Biography is the main body of characters and an important content of local chronicles. Biography has two characteristics: one is true, and the other is vivid. (i.e. authenticity and literariness)
summary
"Record the history of faith". Like historical biographies, recorded biographies must be true and reliable and conform to historical facts. Character description must also adhere to the scientific attitude of seeking truth from facts. One, one, two, merit is merit, excessive is excessive, fiction is not exaggerated, evil is not concealed, praise is not exaggerated, and depreciation is not belittled. Seeking truth from facts, truthfulness and credibility, image truthfulness, truthfulness and credibility, truthfulness and touching. Only by "true feelings do not deceive" and "faith does not give birth" can we benefit people and spread it for a long time.
Rich and informative
In order to make the biography authentic, we must first collect and possess rich and informative materials in an all-round way, so as to make the life stories of the characters reflected in the biography accurate and complete. These materials generally include five basic aspects: (1) my name, gender, place of origin and nationality. (2) The date of birth and death of the characters. (3) the character's education, resume, party and position. (4) Contributions, scientific and technological achievements and works by people. (5) Typical events that can reflect the essential characteristics of characters' ideological style. For a large number of collected data, we should carefully identify, strictly select materials, do some analysis, research and textual research of "removing the rough and selecting the fine" and "removing the false and retaining the true", and strictly observe the reliability and accuracy of historical facts. Only in this way can it be recognized by the society and stand the test of history. If the historical facts are wrong, the argument will be incorrect. Therefore, when writing a biography, you must have rich, detailed, true and reliable information before you can start writing. In order to write a biography of Marx, Merlin spent nearly twenty years collecting and studying information about Marx. Sima Qian wrote Historical Records for ten years. If you add the time he spent collecting historical materials and investigating, it can be said that a Historical Records dedicated his life.
Character essence
Grasp the essence of characters and explain people from the environment. When writing a biography of a character, we should put the character in his social relations, from superficial phenomena to the internal relations between the character and various social relations, and grasp the essence of the character to describe it. Marx pointed out that human nature "is the sum of all social relations", and everyone's thoughts and actions are restricted by certain social relations. Biography is to write about a certain social relationship that created a certain person and how this person had a certain impact on the social relationship at that time. Marx's exposition provides the most important guiding ideology for the creation of biographies, and also points out the correct direction for truly describing the essential characteristics of characters. Some outstanding thinkers and writers have also pointed out that the compilation of biographies must describe the characters in their historical environment and cannot be divorced from the historical environment at that time. This is the basic viewpoint of historical materialism. When writing a biography of Marx, the German workers' movement Roluxembourg hoped that Merlin could explain people from the environment and the environment from the history. If we ignore the internal relationship between people and society and don't put people in the historical environment at that time, we can't write realistic figures, or even distort the true face of historical figures. Even like the outstanding French writer V Hugo, his little Napoleon failed to understand the social situation caused by the class struggle in France at that time, which made it possible for a mediocre and ridiculous figure louis bonaparte to play the role of a hero. Marx said that Hugo didn't realize: "When he said that this man showed unprecedented personal initiative in the history of the world, he didn't write this man as a villain, but as a great man." And this is a departure from the historical truth. It can be seen that if you want to write a good biography, you must understand the historical environment and background of the characters, put the characters in a certain historical environment and background, and deal with them as you deal with them, so as to write a typical and true biography.
A fair evaluation
Make a fair evaluation of the characters from their complexity. History is a colorful kaleidoscope, and historical figures have their complexity. Under the complicated historical conditions, a large number of historical figures have both successes and failures. Some people are more successful than others, and some people are more successful than others. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively study and analyze historical figures, and look at their good and bad, merits and demerits in two aspects. Never write off the contributions of the previous period just because a person is not good in the later period, nor write off all other contributions just because he has done something wrong. We must respect facts and history. The Biography of Huai Yin Hou written by Sima Qian is a passionate description of Han Xin's military talents, but it is a straight book that does not cover up Han Xin's "inaction", "unable to cure businessmen", "food from people to eat and drink" and "leaning out of his legs" in his early years, which makes readers feel true and credible. Therefore, writing a biography must proceed from the objective conditions of social history at that time, record and evaluate historical figures realistically, and truly reflect their true colors.
Celebrity example
The so-called vivid, is to write the characters alive. Written with distinctive personality, it can reflect the characteristics of the times and classes, and it is lifelike flesh and blood, not a dry idol or a robot with only actions and no thoughts. Sima Qian's Historical Records is outstanding, independent of the ages, not by accident, but because he created many distinctive characters. Marx also wrote biographies for military activists and politicians from the end of 18 century to the first half of 19 century. He wrote Bertil, Bernardote, Bruen and Briante, which vividly described the French military and political activists in the Napoleonic period, including those who were insatiable and pursued fame and fortune. There are aspirants eager for official positions, titles, and the throne; There are unscrupulous profiteers who are willing to serve any system. These biographies not only describe the unique personality of the characters, but also provide the essential characteristics of the upper class of the bourgeoisie in Napoleon I's empire and become a model of biographical articles. Engels also wrote many biographies. Like Marx, Engels' biographies highlight the grasp of the characters' personalities and the class characteristics represented by the characters. Therefore, in his works, Marx, Jenny von westphalen Marx and other characters have been vividly reproduced. Therefore, a successful biography should not only reflect the differences in class, occupation, cultural quality, beliefs, experiences, opportunities and their influences, but also reflect the differences in personality of the same class, occupation, quality, beliefs, opportunities and their influences. We should not only highlight the personality of the characters, but also reflect the inevitability of their formation and development. Only in this way can the characters written be vivid and vivid.
Typical material selection
In order to meet the above requirements, typical materials must be selected. When writing a biography of a character, we should not only summarize the whole picture of the character, but also select in detail the major and representative events that can best reflect the characteristics of the character, and discard or skip the events that cannot express the characteristics of the character. Processing and refining from various materials, choose the typical events that can best express the main personality characteristics of the characters to write. These typical events are often the key to a character's life. Writing these key points well can not only show the main merits and demerits of a person's life, but also show the process and characteristics of historical development. In this respect, Sima Qian's Historical Records are worth learning, such as Historical Records, Biography of Lian Po and Biography of Lin Xiangru. Lian Po and Lin Xiangru are both important figures in the feudal ruling group of Zhao. In order to show the main personality characteristics of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru, Sima Qian chose three things to write, instead of writing a resume for each of them, namely, "Return to Zhao in full", "Mianchi Meeting" and "offer a humble apology". These three things reflect two kinds of contradictions, one is the contradiction between Qin and Zhao, the other is the contradiction between Lian and Lin, and the consequence of the development of the former contradiction is the cause of the latter contradiction. Through these two pairs of contradictions and conflicts, the main personality characteristics of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru are fully displayed. At the same time, the struggle between Qin and Zhao for the meeting of Choi and Mianchi is essentially two strength contests between the ruling classes of Qin and Zhao, which is the prelude to Qin's massive attack on Zhao, so the choice of these two events also shows the characteristics of the historical development process. It is important to write great events, but the details can not be ignored. Sometimes a character's personality is often manifested in some details. Mao Dunshui: "He is good at describing a typical writer. He not only uses major events to express his character, but also does not relax his description of any details." Proper description of trivial matters can help us understand the details, enhance the credibility and appeal of biographies, and even predict the future development of characters. For example, Historical Records of Chen She Family begins with such a detail: when Chen She was a servant, he once said to his companions, "Be rich and forget everything" and proudly said, "Swallows know the ambition of swans!" This detail seems unnecessary, but it actually helps to show the ideological context of the characters and write their consistent personality history. Chen She was ambitious when he was young, so he later developed into the Daze Township Uprising. When writing about Chen She, when he was young, he compared others to insignificant birds, so after he became king, he was seriously divorced from the masses and even killed an old friend who had trouble in his early years. This is an important reason for his ultimate failure, but the ideological roots have long been planted.
Record someone's words
Second, be sure to remember words. Thought dominates action, and action expresses thought. Different characters have different thoughts and personalities and different actions. Narrating a character's behavior is an important way to reveal his inner world and personality characteristics. Therefore, when describing characters, we should choose the most typical actions that can best express the characters' thoughts and personalities. For example, in Biography of Ji Hongchang, the author described that during the period of 193 1 ~ 1932 when Ji Hongchang was forced to go abroad, he specially wore the sign "I'm from China" on his chest in order to oppose American discrimination against Chinese. The description of this detail shows Ji Hongchang's noble national integrity and his personality charm. Another example is "Historical Records of Xiang Yu", which wrote that after the great victory of the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu was all-powerful, and the princes dared not take it. The author uses Xiang Yu to summon Hou Jiang, and Hou Jiang's action description of "kneeling on his knees and not daring to look up" reflects Xiang Yu's arrogant character. It can be seen that the description of action is very important for describing characters. Only when the characters have concrete actions can they be vivid and touching. "What you say must be done". Characters' thoughts, feelings, wishes and demands are all expressed through their language, so it is also a very important way to choose typical characters' language to express their personality. For example, Historical Records of Xiang Yu wrote about Xiang Yu's spectacular trip to Qin Shihuang, saying, "He can take his place." However, when Liu Bang saw this spectacle, he said in Historical Records and Biography of Emperor Gaozu: "Wow! A gentleman should be like this. " Although both of them mean to envy the emperor, they embody two different personalities. Poems and writings of characters (including articles, letters and diaries) are highly concentrated and highlighted in the ideological realm of characters, just like words. They all condense the characters' understanding, views and attitudes towards current things. It is also essential to quote poems and writings of some characters appropriately, write vivid characters and highlight their personalities.
Pay attention to literary talent
Third, we should pay attention to literary talent. Although biographies cannot be biased towards flowery rhetoric, tedious descriptions, redundant descriptions and tortuous plots. But the language is vivid, the words are accurate and appropriate, the sentences are fluent, the levels are clear and the layout is reasonable. In short, we must attach importance to literary talent. Although biographies in Historical Records are different from those in literature, the former is based entirely on historical facts and does not allow any fiction, while the latter allows a certain degree of fiction on the basis of historical truth. However, there is a common need for vividness and therefore literary talent. Because the messenger, too. Biography is produced to spread to future generations, to "remember the words of one side and arouse the love and hate of future generations" and to "learn from others and understand things". Confucius said, "without words, it is not far away." It can be seen that paying attention to literary talent is also a problem that should be paid great attention to when compiling biographies of Historical Records. Marx demanded that biographies should be "strongly colored" and "lifelike". Engels believed that characters should be "dazzling". "Shi Tong" said: "Those who call their husbands beautiful in history put narrative first. If a book is written with merits and demerits, good and evil are recorded. If the text is not beautiful but not wild in quality, people will taste its purport and cherish its virtue. If they forget it for three times, they will fail for a hundred times." Under the condition of not affecting the historical authenticity, it is necessary for historical records to advocate literary color, rich literature and history and fascinating. Therefore, writing a biography should pay attention to the tempering of words and artistic techniques.
China's biography not only originated very early, but also has various genres. To sum up, the genre of biographies can be divided into four categories: one is biographies, the other is biographies (that is, biographies), the third is historical biographies, and the fourth is biographies (referring to legends in local chronicles). China's biographical writing was in its infancy as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Quite vivid characters have appeared in historical works such as Zuozhuan, Guoyu and Warring States Policy. This period can be regarded as the beginning of biography. By the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, during the period of Emperor Wu, Historical Records, known as "poems without rhyme, masterpieces of historians", appeared. The biographical style initiated by Sima Qian indicates that China's biographical literature has reached a mature stage and reached a peak. Sima Qian not only created biographies instead of narrating historical events, but also used literary means to describe historical figures and created a series of vivid characters, which not only laid a solid foundation for the rise of China literature and historiography, but also had a great impact on the development of historiography, literature and drama. Generally speaking, the so-called official history after Shiji is to learn or imitate the brushwork of Shiji, with discipline and biography as the main body. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, literature and history began to divide, and they developed according to their own needs and characteristics, thus becoming more and more distinct. Literati pay attention to rhetoric and image, while historians pay attention to the truth and accuracy of historical materials, but seldom pay attention to literary talent. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, especially after the Tang Dynasty, miscellaneous biographies developed rapidly, such as inscriptions, biographies and autobiographies, and many famous works appeared. This kind of biography has not only increased in number, but also become more colorful in form. They are loyal to historical facts to varying degrees in content, but their brushwork is literary. So works like this can only belong to literary works-biographical literature. Local chronicles have a long history of describing characters. According to "Sui Shu Jingji Zhi", "Guangwudi began to write to Nanyang at the end of the Han Dynasty, and writing letters was a custom, so Pei and Sanfu had the order of retiring the old scholars. Lu and Minjiang are praised by celebrities. " (See Notes on the Book of Sui Dynasty, p. 982. ) Since then, in the Jin Dynasty, the book Huayang Guozhi, which was often written, was all about characters from Volume 5 to Volume 12. Since then, it has become a rule to describe characters in local chronicles. After the Song Dynasty, the writing of local chronicles in China gradually matured, and the setting of style and content was more complete. "The Taiping Universe in the music history of the Northern Song Dynasty is also incorporated into surnames by region, and the titles, poems and chores are all detailed because of the characters. There are many characters in the local chronicles of the Song Dynasty and related historical events and documents. " (See Fu Zhenlun: On the Compilation of Numbers). In the Ming and Qing dynasties, local chronicles flourished, not only in large numbers, but also in complete categories. Most local chronicles describe characters. Local chronicles and figures in Qing Dynasty were placed in an important position. Not only does it occupy a lot of space, but there are also many types of characters. As long as the ruling class at that time thought it was beneficial to society, they all entered the local records. To sum up, the development of China's biography has gone through a long historical period, from biographies with no distinction between literature and history to biographies with different histories, from biographies and miscellaneous biographies to biographies. This shows that China's biography has a long history, rich content and various forms. Second, there were many biographical works in ancient times. Such as biography, admonition, inscription, monument, expression, praise, funeral and so on. It is even more complicated when subdivided: for example, "biography" refers to a biography, which is different from full biography, big biography, short biography and short biography in content, and also different from other biographies and autobiographies in the relationship between the sender and the owner, in addition to other names, such as biography, biography and comment. Another example is that "shape" has a linear shape and something simple; There are epitaphs, watches, epitaphs, epitaphs, etc. , are describing and praising the life story of the deceased, mostly praising important figures in history. The most extant works are biographies and inscriptions. These are precious materials for our compilation of history books.
summary
Biography, although in various forms, is generally in the form mentioned above. Their writing methods are quite different. However, all excellent biographies are still common. The similarities are as follows:
Authenticity of characters
In the thousands of years of historical changes in China, many different types of characters have appeared. There are not only great men who push history forward, but also sinners who move against the torrent of history. Their origins, status, experiences, thoughts and personalities are different. These characters have played a certain role in history and had a certain influence, so they will leave their own shadows in history. The author, the purpose of erecting a monument for these people is to suppress evil and promote good, "recommend to persuade the world, condemn to warn people." For more than 2,000 years, biographers have given lofty honors to those heroes who love the motherland, are not afraid of violence and die, and at the same time, they have ruthlessly punished and flogged treacherous officials. All excellent biographies strive to express the truth, be loyal to history and facts, judge right and wrong, and praise and criticize accurately.
An epoch-making figure
Because excellent biographers have achieved "the writing is straight, the matter is the core, the beauty is not empty, and the evil is not hidden", the characters left in their biographies have the characteristics of the times. For example, intellectuals in feudal society have different biographical characteristics because of different times. In the Biography of Mr. Wu Liu (Tao Yuanming), his spirit of "not worrying about the poor and the rich" is consistent with the characteristics of intellectuals of his time-talking loudly and entertaining himself; Yuan Hongdao's Biography of Xu Wenchang is a biography of a strange man. As we all know, the Ming society was dark, spies were rampant, literary inquisitions flourished, and intellectuals were "prone to madness", so Xu Wenchang's life could only be from failure to madness, from madness to imprisonment to death. His tragedy is caused by society and is a tragedy of the times. In both cases, the authors are literati. Due to different times, their personalities are different and their experiences are different.
The character's personality
Reading excellent biographies is like visiting Luohan Hall. Many clay sculptures have different faces and expressions. Some biographies have reached such a high level because biographers understand and are good at handling the dialectical relationship between the commonness and individuality of characters.
Being loyal to historical facts and suppressing evil and promoting good in content expression is a fine tradition of China's biographical writing, which has continued to this day. This is the common feature of all kinds of biographies. However, the expression of various biographies is very different. First of all, chronicles and biographies are different. First, Biography pays attention to literary talent, especially "rhetoric". There are a lot of adjectives and modifiers to enhance the literariness of biography; Second, Biography is based on facts and pays attention to the description of literary images. The integration of historical biography and literary biography can not but affect the authenticity of characters' history to a certain extent; Third, notes should be added at the end of biographical articles, such as "Tai Shi Gong Yue" and "Zanyue". The author publicly stood up and commented on the characters. The above three points are absolutely not allowed in the annals. Secondly, local chronicles are different from historical biographies. Some experts further pointed out that biographies of local chronicles and historical biographies are the same and belong to the same genre-historical style. However, the historical biography can be combined with historical theory, and the history can be discussed, but the chronology can't be discussed. That is, there are many methods for historical biography, such as narration, discussion first, recording later, or discussion first. Biography can only describe the life, deeds and merits of the characters. The good, evil, beauty and ugliness of characters need to be reflected through narration. It should be said that local biographies are different from historical biographies. Therefore, in the writing of biographies of local chronicles, we should use words carefully, not distinguish the right and wrong of the owner, but let readers read between the lines.