Evaluation of Sima Qian?

Sima Qian (former145—about former 87) was born in xia yang (now Hancheng, Shaanxi). His father, Sima Tan, is a knowledgeable scholar, who has deep research on astronomy, history and philosophy. His article "Six Classics" made a brief and unique comment on the main theories in the pre-Qin period. this

Sima Tan died in the first year of Yuanfeng (1 10 BC). Before he died, he entrusted Sima Qian with the unfinished business of writing history as his last wish. In the third year of Yuanfeng (108), Sima Qian succeeded Taishiling. Since then, he has tirelessly read the National Library, studied various historical materials, devoted himself to writing history, and participated in the formulation of taichu calendar.

In the process, a catastrophe happened. In the second year of Tian Han (99 BC), Li Ling fought against the Huns, and after a vigorous battle, she was defeated and surrendered. When the news came, Emperor Wu was furious, and courtiers followed suit and scolded Li Ling. Sima Qian was very angry, and the courtiers who enjoyed wealth were so unsympathetic to the generals who risked their lives, so he said that Li Ling surrendered out of helplessness and would wait for an opportunity to repay the Han Dynasty in the future. Li Ling failed because Emperor Wu appointed incompetent Li Guangli as commander in chief. Sima Qian's defense also angered Emperor Wu. Therefore, he was punished by "corruption". For Sima Qian, this is a great shame in life, far more painful than the death penalty. In this incident, he had a new understanding of the unreasonable power of the autocratic monarch and the situation that life was fundamentally oppressed by external forces. He once thought about suicide, but he didn't want his precious life to end in a worthless situation, so he "lived in silence" and sought the highest realization of life in the history of writing. This is exactly what a scholar can do to resist the arrogance and cruel fate of the monarch. Finally, Sima Qian gave a complete account of his fate and mood in his book Bao Ren An, written in Taishi four years (before this year). After that, his deeds were unclear, and he probably died in the last years of Emperor Wu.

Historical Records was originally named Taishi Gongshu, and was called Historical Records at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is the first book with a complete system written by individuals in ancient times. Total * * * one hundred and thirty volumes, more than five hundred and twenty thousand words, is also the largest book at that time. The book consists of five styles: biography, biography, biography and biography. Benji is the outline of the whole book, which describes the political traces of monarchs or actual rulers in the past dynasties in a chronological way. "Table" lists the major events in various historical periods in tabular form, which is the supplement and connection of the narrative of the whole book; "Book" is a record of special matters such as astronomy, calendar, water conservancy and economy. Shijia is a biography of hereditary families and people who sacrificed in previous dynasties, such as Confucius and Chen Sheng. Biographies are biographies of all kinds of people outside the family and family, some of which record the history of all ethnic groups in the marginal areas of China. Through these five different styles, Historical Records cooperate with each other and complement each other, forming a complete historical system.

(1) Before Historical Records, historical works had the nature of data compilation and collation, and most of the authors were unknown, so it is hard to say that they were written by one person alone: books of various schools and factions were actually a compilation of documents of various schools, not by pioneers of various schools, and most of the articles were independent.

This genre is also referred to as "biographical style" for short, and has been slightly changed since then, becoming the general genre of official history in past dynasties.

The chronicle of Historical Records, from the time when people regarded it as the Yellow Emperor at the beginning of history to the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty when Sima Qian wrote this book (104- 10), covers all the territory of the Han Dynasty and all the surrounding areas that the author can understand. It is not only a summary of China's 3,000-year history in politics, economy and culture, but also the history of human beings and the world in Sima Qian's consciousness. In this extremely grand structure, there is an intention to explore and grasp the way of human existence fundamentally and integrally. For example, Sima Qian himself said in his book "Bao Ren An" that his goal is to "learn from the changes of ancient and modern times and become a family statement when studying the relationship between man and nature". Therefore, Historical Records cannot be regarded as a simple historical record. It has made great achievements in history, literature and philosophy.

Historical Records is listed as the first official history of China. Since then, the compilation of "official history" has never stopped, and it has merged into a long river of literary history, which can be called a miracle in the history of world historiography. However, the historical records are very different from the official records of later generations. With a few exceptions, the official history of the past dynasties after Historical Records was presided over by the imperial court and compiled according to the will of the monarch, which is a veritable official history. Although Sima Qian was a court historian, Historical Records did not reflect the will of the supreme ruler, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is said that after reading the historical records, Liang Wudi was very angry with some of them and ordered them to be deleted. This is also possible (some historical records today are supplemented by later generations). So, what kind of position did Sima Qian stand on to write historical records? This is also one of the keys to understanding Historical Records.

What we need to pay attention to is that before the absolute authority of the monarch was established from Qin Shihuang to Han Wudi, the power of the monarch was restricted by the whole aristocratic group to some extent. In this context, historians not only enjoy a lofty position, but also have the obligation and right to "speak out". Sima Qian's ancestors were historians. Although he realized that in his own time, historians had been reduced to "being teased by lords, advocating superiority and storing them", he consciously inherited the ancient tradition of historians and did not want to turn his pen into a tool to praise the monarch.

It is also very important that Sima Qian has a special worship of Confucius. He is not completely convinced of Confucius' theory. He despises contemporary Confucian scholars, but he admires Confucius' personality, especially his grand ideal of establishing cultural norms for the world as an ordinary scholar. Sima Qian regarded his work of writing Historical Records as an inheritance of Confucius' career of compiling Spring and Autumn Annals, which made him occupy a lofty position in spirit. Broadly speaking, it also inherited the rational attitude and critical consciousness of pre-Qin philosophers.

The times endowed Sima Qian with a grand vision and the task of comprehensively summing up history. His extensive travel has given him an unprecedented understanding of society. The cruel fate urged him to think deeply about life and inherited the tradition of historians and the culture of pre-Qin philosophers. Sima Qian also established a relatively independent and critical writing position and would not yield to the arrogance of the monarch. Historical Records was produced in a special historical stage and personal experience. In this great historical record, Sima Qian's unique understanding of human history and society in many aspects is also vividly displayed.

First of all, as mentioned above, Historical Records is a critical work rather than an ode. Especially for the history of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian always kept a cold eye on the contemporary politics of Emperor Wu. On the premise of affirming the historical achievements of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, he mercilessly portrayed Liu Bang's rural hooliganism and selfish and despicable psychology. Sima Qian also boldly exposed his acts of appointing cruel officials, harming the people, cronyism, suppressing talents, superstition and abusing people's power. As for the various intrigues and brazenness of the bureaucratic class, it is even more colorful in his sharp pen. These expositions and criticisms have no tendency of uglification or simple negation, but concrete and credible historical records that reflect the true character of the characters. It reflects a profound suspicion and thinking: successful figures and people in power in history did not gain their status because of their noble quality and moral justice, as they claimed. Sometimes, on the contrary, people with high quality and abiding by morality often encounter misfortune and failure, just like Xiang Yu, who is far more honest and self-respecting than Liu Bang, and Li Guang, who is far more honest and brave than the emperor's favorite minister, inevitably end up committing suicide. Although Sima Qian did not reveal the laws behind these phenomena in theory, it was enough to inspire people to reflect deeply.

Historical Records is the first historical genre based on biography, and it is the first time to record history based on characters, which shows that people attach great importance to their position and role in history. Historical works in the past recorded people's historical activities, but these records were based on time or events, and people's dominant position was not fully realized and embodied. Moreover, on the whole, the characters in these historical works are limited to the upper classes of society, including tourists and counselors at most, and the second is limited to political figures. Although the figures described in Historical Records are still dominated by upper-level political figures, their scope has expanded to the whole society, including middle and lower-level figures and non-political figures. We can see that in Historical Records, emperors, governors, peasant leaders, ministers, generals, queens, eunuchs, writers, thinkers, assassins, rangers, businessmen, actors, doctors, Toy Boy and fortune tellers all show different aspects of human life, which together form a colorful and magnificent historical picture. In the history books before and after this, it is rare to see so many types of characters, especially those in the middle and lower classes of society. This shows that Sima Qian realized that society is a complex combination, and people from all walks of life play different roles in society. This kind of understanding, especially the attitude towards the middle and lower classes of society, can hardly be seen in the general "official history" & ltbr & gt Sima Qian further noticed: What kind of power dominates people's historical activities? He did not deny the power of morality, but also praised many gentlemen who insisted on "benevolence and righteousness", and even had some idealistic attitude in this respect. However, as a loyal observer and a profound thinker, he did realize and publicly put forward that it is people's material desires and the pursuit of life satisfaction that dominate people's historical activities. In the Biography of Huo Zhi, he took pains to enumerate many facts, proving that "the rich are keen on what they don't learn" and "from the son of heaven to Shu Ren" are "good interests". He attributed the fighting courage of the brave, the teenagers who robbed money and robbed tombs in the alley, geisha dancers who sold their erotic colors, fishermen and hunters who slept in the wind, gamblers who fought for each other's victory, doctors' painstaking research, various operations of agriculture, industry and commerce, and even officials who used knives and axes to get bribes to pursue wealth and material interests. Although this juxtaposition is difficult for many people to accept (because there is a difference between kindness and unkindness after all), Sima Qian realized at that time that the potential driving force of human historical activities was the pursuit of material interests rather than abstract moral principles, which was very remarkable. To measure the status of historical figures, Sima Qian is based on their actual achievements, not what kind of fame they have gained. Xiang Yu never proclaimed himself emperor, but he was the master of the world for a period of time, and Historical Records of Xiang Yu was established. After the chronicle of Emperor Gaozu, it was the chronicle of Lv Hou, but there was no Chronicle of Filial Piety, because although there was the name of the emperor, it was actually just a puppet. Here, Sima Qian has no enthusiasm for Confucius' "correcting his name". Tai Shigong's Preface to Historical Records claims that one of the purposes of writing historical records is to make those who "help others, don't waste their time and make contributions to the world" famous for later generations. So he also appreciates people who are willing to be humiliated for a while in order to achieve extraordinary results. For example, Han Xin was not ashamed of his legs, and Lyu3 bu4, who once won the title of the three armed forces, was willing to be a slave. In Sima Qian's view, this is a feat that only a "strong man" can have. This also includes Sima Qian's life experience of enduring humiliation in order to complete Historical Records. In Historical Records, there are certain ethical evaluation standards and awareness of praise and criticism. However, its standards are not completely in line with the interests of the ruling class or secular moral consciousness, nor are they narrow and single. Even there may be some contradictions before and after. For example, Biography of Uncle Boyi eulogized the loyalty of two virtuous gentlemen who didn't eat Zhou Su, while Biography of Guan Zhong praised Guan Zhong, who helped Gong Zijiu compete with Qi Huangong at first, refused to be martyred after his failure, and became an important official of Huan Gong after he was released from prison, saying that he was "shameless, but his humiliation and fame were not seen by the world". Rangers have a certain destructive effect on the social ruling order. Sima Qian clearly pointed it out, so it is better to praise their loyalty to rebirth and death. Even, Biography of Cool Officials strongly criticized the cruelty of cool officials, and Preface to Taishi said that "all people are smart, and good people can't be changed", so cool officials also have reasons to exist. This is not because Sima Qian's concept is chaotic, but because he saw the complexity of society itself and needed to understand the lifestyles of various people from a wide perspective. Even if he doesn't like the role, he should describe it as truly as possible and don't simply erase it. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Gu accused Sima Qian of being "absurd: on the road, Huang Lao followed the Six Classics first, while the sequence ranger retired to the adulterer, and he was ashamed of being poor when he talked about it" (Biography of Sima Qian in Han Dynasty). However, these are precisely the places where Sima Qian is far superior to Ban Gu's generation. It is precisely because Sima Qian has a unique and profound understanding of history and society, has great tolerance for the survival activities of various characters, is not bound by the Confucian ruling ideology being established, dares to despise secular moral dogma, and does not understand and describe people from a single theory, so Historical Records can become rich and broad, producing a unique charm, which is different from all other official histories in later generations.