one
In the autumn of the second year of Emperor Wu's reign (99 BC), there was a chill in Chang 'an, Kyoto. The autumn wind is drizzling, the vegetation is withered, and the chill attacks people.
This year, for Taishiling Sima Qian, it was black, and his life fell into endless winter nights. And this disaster, like the phoenix nirvana, has made an encyclopedic cultural giant in the history of human civilization.
In the Weiyang Palace in the Han Dynasty, the air was particularly dignified.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious, and his ministers echoed.
It originated from Li Ling, the grandson of Li Guang, a famous Western Han Dynasty.
In the summer of this year, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent his favorite brother, General Li Guang of the Second Division, to attack the Huns with 30,000 troops, hoping that he would make meritorious service and seal the Hou, and at the same time appointed Li Ling as his logistics commander, but this was rejected by the arrogant Li Ling. Li Ling believes that all his men are warriors of Jingchu, wizards and swordsmen, who can strangle tigers and are skilled in archery, and are unwilling to accept such logistical tasks. He asked Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to send his troops to Langan Mountain alone to disperse Khan's forces and relieve Li Guangli's pressure. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said, "I have sent more soldiers now, and I won't send cavalry to you again." So he gave him five thousand infantry and ordered him to attack immediately. Li Ling led the troops out of Juyan and marched north for more than 30 days, which went smoothly. Finally, he camped in Xunji Mountain, drew a map of mountains and rivers he saw along the way, and sent Chen Bule to Hanwu. Hanwu was very happy to hear the news, and all the ministers in the DPRK raised their glasses to Li Ling's heroic feat.
But soon, Li Ling and his men were besieged by the Xiongnu army. He took the lead, was brave and fearless, and killed ten thousand people. However, due to the traitor's informer, the grain was exhausted and there were no reinforcements, and he was finally defeated and captured. When the news came, Emperor Wu was furious, and have it both ways, the minister who had praised Li Ling before, followed the emperor and cursed Li Ling. In this crusade, Sima Qian stepped forward and bravely defended Li Ling. In his letter to his good friend Ren An ten years later, we saw how he defended Li Ling:
"Madam I Li Shimin regardless of life, to the public, has been strange. Today, if you do something wrong and protect your wife and minister with all your heart, you will be short-lived and your servant will be heartbroken! Moreover, Li Ling's foot soldiers are less than 5,000, and they are deeply trained in the land of military strategists. He lived in Wang Ting, where the bait was in the jaws of death, and raised hundreds of millions of teachers. Killed by Khan Lien Chan for more than ten days. Lu saves lives, but Zhou Qiu rulers are afraid of salt shock. He was told to recruit his wise king, raise the bow of the people's leadership, and attack and surround him. Thousands of miles, the vector is exhausted, the reinforcements are insufficient, and the foot soldiers are killed and injured. However, as soon as Li Ling called the army, all the soldiers could not stand it. They bowed to tears, sobbed, and became more empty, taking the lead in fighting for the deadly enemy in the north. "
"Li Lingshu and scholar-officials are extremely generous and can get people's strength, although the ancient name cannot be passed on. Although he lost, but according to his intention, he wants to get what he deserves and report it to Han. There is nothing to do, and what it destroys is enough to be violent in the world. "
In Sima Qian's view, it is a very rare heroic feat for Li Ling to put his life and death aside and serve his country. Go deep into the hinterland of Xiongnu, fight against 80 thousand cavalry with 5 thousand steps and kill ten thousand people. Now things are helpless, but such outstanding exploits are enough to show the world his true intentions. Although he finally surrendered, he believed that if he had the chance, he would work for the Han Dynasty again.
These words are analyzed in detail, reasonable and well-founded. Sima Qian said this without any selfishness. He saw the emperor's sorrow and sorrow, and he really wanted to offer his sincere loyalty to relieve the emperor's worries. "I didn't expect to be humble, but I was sad to see the Lord and really wanted to help him get the money." "I want to fill in the text with the Lord's meaning." He wanted to use these words to comfort the emperor's mind and stop those remarks that attacked and framed Li Ling. Unexpectedly, his words were like a spoonful of cold water poured into a boiling oil pan. Instead of cooling down, they ignited a raging fire.
When Sima Qian talked with Kan Kan in front of the emperor, the scholar who couldn't sense motive didn't notice, and Emperor Wu's face gradually darkened. He didn't expect that his unintentional words just touched the sore spot of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought that he defended Li Ling and praised Li Ling's meritorious military service, which was a satire on Li Guangli's incompetence, while satirizing those whom the emperor prized was also a satire on the emperor himself. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious and immediately put Sima Qian in prison. "The wise master didn't know, thinking that the servant was in the second division, and he said that he was traveling for Li Ling, so he went down to the old place." Soon, it was reported that Li Ling was training for Xiongnu, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered the killing of Li Ling's family and sentenced Sima Qian to death.
This year, Sima Qian was 37 years old and held a modest position in the court: Taishiling. Although the official is not big, the official only has 600 stones, but it is his favorite position. He inherited his father's ambition, and the book Taishi Gongshu (Historical Records), which he is working on, has entered its seventh year. If Sima Qian is killed at this time, it will be a great loss in the history of Chinese civilization.
two
Sima Qian's ancestors have a long history, and Sima Qian claimed that his ancestors were heavenly officials in the Zhuan Xu period. The preface to Historical Records Taishi Gong records that "in Zhuan Xu, the south was ordered by the sky and the fire was on the ground. On the occasion of Tang Yu, Shao emphasized that Li was reinstated. It is important for me to emphasize Li's world. Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, was an official during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. Sima Tan is a very outstanding scholar. He wrote The Six Classics, which systematically summarized the advantages and disadvantages of Yin and Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, Dharma, Ming and Taoism since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and the early Han Dynasty, and highly affirmed the Taoist thought. He played a key role in Sima Qian's education.
Ironically and sadly, as a historian, Sima Qian's own date of birth and death is a mystery. Neither Biography of Taishigong in Historical Records nor Biography of Sima Qian in Hanshu recorded his date of birth. According to the two annotations of Historical Records made by Tang people, later generations were divided into two factions. One school assumes that Sima Qian was born in the sixth year of Emperor Xian Jian Yuan (BC 135), while the other assumes that Sima Qian was born in the fifth year of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty (BC 145). The difference between the two statements is ten years. I have carefully compared the relevant information and tend to take the lead.
Sima Qian spent his childhood in Zuo Fengyi, his hometown of xia yang County (now hancheng city, Shaanxi Province). He described this experience and said, "Move to Longmen, farm and graze the sun of rivers and mountains." Longmen Mountain, which straddles the banks of the Yellow River and faces Qin Jin, is famous for its cliffs on both banks. The rushing water flows through it, and the waves are stirring and the sound is like thunder. Qing Qianlong's "Hancheng County Records" volume: "The two cliffs are both broken mountains and cliffs, which are relatively like doors, but dragons can cross them, so they are called Longmen." Magnificent rivers and mountains, the remains of the holy king and beautiful myths left a deep imprint on Sima Qian's childhood. Under the guidance of his father, he studied hard. "At the age of ten, he recited ancient Chinese." . The "ancient prose" that Sima Qian learned is not the classical Chinese we understand today, but the ancient books left over from the pre-Qin period written with Zhou seal script. Historical records include Ancient Chinese Classics in the Spring and Autumn Period, Mandarin, Xieben and The Analects of Confucius and Disciples Rules. Ask Kong Anguo, the famous master of ancient Chinese prose, the twelfth grandson of Confucius and Emperor Wu, and follow Dong Zhongshu to learn The Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ram.
In the first year of Hanwu Ding Yuan (1 16), Sima Qian began to travel around the world. At the age of 20, he has learned the ancient and modern classics that he could read at that time, and his knowledge base is solid. Sima Tan arranged this strong patrol for him, which was a purposeful and planned action. Starting from Chang 'an, he traveled all over the Jianghuai Valley and the Central Plains, where he visited local customs and collected legends. The preface records this trip: "Twenty days later, I swam south to Jiang, Huai and Shang Huiji, explored the cave, and saw nine caves, floating in Yuan and Xiang. The north is involved in writing and thinking, talking about the capital of Qi and Lu, observing the legacy of Confucius and shooting Zou and Yi in the countryside; Two Kun Fan, Xue, Peng Cheng, cross the beam and return to Chu. " On the bank of the Miluo River, he hanged Qu Yuan and was deeply moved by the poet's great personality and misfortune: "I read Li Sao, Tian Wen, Evocation and Mourning, and I am saddened by his ambition. When I was in Changsha, I saw Qu Yuan's "Self-Sinking" and didn't want to cry. I want to regard him as a person. " (Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng) This sentence appeared at least twice in Historical Records. Another place is: "I read Confucius' books and want to regard him as a person." "When you feel comfortable in Shandong, you can see the temples, cars, costumes and ritual vessels. All the students went home politely at the right time, and the rest stayed. You can't go to the clouds. " (Confucius' home) When Sima Qian met with ancient sages such as Qu Yuan and Confucius, the preacher's voice, face and smile came to his mind and he couldn't help crying. He brought his feelings directly into the text and made no secret of his admiration and nostalgia for the sages. He wrote this sermon emotionally, not coldly.
It took about a year or two for this strong patrol to travel all over the heart of the Han Dynasty. It was a field trip to prepare for writing historical records. He personally interviewed and obtained many first-hand materials, which ensured the authenticity and scientificity of historical records. His roaming is also the concrete embodiment of the spirit of Historical Records. After returning to Beijing, he became the bodyguard of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, guarding the emperor to worship heaven and earth, gods, famous mountains and rivers and Mount Tai. He also sent envoys to the southwest, and his whereabouts were all over China. As he said in Records of the Five Emperors: "Taste the west to Kongtong, the north to Zhuolu, the east to the sea, and the south to Huaiyi." This is rare among ancient and modern literati.
When Sima Tan died in the first year of Yuanfeng (BC 1 10), he asked his son to take over the post of a teacher after his death, thus fulfilling his unfinished ambition: to continue Confucius' career and write the second Spring and Autumn Annals. "When I die, you are a surname; For Taishi, I have never forgotten what I want to write. " "Today, Han Xing is unified in the country, and the loyal and righteous people die. I am too vain to talk about the history of the world, and I am afraid of it! You missed it! " In the face of his dying father, Sima Qian bowed his head and wept bitterly and solemnly swore to his father:
"The boy is not sensitive, please know the old news of the ancestors, dare not!"
-Although my son is dull, I will try my best to compile the historical materials recorded by my ancestors and dare not miss anything!
Sima Qian deeply understood his father's wish. My father had unfinished business when he died. He hoped that Sima Qian would follow in his father's footsteps. Faced with his father's great trust, Sima Qian made a solemn promise and made his first choice in life. This choice determines Sima Qian's life goal and value standard. He is determined to be a historian and write a great history book. "A beautiful gentleman is more expensive than a Taoist, three: too virtuous, two meritorious, and two independent." The life of his father on his deathbed and his solemn promise became the driving force and spiritual pillar of Sima Qian's progress, guiding him to write his second book "Taishi History" without any regrets after suffering.
Standing on the top of China's 3,000-year-old civilization-a great man's prosperous time, Sima Qian deeply felt the historical mission and responsibility, and Hong Zhong made a masterpiece. "The ancestors said,' When the Duke of Zhou died at the age of 500, there was Confucius. As for the five hundred years after the death of Confucius, can it represent the Ming Dynasty like the Book of Changes, the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Book of Songs and Rites and Music? "I'm serious! I am serious! How dare you give way, boy! Writing history became Sima Qian's first choice in life.
In the third year of Yuanfeng (108), Sima Qian succeeded Taishiling. He "? (Reading) The Book of Historical Records and the Golden Chamber in the Stone Chamber began a huge and numerous data editing work. In the first year of Taichu (BC 104), he officially started writing.
Just as Sima Qian was wholeheartedly writing Historical Records, an unexpected trouble plunged him into a desperate situation in life.
three
After Sima Qian went to prison, he was soon sentenced to death for "framing".
According to the criminal law of the Han Dynasty, there are two ways to reduce the death penalty: one is to make amends with 500,000 yuan. The second is castration. If both roads are blocked, there is only one dead end.
Sima Qian once again faces the choice of life, and it is a life-and-death choice: choose to live or choose to die?
It is human instinct to survive and avoid death. Life is the most precious thing in the world, and everyone is willing to live until it is absolutely necessary. Sima Qian was wronged, and of course he also had the right to live. In order to survive, now he has two ways to go:
The first is to spend money to atone. Sima Qian's official family is poor, and of course he can't afford so much money for atonement. Sima Qian served as Taishiling at that time, and received an official salary of 600 stone millet every year. From BC 108, when he took the position of Taishiling, to when he was wrongly imprisoned, it was exactly ten years. 500 thousand is equivalent to half of his total income for ten years. It should be no problem to maintain a normal life with such income, but it is estimated that there is not much left. It is definitely not possible to take out so much money at once. So he said, "The family is poor and the goods are not enough to redeem themselves." Not only that, friends and relatives in the past avoided it. No one dares to put in a good word for him, and no one is willing to atone for him. "It is impossible to save friends, and closeness is not a word." You can't blame your relatives and friends for being snobbish. Under the arrogance of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who dares to defend Sima Qian and help him? Even if I sympathize, I dare not reveal anything. Sima Qian's own experience is a lesson. This road is obviously impassable.
The second is to accept castration. Castration, also known as silkworm house, decay, yin punishment and castration, is a kind of corporal punishment that castrates male genitals and destroys female reproductive function. It was an extremely cruel punishment in ancient times. Normal people become useless after receiving castration, just like eunuchs. Confucius emphasized: "Parents dare not damage the skin of the body, and filial piety begins." A person's body and skin can't be damaged, let alone castrated. This is capital punishment. Therefore, castrated people are regarded as unfilial to their ancestors, despised before their death, and cannot enter their ancestral graves after their death. Castration not only causes great harm and pain to the body of the client, but also cruelly destroys the human spirit and greatly insults the personality, which is a great shame that the scholar-officials can never accept. As an intellectual deeply influenced by Confucianism, Sima Qian has a higher personal dignity than ordinary people, and of course he is unwilling to endure such punishment. He said, "Ugliness is worse than humiliation, and shame is greater than castration." In other words, the ugliest behavior is insulting ancestors, and the biggest stain of a person is castration. He also said: "Don't insult the first, the second, the second, the second, the second; Secondly, it is physical humiliation, secondly, it is good to serve, secondly, it is humiliating by Chu, thirdly, it is humiliating to pluck hair and babies, fourthly, it is humiliating to destroy skin and branches, and the most corrupt punishment is extremely embarrassing! " Obviously, this is not his right choice.
Since there is no money to make amends and I don't want to drag out an ignoble existence, there is only one last way left now: to accept the death penalty. Ancient China literati paid special attention to personal honor, and regarded personal honor as more important than personal life. I would rather lose my life than my honor. On the relationship between life and benevolence and righteousness, the sages have had many incisive expositions. "Confucianism can't be robbed, can't be forced, can be killed and can't be humiliated." "People with lofty ideals are benevolent, there is no harm to benevolence, and there is killing for benevolence." "Life is what I want; Righteousness is also what I want. You can't have both, and those who give up their lives are also righteous. " Sima Qian is not afraid of death. In fact, he also considered accepting this choice. "Life is really bitter, and death is nothing!" It is Sima Qian's best choice to sacrifice his life to honor his ancestors.
However, we know that Sima Qian finally chose the second way: to accept castration. He accepted castration and humiliation, and since then he has become a cripple like a eunuch, a cripple who lives in humiliation and contempt for others all his life.
Has he forgotten the teachings of the sages? Is he afraid of death?
No, Sima Qian has not forgotten the teachings of the sages. He is not afraid of death. The reason why he chose to live in humiliation in Death is because he remembers his mission: he still has great work to do. He has great tasks and great ideals in his heart. He wants to write a history book that is unprecedented and runs through the ages. This is not only his goal, but also his father's goal. He cannot die. His life no longer belongs to him. He wants to live for this goal.
Accepting castration, Sima Qian suffered a painful soul struggle. In Bao Ren An Shu, he described in detail his psychological entanglement at that time: "The wife loves life and hates death, misses her loved ones and cares about her;" Otherwise, those who are just are forced to do so. Unfortunately, my servant has lost two relatives, no brothers, and I am single and isolated. How does Shao Qing treat his wife as a servant? And the brave don't have to die, and you're afraid of your husband's bravery. Where is it? Although the servant is timid and wants to live, he knows the difference between going and not going. Why should he indulge in humiliation? What's more, if the husband has captured his handmaid and concubine, he can still make a decision. Is it necessary for a servant? "
Accepting castration, Sima Qian suffered cruel physical abuse. "I'm not a stone, I am alone with the judges, and I am in a quiet place. Who can tell! " "Today, being friends with brothers, suffering from wooden ropes, attacking the skin, suffering from lists and living in the wall. At this time, when you see the jailer, you will grab the land first and rest when you see the apprentice. "
Sima Qian suffered heavy mental pressure when he was in prison. "Servants suffered this disaster in oral English, and they laughed for the hard time emerging to humiliate their ancestors. How can they face their parents' graves? Although always tired, but the dirt is very eye-catching! It is because the intestines are nine times a day that you will suddenly die if you live in them, but when you go out, you don't know where to go. Every time I think about my shame, I sweat profusely. "
Being imprisoned is an unbearable insult to Sima Qian, and it is a torture and destruction to Sima Qian's spirit and body.
When his body and spirit were destroyed and humiliated, in order to maintain his personal dignity, he repeatedly thought of suicide. But the thought that the historical records had not been completed made him sober. He warned himself that he had no right to choose suicide! "(Historical Records) If grass is not made, it will suffer this disaster. If it fails, it will be capital punishment, shameless. Many ancient sages wrote books with humiliation and resentment, which strengthened his will to life: "The ancients were famous for their wealth, but they were fascinating." Gasbo was arrested and played Zhouyi; Zhong You wrote Spring and Autumn Annals; Qu Yuan's exile is a tribute to Li Sao. Zuo Qiu is blind and has "Mandarin"; The foot of Sun Tzu's Art of War has been revised; It's not Shu, but Lu Lan. Han Fei imprisoned Qin, expressing embarrassment, loneliness and anger; There are 300 poems, probably written by sages when they are angry. "He gained strength from the example of ancient sages who wrote books with great anger, and finally overcame the catastrophe, great pain and great humiliation in his life, and found a way for himself in the future: to work hard and write books with great anger." Therefore, people who live in seclusion in the dirt hate selfishness, ignorance and lack of literary talent. "Angry writing" is the only purpose and motive of Sima Qian's choice of "seclusion". In order to realize his father's wishes and promises, he took the initiative to apply for a great shame with the courage of Shenxiong Guo Yi.
four
After accepting the castration, Sima Qian still served his sentence in prison. It was not until the first year of Taishi (96 BC) that Sima Qian had the opportunity to be pardoned and released from prison. Shortly after he was released from prison, he was appointed as a secretariat by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty as a "middleman" (eunuch), and as a "boudoir minister", he "praised the ministers and went in and out to play things", similar to the secretary-general of the emperor in the harem. On the surface, "deference" near the emperor seems to be a great insult to Sima Qian's personality. But he endured this humiliation with great perseverance, went all out and wrote a historical record in a race against time.
The disaster of Li Ling made Sima Qian re-examine his writing work. He had a new understanding of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, and he also had new thoughts on the compilation of historical records. On the narrative upper limit of Historical Records, he raised the narrative upper limit from the Warring States to Tang Tao, and broke with the Book of History compiled by Confucius in Yao Qi, and the narrative lower limit was extended from the original "beginning" to the beginning of the second year of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. "Seven years, Tai Shigong was trapped by Li Ling and was in an emergency. But he sighed and said, "This is my fault! It was my fault! It's no use destroying it. "Retreat and deep, in terms of' Fu Shishu', vague people want to follow their ambitions. ..... This person has a sense of stagnation and can't understand his way, so he tells the past and thinks about newcomers. " So since the death of Tao Tang, as for Linzhi. Since the yellow emperor. "In fact, the final lower limit is" down here "."Xiazizi "refers to the year when the writing of the chronicles of Baoren An Shu and Shiji actually ended, that is, Herry Liu, Wang Wei, died in the witch disaster in August of the second year of Zhenghe. This is the last chronicle of Historical Records. The difficulty of witchcraft is also a great tragedy of Sima Qian. He hoped that Liu Jicheng could set things right and restore the Han Dynasty. However, the dangers of family witchcraft directed by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty forced the prince to learn from himself, which completely shattered Sima Qian's last hope to set things right in the real world. This is another heavy blow to Sima Qian after the disaster of Li Ling. So he extended the lower limit of the chronicle of Historical Records to the difficulty of witchcraft, put an end to the day when Prince Liu Wei committed suicide, and announced that Historical Records was the last word!
The compilation theme of Historical Records has also undergone major changes, from praising the virtues of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to "studying the relationship between heaven and man, connecting the changes of ancient and modern times, and becoming a family statement". He wrote a straightforward book, praising the achievements of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and at the same time reprimanding Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty for "wanting more inside and outside and doing righteousness". Historical Records has been sublimated from the original history of praising Han Zhongyi to a classic to set things right, just as Bao said, "a hundred schools of thought". Sima Qian said in the preface to Historical Records Biography of Taishigong: "Wei Xi is the Yellow Emperor, and heaven is the law." The four saints become statutes in sequence; Tang Yao abdicated and Yu Shun did not stand; The merits of beauty and emperor will go on forever. Make "the first of the five emperors." "Heaven governs the land" is the general theme of Historical Records. Heaven is just and selfless, and true morality carries things. This is the foundation of Wang Zhiguo and the principle of being a man. This is really a golden word that should be "carried forever"! After the disaster of Li Ling, Historical Records became the real second Spring and Autumn Annals.
In the second year of Zheng He (9 1), Sima Qian finally finished his masterpiece Historical Records. This year 1 1 month, he informed his confidant Ren An of the news in a letter to Ren An. "Servant thief, almost from the words of incompetence, snare the world lost old news, slightly measure its behavior, comprehensive its beginning, record its success or failure. Up to Xuanyuan, down to here, there are ten tables, twelve biographies, eight chapters, thirty aristocratic families and seventy biographies, with 130 articles. ..... Pucheng has written this book, a famous mountain in Tibet, and spread it to its people. "
It took 14 years for Sima Qian to complete the writing of Historical Records from the first year of Taichu to the second year of Zheng He. If you count the preparation of writing materials, it will be more than 20 years. Now, he has no regrets, no worries, and can die calmly.
This is the third and last choice in Sima Qian's life: death! His mission has been completed, and now he can die generously, fight with death, wake up with death, and wash away the shame brought to him by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty with death! The first choice is to follow his father's instructions and set a goal in life. The second choice was forced by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In "Fight to the Death", he chose to live in seclusion and wrote a book with indignation. The third choice, he took the initiative to make, without any external force, he took the initiative to choose death. He is not afraid of death, but he wants to die aboveboard, worthy and "heavier than Mount Tai".
The book Bao Ren An Shu is a full-scale outbreak of Sima Qian, and it is also a challenge for him to face death bravely! "If you want to die, then right and wrong will be decided." Sima Qian is determined to use death to wash away his humiliation for so many years. He will show his mind with a heroic death, so that he and his value can be truly recognized by people. Therefore, death is his willing choice. "Servant bearing has written this book, famous mountains in Tibet, spread to people, known in the city. Then the servant will have to pay the humiliating responsibility (debt). Although he was killed, do you have any regrets! "
Ren An (Shao Qing) is a good friend of Sima Qian. He was a Wei Qing Sheren in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and later moved to Yizhou as a secretariat. In two years, Zheng He was sentenced to death because of the Prince incident. Sima Qian was released from prison after his imprisonment, and when he was appointed as the secretariat, he wrote a letter to Sima Qian, which was criticized by many people, saying that "teaching people to be cautious and pushing sages to be scholars", and "Ren Anyu, an old friend of Yizhou secretariat, moved books and blamed the ancient sages for their righteousness" (Biography of Sima Qian in Ban Gu Han History). Perhaps because the historical records have not been finished, Sima Qian did not answer. Now, the historical records have been completed and old friends are facing the death penalty. Sima Qian finally had no scruples and poured out his anger. Most scholars believe that it was this letter to Ren An that angered Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty again, leading him to finally kill Sima Qian.
The year of Sima Qian's death is not recorded in ancient books. The biography of Sima Qian in Han Dynasty recorded the life of Sima Qian, but it came to an abrupt end when the full text was copied. After that, he said nothing about Sima Qian's deeds, let alone when he died. He only mentioned Sima Qian's death in one sentence: "After he moved, his book was published briefly. When Xuan Di proclaimed himself emperor, his grandson Pingtong Hou Yang's ancestors narrated his book and announced it. When Wang Mang was in trouble, he asked for a seal and moved to Tongzi. " This abnormal practice is obviously hidden. Wei Hong, a well-known scholar of classical Chinese classics around the Han Dynasty, clearly wrote in Notes on the Old Instruments of the Han Dynasty: "The History of Jingdi written by Sima Qian is extremely short and shorter than that of Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu cut it down in a rage. After sitting on the ground for Li Ling, Ling surrendered to Xiongnu, so he moved to the silkworm house. If you complain, you will die in prison. " Sima Qian was imprisoned again and died suddenly at the end of Zheng He's second year (the first 90 years) at the age of 45.
five
Sima Qian chose to live in seclusion after Li Ling's disaster, and suffered great humiliation, "laughing as a rural party". Sang Hongyang, who was almost contemporary with Sima Qian, once said, "One day when I went to the silkworm house, my wife's sore was not cured. If I stayed in the palace, I would be spared." (Huan Kuan's On Salt and Iron, Qin Zhou) This passage seems to mean something. Not only Sang Hongyang, but Ren An probably touched on this issue in his letter to Sima Qian, and misunderstood and accused Sima Qian. Therefore, Sima Qian used such a large space to explain his motives repeatedly in his letter to Ren An.
However, the long river of time eventually washed away the dirty water poured on Sima Qian by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the great shame he suffered. Sima Qian's great soul finally radiates brilliant brilliance, and Historical Records also shows its great value and becomes a towering monument in the history of Chinese civilization that will never collapse.
It was Ban Gu, a historian of Han Dynasty, who first spoke highly of Sima Qian and Historical Records. He wrote in The Biography of Sima Qian in Han Dynasty: "Liu Xiang's and Liu Zhi's books are all called records, because they have a good history, obey their feelings, argue without being flashy, argue without being vulgar, write straight, be beautiful without hiding evil." Yang Xiong also wrote in the book "Fa Yan": "The teacher moves, and it is recorded." They unanimously praised Sima Qian's spirit of "not empty beauty and not hiding evil", which can be said to be right.
Zheng Qiao, a historian in Song and Yuan Dynasties, praised Historical Records. He said: "After one hundred generations, historians can't change the law, and scholars can't abandon books. After six classics, this is the only one. " Zhang Xuecheng, an outstanding historian in the Qing Dynasty, said in his masterpiece "On History, Literature and History": "The study of historical relocation is the only person after the Spring and Autumn Period." Liang Qichao said: "The great ancestor in history pushed Sima Qian." What contemporary China people are familiar with is Mr. Lu Xun's evaluation: "The swan song of historians is the rhyme of Li Sao." In order to realize his artistic ideal and complete his historical mission, Sima Qian made great sacrifices, and his name will go down in history forever.
Over the years, I have read Historical Records many times, and I regard it as a great textbook. Those heroic stories in the book gave me endless reverie and enlightenment. "People are inherently mortal, or they are heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather, so use them differently." In China, this sentence is deeply rooted in people's hearts because of a great man's quotation. Between life and death, righteousness and benefit, honor and humiliation, Sima Qian made a correct choice in life, and he perfectly explained the value of life with his own choice.
Reading historical records will always touch that great, lonely and unyielding soul.
I read Taishi Gong's book, but I didn't cry. I want to see him.