Sima Qian
Introduction to Sima Qian:
Sima Qian (about 145? Zi Chang, a former 90-year-old, was born in Longmen, xia yang (now south of Hancheng, Shaanxi), and was a great historian, writer and thinker in the Western Han Dynasty. His Historical Records is the first biographical general history of China. Sima Qian lived in an era when the Han Dynasty was strong, economically prosperous and culturally prosperous. At the age of ten, Sima Qian went to Chang 'an with his father, and studied under the old doctor Fu Sheng and the great scholar Kong Anguo. Family learning is deeply rooted, and it has benefited a lot from the education of famous teachers and inspiration. Around the age of twenty, Sima Qian began to travel. At the age of 38, Sima Qian became an official rank and had the opportunity to read all the books, files and various historical materials hidden in the court of the Han Dynasty. Later, because of Li Ling's defense, his body and mind were greatly hit.
He endured great physical and mental pain with his whole life's energy and painstaking efforts, and wrote a masterpiece "Historical Records" that will shine forever throughout his life. Lu Xun called it? Historians sing a swan song, Li Sao has no rhyme. ?
Sima Qian's success story:
Follow my father's wishes and decide to write a book. Famous mountains in Tibet, descendants? History books. In the seventh year when he started writing this history book, the case of Li Ling happened. Li Ling, the general of the Second Normal University, was defeated and surrendered because he was outnumbered in a war with Xiongnu. Sima Qian defended Li Ling, angered Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, was arrested and imprisoned, and was abused? Corruption? .
After accepting the model, I tried to commit suicide because of humiliation and pain, but I can think that my ideal of writing history books has not been completed. So I stood up and endured the humiliation. I spent 18 years before and after, and finally wrote a historical record. This masterpiece has 526500 words. Creating a general history of China's biography, with rich and informative historical materials, has always been respected by people. Lu Xun once spoke highly of Historical Records in very general language. Historians sing a swan song, Li Sao has no rhyme. ?
Sima Qian's childhood story:
Sima Qian (about 145 ~ 87) was born in Hancheng, Shaanxi. He was a great historian, writer and thinker in the Western Han Dynasty. He wrote "Historical Records" 130 articles, about 500,000 words, describing the major historical events and outstanding historical figures from the Yellow Emperor to the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty for about 3,000 years. It is a summary of China's ancient history and a brilliant literary work.
Sima Qian spent his childhood in Longmen, Hancheng. Longmen is on the edge of the Yellow River, with rolling mountains, swift rivers and magnificent scenery. The river of the mother of the Chinese nation nourished Sima Qian's childhood. He often helps his family to cultivate crops and graze cattle and sheep. He has accumulated a certain knowledge of agriculture and animal husbandry since he was a child, and has developed the habit of hard work. At the strict request of his father, Sima Qian read ancient history books at the age of 10. He took notes while reading, and asked his father if he didn't understand. Because of his extraordinary diligence and clever mind, he read all the influential historical books, and the 3,000-year ancient history of China has a general outline in his mind. Later, I learned from great scholars such as Kong Anguo and Dong Zhongshu. He studies very hard. When he meets a difficult problem, he always thinks carefully until he understands it. Influenced by his father, he was determined to be a historian from an early age.
One day, it was almost time for dinner. Father called Sima Qian to his side, pointed to a book and said, Son, you have been herding sheep outside for months and have no time to study. I'm too busy to teach you. Now let me teach you how to read before the meal is ready. ? Sima Qian read the book, looked at his father gratefully and said, Dad, I have read this book. Please check it and see if I read it correctly.
I recited the book from beginning to end.
Father listened to Sima Qian's recitation and felt very strange. He doesn't believe that there are prodigies in the world, that there is no teacher to teach himself, and that the legendary deity is enlightened. However, how did Sima Qian recite it? He's confused.
The next day, Sima Qian drove the sheep ahead, and his father secretly followed. The sheep crossed the hill to the east of the village, crossed the stream below and came to a depression. The lowlands are rich in aquatic plants and attractive in green. Sima Qian drove the sheep to the middle of the grass. When the sheep began to eat grass, he took out a book from his arms and began to read. The sound of reading echoed on the grass from time to time. Looking at all this, my father understood everything. He nodded happily and said, I wish I could teach! A willing son can teach! ?
From the age of 20, Sima Qian began to travel around the world to inspect history and customs, which provided sufficient historical materials for him to write history books in the future. After making the Taishi Order, he often had the opportunity to follow the emperor around the country, collected a lot of historical materials and learned a lot about the ruling group. He also eagerly read a large number of books collected by the imperial court and collected all kinds of important historical materials. Just as he was writing historical records, he pleaded for Li Ling and offended Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He was put in prison and sentenced to heavy punishment.
Sima Qian continued to write after he was released from prison. After 10 years of hard work, he finally wrote Historical Records. This masterpiece had a profound influence on later history and literature.
Sima Qian's story of learning to read;
Sima Qian was a quiet and inactive child when he was a child. His favorite thing is to follow his father. During the day, the children are playing outside, but Sima Qian moved a small bench to sit next to his father, listening to his reading and watching him write and draw. ? Dad's huge sum is amazing! ? Xiao Sima Qian thought. In the evening, after dinner, Sima Qian threw himself into his father's arms. Dad, what's the story today?
As Sima Qian grew up day by day, he met a problem. Why does dad know so many things and tell so many stories?
It turned out that my father read it from books, and Sima Qian flipped through it. He couldn't understand it at all, and he was anxious to cry.
From that day on, Sima Qian learned to read with his father.
Sima Qian's story: the son inherited his father's work and wrote a historical record, which he wanted to sing to Tai Shigong for a thousand years.
Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, is an official who is responsible for managing astronomical calendars and recording historical events.
Sima Tan once? Learn Tianguan, Yang He and Tao? . He is proficient in astronomy, I ching, Huang Lao Xue, etc. Mainly based on the theory of Huang Lao, it critically absorbs Confucianism, Mohism, Ming, Fa and Yin Yang, and has a rich collection of books. He was a famous thinker at that time.
Sima Tan loves his son very much and lets him work, study, inspect and write books everywhere.
Sima Tan loves his son very much and is bent on training Sima Qian into a talented person with lofty ideals. Sima Qian was diligent and studious since he was a child. When he was young, he often listened attentively to his father's academic views and interesting historical stories he saw and heard. Sima Qian studied very hard and was very clever. He learned the popular Chinese characters in his childhood. In order to let him know more about social life, Sima Qian studied agriculture and animal husbandry according to his father's instructions before he was 10. Farming and grazing the sun of rivers and mountains? Help people do some farm work. Later, he has been obsessed with this childhood farming and grazing life, which shows his deep feelings. /kloc-at the age of 0/0, he began to read China's ancient classics, such as Zuo Zhuan, Guoyu, The Book of Songs and so on.
In order to broaden their horizons and lay a good foundation for learning, Sima Tan also asked his son to learn from famous artists and learn from the strengths of others with an open mind. Sima Qian once studied the Book of History from Kong Anguo and asked Dong Zhongshu about the story of Confucius' Spring and Autumn Annals.
When Sima Qian was 20 years old, his father arranged for him to travel all over the motherland, which was a brave move at that time. Because what was advocated at that time? Parents are here, not traveling far? Credo, and Sima Tan resolutely broke the shackles of secular ideas for his son.
With the support and encouragement of his father, Sima Qian left the comfortable and superior living environment in Chang 'an and embarked on a arduous journey of roaming the famous mountains and rivers of the motherland. This is what he wrote in Historical Records? As Taishi Gongxu said:? At the age of 20, I traveled south to Jianghuai, visited Huiji, explored Yudong and got a glimpse of Jiukui, floating in Yuanxiang. In the north, Si Wen, the capital of Qilu, was involved, guarding the legacy of Confucius, shooting Zou Feng in the countryside, trapping Xue Pengcheng in Hubei, and crossing Liang Chugui. ? After you come back? Being a doctor? ; Another special envoy? Western expedition Bashu, Nanlueqiong, Yan, Kunming? . After that, I went to many places. Over the past 20 years, I have traveled on Wan Li Road, and my footprints are almost all over the country. Wherever he went, he made an in-depth investigation and detailed records of local history, geography, customs and anecdotes, and accumulated extremely rich historical materials, which laid a solid foundation for his future work in historical records in terms of conception, materials, rhetoric, momentum and many other aspects. For example, I reread Qu Yuan's works such as Li Sao, Tian Wen, Evocation and Mourning in Xiangshui Valley, and personally visited the Miluo River where Qu Yuan drowned, making full preparations for his later writing Biography of Qu Yuan and Biography of Jia Sheng.
Sima Tan has long been interested in writing a general history and made long-term preparations. However, due to old age and infirmity, I could not complete this huge project, so I pinned my hopes on my son.
On his deathbed, Sima Tan took his son's hand and said affectionately. As a national historian, I failed to write a decent history book, and it pains me to think about it. It has been more than 400 years since Confucius. Due to the annexation of princes, wars continued, and historical records were relaxed or even interrupted. Now that China is unified and the country is prosperous, it's time to continue writing this history book. As an official of the Han Dynasty, I didn't record this history completely, and I felt uneasy. Really die unsatisfied! If you want to carry on your father's legacy, don't forget to write a book about this great event, don't let the national history book be interrupted, and don't forget the great event I haven't finished yet! ? Speaking of which, Sima Tan career, sobbing. Sima Qian squatted by his father's bed and vowed: Even if there is no greater hardship, I will fulfill your entrustment. Please rest assured my father! ?
After Sima Qian succeeded to the Taishi Order, he ruled history in anger. Although he was imprisoned and humiliated, he finally wrote the Historical Records, which was a farewell song throughout the ages.
Three years after his father died, Sima Qian succeeded to the throne? Taishiling? His official position gave him more opportunities to read all kinds of books collected by the state, and to further familiarize himself with and sort out the historical processes, major events and representative figures of various countries, thus greatly enriching his historical knowledge. On the basis of long-term historical data collection and a large number of field investigations and studies, Sima Qian began to compile historical records after five years of preparation, in order to realize his father's? Words that record the world? The legacy of. Sima Qian, 42, knows the importance of history to the rise and fall of a country and a nation. He kept in mind his father's expectations and dying teachings, forgot to eat and sleep, and devoted himself to this great and hard work.
However, while Sima Qian was working hard day and night to write Historical Records, an unfortunate thing happened. In the first 99 years, Li Ling, a general of the Han Dynasty, was defeated in a battle and surrendered to the Huns. When talking about his handling opinions on this matter, Sima Qian said a few objective and fair words, which angered Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, was put in prison and sentenced to imprisonment. This is a great insult and blow to Sima Qian. He was in pain, but when he thought about the career his father left him, he stubbornly persisted in living. In a letter to a friend, he said: I have suffered such shameful corruption, so I have to live in silence, because I have collected a lot of historical materials for many years. I want to write a history book on the development from ancient times to the present, and establish a family statement to prevent the history of the country from being cut off. If this book has been written and circulated in the world, I will never regret it even if I have to die at once. Sima Qian didn't write historical records for Ashi before he dared to write them directly. What is he doing this for? Family talk? Compared with the classics, with a highly serious attitude and indomitable spirit, after more than ten years of efforts, he completed an epoch-making brilliant masterpiece Historical Records.
Historical Records began in Huangdi and ended in Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, covering more than 3,000 years of historical events, 130, with more than 526,000 words. Book biography? "Five Categories" has vivid language images and rich and reliable historical materials, which is regarded as a model of prose and praised by people. Eternal scripture . Mr. Lu Xun once praised it? Historians sing a swan song, Li Sao has no rhyme? . For two thousand years, countless historians and writers in China have learned from him.
Historical Records is the crystallization of the painstaking efforts of Sima Qian and his father Sima Tan. This shows how important and profound the influence of father's interest and personality on children is! How indispensable it is for a father to induce, motivate and cultivate his children from an early age!