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(145 BC-9 BC)

Western Han historians, writers and thinkers. Word length, Zuo Fengyi xia yang (now southwest of Hancheng, Shaanxi, near Longmen. Therefore, Sima Qian claimed to be "moving to the Longmen" and "Preface to Taishigong", Longmen Mountain, which is very famous. Legend has it that Dayu once opened a mountain in Longmen to control water. To the south of Longmen Mountain is the Yellow River. Sima Qian's home is just between the Yellow River and Longmen. There are many local places of interest. Sima Qian enjoyed the scenic spots of mountains and rivers since he was a child, but he also had the opportunity to hear many historical legends and stories. ) people. Born in the fifth year of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty (145 BC), he was born in the sixth year of Emperor Jian Yuan of Han Dynasty (135 BC) and died in 87 BC at the age of 48. Sima Qian's Tomb is located at the east foot of Liangshan Mountain on the west bank of the Yellow River, outside the south gate of Zhichuan Town, 1 kilometers south of hancheng city, and is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

Sima Qian began to learn the biography of ancient documents at the age of 1. At the age of 2, he roamed south from Chang 'an, the capital of Beijing, and traveled all over the Jianghuai Valley and the Central Plains, inspecting customs and collecting legends wherever he went. In the third year of Yuan Feng (the first 18 years), Sima Qian succeeded his father Sima Tan as Taishiling. Since then, Sima Qian began to write Historical Records. Later, he was convicted and imprisoned for defending Li Ling who surrendered to the Huns. After he was released from prison, he served as the secretary of the Secretariat, continued to write books with great indignation, and finally completed the writing of Historical Records in 91 BC. People call his book Taishi Gongshu. It is China's first biographical general history, which has a far-reaching influence on later historiography.

Sima Qian also wrote A Letter to Ren An, which describes his imprisonment and his ambition to write a book, and is praised by all generations.

Proud of Historical Records

Sima Qian started reading, sorting out historical materials and preparing for writing after Yuan Feng's third year (18 BC), and basically completed all his writing plans in the fourth year (91 BC). * * * After sixteen years. This is a great work written by him with all his life energy, hard work, and great physical and mental pain, which always shines brilliantly. Strive for Truth

Sima Qian wrote historical records with a rigorous and serious attitude, and the spirit of recording is his greatest feature. Every historical figure or event he wrote has gone through a lot of investigation and research, and has repeatedly checked the historical facts. At the age of twenty, Sima Qian left Chang 'an, the capital, to visit famous mountains and rivers, to investigate historical sites on the spot, and to learn about the legacy of many historical figures and the customs and economic life of many places, which broadened his horizons and broadened his mind. Ban Gu, a historian of the Han Dynasty, said that Sima Qian was "a true record because his writing was straightforward and his substance was not empty of beauty and evil". In other words, his article is fair, historical facts are reliable, and he does not speak good words or conceal bad things. This spoke highly of Sima Qian's scientific attitude and informative historical records.

if Sima Qian insists on the spirit of "recording", he must face the reality and record it, which will inevitably lead to the problem of "taboo". However, when he biographies characters, he is not bound by the conventions of traditional historical records, but records his thoughts and feelings about historical facts. From the supreme emperor to the princes and nobles, to the ministers, to the local governors, etc., Sima Qian will certainly not obliterate their magical and glorious side, but what is outstanding is to expose their decay, ugliness and exploitation and oppression of the people. Especially exposed the sins of the ruling class in the Han Dynasty. Although he was a courtier of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian did not conceal his fault at all. He profoundly exposed and criticized the vanity of the activities of closing the Zen to worship ancestors and praying for immortals that prevailed at that time. In the Book of Enchanting Zen, he vividly described the absurd and boring behavior of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who was superstitious about immortals and tried his best to pray for immortal medicine.

Sima Qian wanted to provide the feudal rulers with historical reference, which reflected the real history, which was very valuable. In the spirit of record, Sima Qian chose characters not according to their official position or social status, but according to their actual behavior. For example, he wrote many biographies of such low-class people as rangers, businessmen, doctors and advocates of excellence. In Sima Qian's mind, these people all have merits. Sima Qian pioneered the writing method of taking people as things and always telling a person's life story. It is Sima Qian's brushwork to focus on "being a man" and pay attention to its complexity. In his biography, he put his views in an objective factual narrative to express his love and hate attitude towards the characters. Take Xiang Yu as an example. Sima Qian sympathized with him and wrote this failed hero with great enthusiasm. He not only praised Xiang Yu's bravery, but also criticized his lack of ambition and cruelty. However, in Biography of Xiang Yu, Sima Qian did not comment, but his love and hate attitude towards Xiang Yu was clearly shown in the narrative. This is the greatest feature of Sima Qian's biography, that is, the unity of authenticity and tendency.

2. Clear love and hate

Sima Qian's feelings of clear love and hate are fully expressed in historical records. He spoke highly of the peasant uprising at the end of Qin Dynasty. Chen She, who was born in a poor peasant, was the leader of peasant uprising, but Sima Qian juxtaposed him with princes and described him in a "family". It is not easy for a feudal historian to do this. He is in Historical Records? In Preface to Taishigong, Chen She is compared with the famous ancient emperors-Shang Tang and Zhou Wuwang, and it is clearly pointed out that as long as the feudal emperor is tyrannical and heartless, the people have the right to rise up and overthrow him. Although this peasant army led by Chen She didn't succeed, it set off a magnificent peasant war at the end of Qin Dynasty and finally overthrew the lawless rule of Qin Dynasty. Sima Qian was completely positive about Chen She's historical achievement of first uprising and overthrowing the Qin Dynasty.

Sima Qian also praised many heroes who were loyal to the motherland and loved the people in history. When he traveled that year, he had been to the Miluo River in the north of Changsha, Hunan Province, and paid tribute to the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan by the river. This mourning greatly influenced Sima Qian, and his mind was deeply imprinted with Qu Yuan's poems and life experiences. When he made a biography of Qu Yuan, he thought that Qu Yuan could compete with the sun and the moon for glory, and angrily condemned the ugly behavior of the noble rulers of Chu who did not distinguish loyalty from traitors. At that time, Sima Qian also visited Shun's burial place in Lingling County, Hunan Province, and made a field investigation of Shun's deeds. Later, when writing historical records, he wrote Shun's story in the Five Emperors' Chronicle, praising his noble quality of caring for the country and the people. Sima Qian also highly praised Lin Xiangru and Lian Po, the protagonists in the stories of "Return to Zhao in an intact condition" and "Make peace with each other", and greatly praised their patriotic behavior.

In historical records, Sima Qian also praised assassins who put their lives at risk in order to resist rape, as well as rangers who saved people in distress and were brave. For example, Jing Ke, who said, "The phoenix is rustling and the water is cold, and the strong man is gone forever", did not hesitate to stab the king of Qin alone in order to repay the kindness of Yan Taizi Dan, and eventually his blood spilled on Qin Ting. Sima Qian's bold praise of these characters is actually sympathy for the working people and appreciation of the people's desire to resist rape. Sima Qian recorded the vivid deeds and medical theories of the famous doctor Bian Que and those who benefited the people. These people had no social status at that time, but in Sima Qian's mind, they were far more noble than some princes.

Sima Qian also had a profound understanding of the ugly face of feudal rulers, and mercilessly exposed the evils of the ruling class. For example, Biography of Cool Officials is a biography of ten cruel and ruthless officials, including nine courtiers of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attached great importance to Zhang Tang, and "Tang was deceitful, and he danced with wisdom to control others. "I started as a petty official, but I didn't do it. I made personal friends with Fu Jia Tianjia and Uncle Yu Weng in Chang 'an. The so-called "dry", that is, empty-handed. What is described here is the situation in which Zhang Tang used tricks to subdue people when he was a petty official. After Zhang Tang came to power, together with Zhao Yu, he made various laws, one of which was called "Law of condescension", that is, no matter whether he was guilty or not, as long as he was accused of being dissatisfied with the court, he could be punished accordingly. Zhang Tang is not only good at making laws and decrees, but also caters to the wishes of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to deal with "prisoners". Under his auspices, often a case will implicate countless families, resulting in killing people like hemp and treating human life like dirt. The criminal activities of these people were recorded by Sima Qian, and it was through these that he exposed and accused the cruelty and darkness of the autocratic rule during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Sima Qian's progressive view of history and bold style of exposing the faults of emperors are worthy of recognition. For the historical evolution process, his thought is relatively complete. After giving a correct evaluation of history, he fully affirmed the conclusion that history is constantly evolving.

3. Historians' swan song

Mr. Lu Xun once said, "Historical Records are' the swan song of historians, Li Sao without rhyme'". In other words, as a historical record of China's general history with a large scale and complete system, it is also an excellent literary work.

In Sima Qian's works, a historical event or a historical figure can be vividly portrayed in a few words. For example, the description of Tian Dan's defense of Jimo City in Biography of Tian Dan. Tian Dan used six coup d' é tat to defeat Yan State, which enabled Qi State to recover. "Fire Bull Array" is one of the most important strategies. In the evening, Tian Dan draped purple cloth with dragon patterns on more than 1 cows, tied sharp swords on their horns, soaked their tails with oil, and set them on fire. As a result, more than 1 cows rushed into the position of Yan Bing like monsters with blazing flames. The soldiers of Qi also rushed to the enemy with weapons, and some people beat gongs and drums and shouted loudly to show their strength. Confused Yan Bing was scared to flee, and as a result, he was killed. Yan Bing's bodies were all over the battlefield, and Qi State won a great victory. Although Sima Qian didn't write much ink, the "Fire Bull Array" appeared in the reader's mind like a picture.

Sima Qian also vividly portrayed different types of historical figures. His description of Xiang Yu, the overlord of the western Chu Dynasty, is wonderful. In the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu led a great army to cross the river, then sank all the ships, and ordered that only three days' food was allowed, which vividly and concretely portrayed Xiang Yu's determination and spirit to cross the rubicon and fight to the death with Qin Jun. Xiang Yu's army, one for ten, wiped out Qin Jun, which was far more numerous than his own, and played a decisive role in the war to overthrow Qiang Qin's rule. After the battle, Xiang Yu summoned all the generals. When they entered Xiang Yu's Yuanmen, no one dared to walk with their heads up. This is a description of Xiang Yu's prestige. Sima Qian described Xiang Yu's besieged scene even more touching. Xiang Yu sang generously: "If you pull up the mountains, you will be angry with the world, but when it is unfavorable, you will never die." Through this song, Sima Qian completely portrayed the hero's complex mood of generosity and tragic after his failure, but unable to save his failed fate. Next, Sima Qian described Xiang Yu's bravery in the decisive battle in Dongcheng after his breakthrough. At that time, there were only 28 cavalry left in Xiang Yu. When thousands of pursuers approached, Xiang Yu opened his eyes wide and shouted angrily, scaring the Han army back for several miles. Seeing such a description, people can't help but feel that the failed hero seems to be in sight.

For another example, Sima Qian described the three chapters of the agreement with the people when Emperor Gaozu entered the customs, which fully showed the demeanor of a politician. Emperor Gaozu also had the habit of abusive hooligans and the character of improvisation. On one occasion, Han Xin wrote a letter to Emperor Gaozu, demanding that he be named as a false king of Qi. Emperor Gaozu was very angry. He just wanted to have an attack, but Zhang Liang hinted at him not to have an attack. He immediately turned his back and said, "A gentleman can pacify a vassal, and if he wants to do it, he will be a real king. What are you doing as a fake king?" There are not many words here, but it vividly depicts the character of Emperor Gaozu who is good at improvising and playing politics.

Sima Qian's narrative language in the book is very vivid and the characters are vivid. He widely used oral proverbs, idioms and ballads, and did not shy away from dialect. His language is a kind of "dialect" which is close to spoken language. Usually, the narration is in harmony with the dialogue between characters. Although it is bright but implicit, there is a sound outside the words, which is worth pondering. Complex and concise, eclectic, each in its proper place, generally serving the description of character characteristics. His description of the characters' tone of voice is the most interesting, which fully shows the characters' mental attitude. In order to highlight the characters, he often emphasizes and exaggerates appropriately. For example, "The Biography of Emperor Gaozu": "In the first month (five years), the governors and generals * * * invited Hanwang to be the emperor. ..... Hanwang three let, had to, saying: You must think that it is convenient and convenient for the country. , "This passage of Emperor Gaozu's abdication is a direct simulation of the spoken language at that time, which vividly reflects the appearance of Emperor Gaozu's affectation. After reading it, I can't help but feel that the scene of Emperor Gaozu's speech is just around the corner. Moreover, when Sima Qian used ancient historical materials, he generally translated ancient sayings in the common language at that time. For example, the story of Yao and Shun written in The Chronicle of the Five Emperors is based on this article, Shangshu? In Yao Dian, the words "the people are bereaved, and the eight tones have been suppressed all over the world for three years" and "the people have lost their parents for three years, and the four sides have no joy" and "the letter hurts a hundred officials, and all the achievements are prosperous" are translated. Compared with the original, the translation will be easier to read. The reason why the biographies of historical records are so excellent is inseparable from Sima Qian's superb ability to master language.

After being persecuted innocently, a person usually has two choices: to be pessimistic and depressed, or to be angry and strive for strength. Sima Qian chose the latter way. With the aim of "studying the relationship between heaven and man, making changes from ancient times to modern times, and forming a unified view", he devoted all his "anger" to the creation of historical records. Sima Qian created the biographical style of China's historical works and created a brand-new style of historical methods. Sima Qian recorded history in the form of personal biography and discipline, taking society as the center, and showed a large-scale history of social changes for future generations. Sima Qian has made brilliant achievements in both history and literature.

His great patriotism and lofty personality will always shine with immortal light.

The miscellaneous knowledge of ancient history should not be despised by Sima Qian

Ge Jianxiong's What's the Crime of Huo Zhi (Reading, No.9, 1996) is arbitrary, and the ancient and modern examples are easy to understand, which can be described as excellent in arts and sciences and has benefited a lot. However, to say that "I deeply feel that Tai Shigong's foresight is not only superior to ordinary scholars, but also better than some contemporary historians" is very misleading. Sima Qian is far better than some historians now. About being a history, Sima Qian is unparalleled, which is probably the knowledge of ancient and modern times. Looking more broadly, there is no scholar behind Sima Qian who can compare with him in the comprehensive grasp of history, society and personnel, which is probably not a lie.

Sima Qian said: "The ancestors said: Since the Duke of Zhou died, Confucius was born at the age of five hundred. As for the 5-year-old after the death of Confucius, it is possible to proclaim the Ming Dynasty, which is just easy to pass on, following the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Book of Poetry, Rites and Music. I mean it, I mean it! How dare the boy give way? " ("Preface to Taishigong") Sima Qian has always regarded his writing as a career on a par with Chunqiu, which should be said to have been done. Forgive my ignorance, but it seems that I haven't seen anyone make irresponsible remarks about Sima Qian's self-assertion that "when studying heaven and man, we can learn from the changes of ancient and modern times and become a family statement." In this sense, Sima Qian should be regarded as a saint-like career. Since Sima Qian contributed to the Spring and Autumn Annals, did he enjoy even a moment of social reverence like a sage of Confucius? The answer is never. Therefore, Sima Qian left a heavy proposition to future generations: Why did he write "