Chapter 26 The Old History of China (February 8, 1902)

Among the various disciplines common in Europe and the West today, only history is inherent in China.A historian is the most profound and important knowledge, the mirror of the people, and the source of patriotism.The reason why European nationalism is developed today, and why the countries are advancing in civilization, is half of the credit for history.However, if there is nothing to learn from the country, if it has it, the national security will not be united, and the public security will not evolve.Although, our country's learning is as prosperous as that, and its phenomenon is like this, so why?

Now I would like to cite the factions of Chinese historiography to express and briefly discuss: And so on. , "Tang Dynasty Series", "Ming Dynasty Barnyard History" and so on. Try to look through the books in the Siku, and there are so many books in it that they are so vast that they are not among the sixteenth or seventeenth in history books!From Tai Shigong, Ban Mengjian, down to Bi Qiufan and Zhao Oubei, there are no less than a few hundred historians, and the development of their studies has lasted for two thousand years.However, Chen Chenxiangyin, a breed of raccoon dog, has never heard of anyone who can open up a new world for the history world and spread the merits of this study to the people, why?I deduce the cause of the disease, there are four causes:

One said, knowing that there is a court but not knowing that there is a country.Our party often says.The twenty-four histories are not histories, but the genealogy of the twenty-four surnames.His words seem to be slightly exaggerated, but according to the spirit of the historian, the reality is not false.The historians of our country believe that the world is ruled by the monarch alone, so it is history, but it is just a description of how a certain dynasty got it, how it ruled it, and how it was lost. Otherwise, it is unheard of.In the past, people called "Zuo Zhuan" a "Book of Xiangxie", but "Zuo Zhuan", if it is the Twenty-Four Histories, is really one of the great Xiangxian books that has never been seen before or since.Although Sima Wengong is a sage, his "Tongjian" is only for the king's reading. (None of his "analects" are meant to advise the leaders of the group.) Gai always wrote history, all of them were written by the emperors and ministers of the court, and there was never a book written by the people.Its great concealment lies in not knowing the difference between the imperial court and the country, thinking that there is no country outside the imperial court.So there are so-called orthodox and intercalary disputes, and there are so-called writing styles before and after the Ding Revolution.Such as Ouyang's "New History of the Five Dynasties", Zhu Zi's "Tongjian Compendium", etc., today's thieves are tomorrow's gods;Just as a group of maggots pecking their arrows has not been able to rise up to now, how can historians who have been around for thousands of years be able to absolve themselves of the blame!

The second is to know that there are individuals but not that there are groups.History is the stage for heroes; there is little history without heroes.Although the history of Taixi is good, how can we not place more emphasis on the characters!Although, those who are good at history use characters as the material of history, and don't know that history is the portrait of characters;In the history of China, this biography and biographies, one by one, are like stones on the coast, piled up in disorder.In terms of quality, it is the ear of countless epitaphs.What is more valuable than history is that it can describe how a group of people negotiate, compete, and unite, and how a group of people can recuperate and evolve together, so that future readers will love and be kind to their group. Spontaneously!There are more historians today than crucian carp, but I have never heard of a single person who can see this.This is why the group strength, group wisdom, and group virtue of our people will never happen, and the group will never be established.

The third is to know that there are old traces but not that there are present affairs.Every book is expensive.As a historian, how many of the dead will be monuments?Do you want to make a musical for some past events?Almost not.It will make the people of the present world learn from it and judge it, thinking that it can be used in the world.Therefore, the more modern the history of Taixi, the more detailed the records will be.Otherwise, the history of a dynasty cannot appear until after the Ding Revolution.It's not just official history, Deng Geti is the same.Therefore, Wen Gong's "Tongjian" also started from the Warring States period and ended in the Five Dynasties.If this is the case, so that the dynasties will never change their surnames from the present to the past, will the history not be complete?Even if it is like the thousands of years in Japan, wouldn't it be a matter of history and nothing?Tai Shigong wrote "Historical Records" until "Jin Shang Ben Ji", and there are many taboos in his records, which is the natural duty of historians.The autocratic regimes of the later generations are improving day by day, and the morality and learning style of the people are getting more and more corrupt, and the end is as good as today.The root cause of the disease is based on the fact that history is the exclusive property of the imperial court, and there is no record outside the imperial court.Otherwise, although there are taboos in the imperial court, there are many things that can be disciplined among the people, so why not this and nothing?Today, if we want to study the facts of the past two hundred and sixty-eight years, there is no book to rely on, and word of mouth will affect the ears of suspected rumors.From time to time, I may borrow the writings of foreigners to see their scales and armor.However, the people of country A discuss the affairs of country B, and there is no one example. What's more, our country is closed to others and does not communicate with others?So my generation is poor.There is a saying: "Knowing the past but not the present is called Lu Chen." The crime of Lu Chen, our country's people, is a real corpse for historians!

Fourth, knowing that there are facts but not knowing that there are ideals.The human body is formed by combining more than forty kinds of original substances, such as eyes, ears, nose, tongue, hands and feet, viscera, fur, muscles, tendons, joints, blood wheels, and seminiferous tubes.However, if more than forty kinds of raw materials are collected, they can be used as eyes, ears, nose, tongue, hands, feet, viscera, fur, tendons, joints, blood wheels, and seminiferous tubes. If so, can they be called human beings?must.why?There is no spirit.What is the spirit of history?Said the ideal is already.There are small groups in a large group, and small eras in a large era, and the relationship between groups and the continuation of eras, there are news and principles in between, and historians can only explore them and know how to understand them. The cause of the other is the fruit of this, learning from the great examples of the past and showing the trend of the future, and then his book is beneficial to the world.The history of today's China Dan said in a daze: On a certain day there will be an event, and on a certain day there will be an event on B.As far as why this matter happened, what is its distant cause, and what is its proximate cause, it is impossible to say.It is impossible to say what the impact of this matter on other things or those in the future should be good or bad.Therefore, the history books filled with oxen are like the idols of the Wax Man's House, lifeless, and the reading is just a waste of brain power.It is the history of China, not a tool to benefit the people's wisdom, but a tool to consume the people's wisdom.

The above four are the level of knowledge of historians for thousands of years.Because of this four obscurations, two illnesses reappear. First, it can be described but not tailored.The British Confucian Spencer said: "Someone may tell that the cat next door gave birth to a son yesterday. It is a fact, and it is an honest fact; but who knows that it is a useless fact. Why? It has nothing to do with other things. It has nothing to do with it, and it has no influence on our behavior in life. However, there are many such things in history, and it is more than half of the thinking if we can use this example to view all things by reading books." History, the way to read history.The old historians of Western Qin and Western China are inevitable, but China is even more so: there is a solar eclipse on a certain day, an earthquake on a certain day, the canonization of a prince on a certain day, the death of a certain minister on a certain day, and a certain edict on a certain day.The paper is filled with the fact that "the cat next door has a baby", and it is often worth reading a whole volume without a single sentence entering the mind.For example, the book "Tongjian", which was drafted for 19 years, is best known as excellent, but today, when reading it with the eyes of Western history, only two or three out of ten people find it useful. ("Tongjian" contains the most discussion, because this book is specially written for Gejun, and we really think it is redundant after reading it today.) What about other things!Even "New History of the Five Dynasties" and the like pretend to be different, but in fact delete all important events, and only keep such words as "the cat next door has a child", isn't it more disgusting?Therefore, if you want to rule Chinese historiography today, you really have no way to start. "Twenty-Four Histories", "Nine Tongs", "Tongjian", "Continued Tongjian", "Great Qing Huidian", "Daqing Tongli", "Ten Dynasties Records", "Ten Dynasties Hadith", These books are must-reads.If you don’t read one of them, there will be too many leaks, but if you read all these books, reading ten volumes a day, it’s not thirty or forty years without merit!What's more, just reading these books will never be enough to use them. It is absolutely necessary to dabble in the ten and twenty-two categories listed above. (Miscellaneous histories, biographies, notes, etc., are often more useful than official histories? They often contain folk customs, unlike official histories that are written for emperors.) The geometry of life, how can it be so!Therefore, the inability to popularize my knowledge of Chinese historiography is due to the lack of a good history that is good and unique.

Second, one can copy but not create.Everything in China is based on the principle of "telling but not writing", and historiography is one end.Counting the historians over the past two thousand years, there are only six of them who have a little creative talent: one is Tai Shigong, the creator of the honest history world.His books also often have national thoughts. For example, Xiang Yu listed the Benji, Confucius and Chen She listed the aristocratic families, and scholars, rangers, assassins, and cargos were listed in the biographies, all of which have profound meanings.Most of the biographers are those who are very related to the times.And those who will be imitated by future generations will do nothing!The second is Du Junqing. The work of "Tong Dian" is not a chronicle but a discipline system.The relationship between the system and the people as a whole is more important than things.Du Ye did not create it before, although its completeness is not as good as "Tong Kao", but the merit of creation, how dare you expect Du Ye!The third is Zheng Yuzhong.Jiachong's historical knowledge is outstanding through the ages, but historical talent is not enough to call it.His "General History Twenty Briefings" is mainly based on conclusions and supplemented by descriptions, which really shines a bright light on the Chinese historical circle.It is a pity that it is trapped by the scope of Tai Shigong, and the seventh and eighth of the tenth chapter of Jizhuan are used to fill the whole book, and the bed is stacked on top of the house, which is generally dirty.The fourth is Sima Wengong. "Tongjian" is also a great text of heaven and earth. Its magnificent structure and abundant materials make it impossible for future generations who want to study general history to use it as a blueprint.Duke Wen is also a great man!The fifth is Yuan Shu.Today's Western history is mostly a matter of chronicling the beginning and the end, but in China, Yuan Shu was the only one who created this style, and there are many people who have contributed to it in the history circle.But his book "Tongjian Jishi Benmo" is not based on the relationship between things, but wants to find the cause and effect. It is just a convenient way to read "Tongjian", so I wrote this to copy Yuner.Although it is a creation, it is actually an unconscious creation, so his book is just an appendage of "Tongjian", and it cannot make scholars read it with special benefits.The sixth is Huanglizhou.Huang Lizhou's "Ming Confucianism Cases" is an unprecedented success for historians.China has only political history for thousands of years, but nothing else.Lizhou was created as a way of studying history, so that future generations can learn from it, so that the history of Chinese literature can be written, the history of Chinese race can be written, the history of Chinese wealth can be written, and the history of Chinese religion can also be written.There is no limit to the number of such persons!Lizhou completed the "Ming Confucianism Case", which was restored to the "Song and Yuan Xue Case", and died before it was completed.Even if it takes ten years, there may be magnificent works of Han and Tang Xuean and Zhou Qin Xuean, which is unpredictable.Lizhou is the hero of our country's ideological circles!If the husband is other than the six gentlemen (Yuan Shu can't be included in this list.), they are all so-called "the public is mediocre, and things are done because of people." After "Historical Records", all twenty-one chapters describe "Historical Records"; All of them imitate the "Tong Dian"; how slavish it is!Who can listen to the single-mindedness of the piano?Therefore, every time I read, I am afraid of lying down, and my thoughts are not advanced.

Combining these six disadvantages, there are three reasons for the evil results it brings to readers: one is difficult to read.The vastness is like a sea of ​​mist, and there is nothing to be poor in the poor years, as I said before.The second is hard to choose.Even if you have spare time and patience, you can read all the books you need to read, but if you have a keen eye and a high level of knowledge, you can't choose which one is useful and which one is useless, which is a waste of time and brainpower.The third is no feeling.Although I have read the whole history, there has never been one who can arouse his patriotism and unite his strength to stand among the nations in response to today's times.However, although our Chinese historiography is extremely developed in appearance, it cannot benefit from it as the people of European and American countries do, and this is the reason.

Do you want to promote nationalism today so that our 400 million compatriots can stand strong in this world of superiority and inferiority?Therefore, the subject of history in this country is actually no old or young, no man or woman, no wisdom, no fool, no sage, no shame, everyone should do it, and it is regarded as thirsty, hungry, and hungry, and it cannot be delayed for a moment.However, looking through the hundreds of thousands of volumes of records in the second library, there is almost no one whose qualifications can provide what I want and give me what I want.Woohoo, if there is no revolution in history, then our country cannot be saved.Of all things, only this is the greatest! How can I be different from the book "New Historiography"?I have no choice but to.