel Officials" focuses on criticizing the cruel and dark bureaucratic politics; "Book of Pinghuai" criticizes the economic policy of excessive taxation; "Biography of Scholars" and "Biography of Gongsun Hong" criticize the cultural policy by exposing the ugliness of the flattery of Han Confucians; "Book of Fengchan" satirizes Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty for his superstition and wasting money and people. Among all these chapters, "Pinghuai Shu" points out the inner connections of each chapter and plays a supporting role. Sima Qian first inherited the Qin Dynasty from the Han Dynasty, and after recuperating and recuperating, he wrote about the prosperity of the people and the country. Then he wrote about Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who was vigorously prosperous and his work changed from prosperity to decline. Then he got to the point with "Things prospered and declined, and the changes were consolidated" and described Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in detail. Years of foreign wars, internal wars and agglomeration resulted in poverty for the people and the country. The story ends in the first year of Yuanfeng, and the ending is expressed by "seeing the prosperity and watching the decline", using Qin and Han as a warning to the rulers.
2. The literary contribution and influence of "Historical Records"
Although "Historical Records" is a famous historical work, each historical figure in Sima Qian's works has a distinctive personality and is ready to be revealed, giving it a Readers enjoy literary enjoyment as if they see the person and hear their voice. Historical writings themselves require that their works should be of a serious scientific nature, and the historical figures written must be real people and real events, and fiction and exaggeration are not allowed. Literary works require that the characters they create must be imaginative, iconic, and typical. The greatness of Sima Qian lies in the fact that he wrote a series of vivid historical figures with a literary pen, flawlessly combining history and literature. The narrative of "Historical Records" is mainly prose, with a blend of parallel and prose, long and short pauses, ups and downs, broad and unrestrained, and extraordinary momentum. In terms of characterization, he is good at pushing characters to the cusp of conflicts through tense struggle scenes and storytelling techniques, thereby expressing the characters' respective strengths, weaknesses and personality traits. In terms of language, the use of common sayings and colloquialisms at the time that fit the identity of the characters not only makes the characters vivid, but also facilitates the public's understanding.
Therefore, "Historical Records" was recognized by society as soon as it came out, and was recognized by later generations as an excellent work of classical biographical literature.
Judging from the historical process, the literary achievements of "Historical Records" can be divided into four aspects: first, before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was believed that the literary characteristics of "Historical Records" lay in the gorgeous diction and concise articles; , the Tang Dynasty people focused on the prose achievements and artistic style of "Historical Records"; third, the Ming and Qing Dynasties believed that the article structure of "Historical Records" was twists and turns, and the character portrayal had the form of a novel; fourth, modern literary theorists comprehensively and systematically elaborated All the artistic techniques used by "Historical Records" in shaping the typical images of historical biographies. The literary achievements and contributions of "Historical Records" are multifaceted, including biographical literature, prose achievements, character images, and language use. In every aspect, Sima Qian can be called a master. Of course, the highest achievement of the literature of "Historical Records" is the creation of biographical literature based on the actual recording of historical events, and the portrayal of a large number of typical characters. If we deviate from historical facts and talk about the achievements of novels, we will deviate from the original meaning of "Historical Records" as a history book.
As a great historical work and biographical literary masterpiece, "Historical Records" plays a role in connecting the past and the future in the history of the development of prose in my country. Historians and writers below Ban Gu almost all highly praised Sima Qian, and tried to be like Sima Qian who "sees his references in the preface without waiting for judgment" (Gu Yanwu's "Rizhilu"). Ban Gu acknowledged Sima Qian's "talent as a good historian" and praised his narrative talent for "being good at ordering things in order, arguing without being ostentatious, and with quality but without slander" and his record of "his writing is straight, his facts are clear, he does not pretend to be beautiful, and he does not conceal evil". Spirit. Many heroic figures praised in "Historical Records", such as Xiang Yu, Lord Xinling, Lin Xiangru, Lu Zhonglian, Hou Ying, etc., had a huge impact on people of later generations, especially feudal literati. For example, Li Bai, the great romantic poet of the Tang Dynasty, cited ancient chivalrous men as his consonants in his poems more than once, and hoped that he could make contributions to the country and the people like them.
In terms of writing methods and article styles, many writers since the Han Dynasty have received great inspiration from "Historical Records". As Zheng Qiao said, "For a hundred generations or less, historians cannot change their methods. , scholars cannot abandon their books.” In terms of genre and form, most of the "official histories" starting from the "Book of Han" inherit the "Historical Records". Ancient writers since the Tang and Song Dynasties are all familiar with "Historical Records". Han Yu, who is known as the "Literature of the Eight Dynasties", admired Sima Qian very much and directly regarded the articles of "Historical Records" as his model. His "Preface to the Biography of Zhang Zhongcheng", "The Biography of Mao Ying" and other articles are the characters who studied "Historical Records" Biographical results. The Song Dynasty essayist Ouyang Xiu's "Preface to the Biographies of Officials in the History of the Five Dynasties" is very similar to "Historical Records: Biography of Boyi". The simplicity, smoothness and ease of his articles are very similar to the charm of "Historical Records". In many historical periods, when formalistic red tape or obscure and archaic writing styles prevailed, "Historical Records" often became a banner for ancient writers to oppose pretentiousness. This was true for Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan in the Tang Dynasty and Gui Youguang in the Ming Dynasty. In terms of literary creation, legends after the Tang Dynasty and novels and dramas since the Ming and Qing Dynasties were all more or less influenced by "Historical Records". For example, "Water Margin" and "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" were all deeply nourished by "Historical Records". .