Chapter 2 Bo Yangxu

I have always held the wish of translating into modern languages, and now I am very excited that it has been realized.Because, among China's voluminous historical books, there are actually only two historical books that are the most valuable works, one is "Historical Records" by Mr. Sima Qian, and the other is this book by Mr. Sima Guang. During the Song Dynasty in the eleventh century, Sima Guang led the Conservative Party (Old Party) against the Reform Party (New Party) headed by Wang Anshi, and both sides lost power for a time.When the Conservative Party lost power for a time, Mr. Sima Guang completed this masterpiece.

This is a 1,362-year-long "Chronicle of the Middle Ages of China", including the four most chaotic and suffering eras in Chinese history: Sima Guang's incomparable courage and foresight, and his editors are all knowledgeable historians, so the chaotic historical relics of 1362 years can be presented to the world in an orderly manner.Together with the "Spring and Autumn Annals", the ancestor of the chronicle, there is no clearer and more accurate historical record in China. Because of the author's conservative stance, some people doubted whether it was worthy of respect, and some people even regarded it as a "taming technique", accusing it of being used exclusively by the ruling class.However, a great cultural product has many functions. The view of history may not be able to convince everyone, but the historical materials are serious. Sima Guang has left treasures for us.What's more, when Sima Guang dealt with historical materials, he only expressed his subjective opinions in the length of "Sima Guang said".If there is no Mr. Sima Guang, the historical materials will be lost, even if today's professional historians have the conditions Sima Guang had at that time, they will be powerless.

Zhao Xu, the sixth emperor of the Song Dynasty, named it, which is really an act of Buddha's head, turning a history book into a political knowledge-the mirror of the emperor.But we are grateful for his naming and the preface he wrote, which is the most important and legendary preface in the history of Chinese culture.When the Reform Party came to power and ordered the ban, some people warned that it would be a challenge to the emperor, so they stopped in panic.However, although it thinks and is supposed to be the mirror of the emperor, in fact, few emperors benefit from this mirror.The emperors of the Ming Dynasty had to study it every morning, but the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were not as good as a crab.Although power can make people crazy, power can also make people so stupid that they cannot see the mirror, or even though they see the mirror, they feel that the ugly reflection in the mirror is as beautiful as a fairy.Therefore, it is not so much the mirror of the emperor, but the mirror of the people.Through the passage, we can see the historical position we are in and the fate we face, as well as the mentality and behavior trajectory of the ruling class, which can be used as the evaluation standard for them.For example, from the evolution of dynasties and the frequency of revolutions, we at least understand that there is no democratic thought in Chinese political thought.The most extravagant hope of the people is the appearance of a sage king.As for how to appear a sage and sage, the traditional method is to rely on their self-restraint-character.This encounters difficulties, because only another power check and balance can make people follow the rules.Morality must never be trusted, because power can corrupt morality.The only thing we can rely on is the democratic system. However, all the regime changes in Chinese history lack this kind of thinking as the highest guiding principle, so that they have been hacking and killing in circles and cannot be stopped.

We don't think that democracy is a panacea. Culture and tradition are not a big tree, but a big river, and neither political nor military power can cut it down.There are a variety of behavioral models on the market, and the same products are still being poured out so far.Without careful reading, it is impossible to understand China, understand Chinese people, understand Chinese politics, and look forward to China's future. It was originally written in classical Chinese used by intellectuals in the 11th century, but it seems too rough and difficult for modern people from the 20th century onwards.In the past, people's lives were simple, and intellectuals could devote their entire lives to classics and history.Nowadays, the pace of society is as fast as a running train, and people don't even have time to check tools.If there are no modern language texts to come out, the priceless ones will have a dusty doom.

There are three biggest difficulties in translation: first, place names. The Chinese are the most courageous people in the world to change place names. Where are the ancient places?Seems like it's all in the clouds.The second is the official name, the name of the official position in the past dynasties, weird and grotesque, often unimaginable.The third is time, instead of writing "year" for "year", write "Zhuyong Shetige", and "day" instead of writing "day", but write "Jia Zi Yi Chou".Our plan is: still use the ancient place names, add the current place names, and draw a separate map, the more detailed the better, so that historical figures live on the actual stage.The official names are all titles that modern people understand, and the original titles are annotated. This is necessary for Gai to know his power relationship.For "year", we use AD.Only the AD can show the time distance, not only will it no longer be troubled by "Zhuyong Shetige", but the year number is also used as an accessory to get rid of the most controversial "Zhengshuo".As for "day", we use numbers to get rid of "Jia Zi B Ugly".We swear that we will not only be faithful to the original text, but also produce a translation that can replace the ancient text, and also make it simple and clear, so that it can be read freely without relying on any reference books.

The translation work was not realized until this year (1983).Because Yuanliu Publishing Company got inspiration from the Australian edition of "Oxford Dictionary".After Australia bought the text copyright of the dictionary, because it was too heavy and the cost was too high, it was released in installments, one volume per month—that is, one letter, and it took more than two years to publish all of them.This is a bold attempt, and fortunately, it has achieved unprecedented success.Although some people worry that Chinese readers will have the ambitions of English readers, we are confident.It was decided to publish a volume every month, with three years as the tentative time limit, to complete all of them.I can't guarantee that the translation is error-free.But I can assure you that it is definitely not a vernacular that translates "日" into "Shuo".

This preface was written after the first volume was finished. During the translation process, I found that turning dead words into living words while preserving the original meaning of dead words is sometimes more difficult than creating new ones.The biggest feature of classical Chinese is that there is no subject, and often the preface does not follow the postscript, the preface is in the east, and the postscript is suddenly in the west, making it difficult to coherent.With allusions piled up, the meaning is more easily confused.As well as the current annotation of place names and the current translation of official names, all of them have been exhausted.Almost every row has a mine, and you can't move forward until you clear it.But for a complete solution, time does not allow - some issues may require years of litigation.But I kept going, working hard, trying my best.

It is for sequence.