Chapter 9 Sima Qiansan

Sima Qian himself said: "When I was twenty, I traveled to the Jianghuai River in the south, went to Kuaiji, explored Yu's cave, peeked at the nine doubts, and floated in Yuanxiang. Wensi in the north, lectured on the capital of Qilu, and observed the legacy of Confucius... Passed Liang Chu and returned .” After leaving Chang'an, he headed southeast through Wuguan to Nanyang (now in Henan), abandoned his car and took a boat, and went down the Yangtze River.It is not known whether the ship he was on was an official ship.His trip covers a wide range, including Jianghuai, Qilu and Central Plains.A person on foot surveys generally has a destination, but more destinations are discovered on the way.It is commonplace to eat and sleep in the open air.When he was hungry, he climbed trees to pick fruit like a savage.He didn't care if he was full or hungry, something big was stirring in his heart.The world rushed towards him, with a strong primitive atmosphere.His way of traveling thousands of miles is different from that of ordinary literati in later generations.He doesn't just observe the scenery and feel nostalgia for the past, he wants to investigate, ask the old man, distinguish the truth from the false, follow the clues, and develop a reasonable imagination.For a detail, he will seek evidence from various sources, and he will not hesitate to travel long distances and toss back and forth.This kind of work between science and literature is full of hardships, but also full of fun that almost no one can enjoy.He is at a vigorous age, with good physical strength, vigorous blood, and full of energy.The land of China, with a history of 3,000 years of civilization, maybe he has new discoveries every day.He is a student far away from his hometown, inquiring about the history of mountains and rivers, taking notes, drawing sketches, and maximizing the function of his brain.When he was happy, he still sang, shouted a few words with his voice open, drew out a few moves of saber dance, and transformed into a powerful and elegant ranger in the Warring States Period.This Sima Qian lived an enviable life.Europeans also have a tradition of roaming on foot, such as Rosseau, the author of the book, Beauvoir, the author of the book, and anthropologists all over the world in the twentieth century.But in my impression, the ancient Chinese literati swam even better.A literati does not travel, as if he is not worthy of the title of literati.Mencius said: I am good at cultivating my mighty spirit.Reading and walking are the two prerequisites for nourishing Qi.Modern people have convenient transportation, but the connotation of travel is reduced.However, seeking comfort and speed is also one of human instincts. Li Bai's writing about the difficulty of the road to Shu includes this yearning.Among the great modern poets, perhaps only Mao Zedong is an exception.His magnificent poems are inseparable from the long march.

Sima Qian has been alone for more than seven years, and he has tasted enough of the excitement of loneliness.Stopping briefly, then on the road again, he was always on the go.It feels so good on the road.No one knew how happy he was.Li Daoyuan knew it, Li Bai knew it, Su Dongpo knew it, Lu You knew it, but we won’t know it anymore.We can only use our imagination to summarize: the fusion of rationality, sensibility and wildness, the wind, frost, rain and snow in spring, summer, autumn and winter, the wonderful spiritual tentacles, the joy that fell from the sky, and the sudden enlightenment after depression... I want to run into Sima Qian's happiness, touch and see.

The richness and breadth of this trip greatly influenced the writing of "Historical Records".At the same time, he honed his indomitable will, and the man in the Northwest went to a higher level. He lingered in the hometown of Chu State for many days, traveled along the Xiaoshui River to Quanling, landed on the shore and headed towards Yingdao (now Ningyuan, Hunan) until he reached Jiuyi Mountain.Nine black mountain peaks stand above the mist.The most wise Emperor Shun in ancient China was buried here.Emperor Yao passed on the throne to him and tested him for twenty years. One of the items was to marry his two beautiful daughters to him to see if he would put aside government affairs because of indulging in beauty.Emperor Shun withstood the test.He accepted Emperor Yao's abdication, broke the hereditary system, and almost gave birth to democracy: because of his humble background, Emperor Yao's ministers had a lot of quarrels.His whole family is bad guys. The blind man's father shot him with a bow and arrow, his younger brother actively acted as an accomplice, and his stepmother hacked him with a knife many times.But he repays grievances with kindness in silence, respects his parents, and loves his younger brother.His noble virtues spread like the wind.He has a Jesus-like mind, but is three thousand years earlier than Jesus.During his reign, the people lived the same happy life as in the time of Emperor Yao, with no thieves or corrupt officials.When he was old, he abdicated the throne of the emperor to Dayu who had made great contributions to water control.He died on the southern tour, and his two wives, Ehuang and Nvying, shed tears and threw themselves into the Xiangjiang River.

Sima Qian paid tribute to Qu Yuan by the Miluo River, and lingered for a long time; he went upstream, climbed Kuaiji Mountain (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) to explore Yu Cave, and climbed into a deep cave; he went north to the east bank of Taihu Lake to visit Gusu Terrace, imagining The spectacular scene of the battle between Wu and Yue; he went down the Wusong River to Shen (now Shanghai) to pay his respects to the palace of Chun Shenjun, one of the four princes of the Warring States Period. Sima Qian went north across the Yangtze River and arrived at Huaiyin via Gaoyou Lake. There is a strange man in Huaiyin named Han Xin, who was humiliated by the market thugs but kept silent.The dignified seven-foot man crawled over on his knees, patted the dust and walked away, he couldn't seem to hear the laughter behind him.He was too poor to beg for food, he didn't cover his clothes, and he went to Xiang Yu but stood guard all day, holding a halberd, standing like a log.He escaped and took the Jianmen plank road to throw himself at Liu Bang in Hanzhong. Liu Bang still looked down on him and asked him to guard the army rations.He fled again, Xiao He went to chase him in the moonlight night, recovered an invincible famous general, took the life of the overlord lightly, and swept away thousands of troops like a mat.Xiao He's pursuit also brought back the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty.But this Marquis of Huaiyin is not as good as Liu Bang in politics, and slightly inferior to Zhang Liang in terms of wisdom.Zhang Zifang, who was proficient in Taoist theory, drifted away like a fairy, and lived his life, but Han Xin died at the hands of a woman (Empress Lu)... Sima Qian visited Han Xin's hometown, and he sighed three times.

While in Fengxian County, Pei County (to the east of Fengxian County, Jiangsu Province today), he was quite surprised when he heard Cao Weng tell the story of Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty.Liu Bang was the founding emperor of the country, but in his early years he was like a loafer, calling on friends to fight cockfights and lackeys. He couldn't find a wife at the age of thirty, and he only looked for widows in the village to hang out with.By the way, when Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, a large number of migrant workers died, and there were many widows in the world.Liu Bang has had enough, and he can still marry the rich girl Lu Zhi.There is no way to tyranny the Qin Dynasty, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang set up an uprising, and Liu Bang also pulled up his team to fight.The world is in chaos, and the rebels are still fighting.Liu Bang couldn't win against Xiang Yu, he lost almost every battle, and pushed his own children out of the cart several times when he fled for his life... However, it was not Xiang Yu but Liu Bang who became emperor.why?Sima Qian was lost in thought.He found that Liu Bang's greatest advantage is his ability to employ people. A hero has three gangs, and Liu Bang happened to have three capable men: Zhang Liang, Han Xin, and Xiao He.

There is another major question: can these things about the founding emperor and the founding fathers be written in the history books?Han Xin drilled his crotch, Liu Bang played a rogue... What would Emperor Wu of the Han think when he saw these records? Sima Qian will not solve this important issue in one moment and one place.The ruler has enough reasons to lie, and the historian will lose his head if he tells the truth. He bid farewell to Cao Weng and left Peijun, and went on the road again... Seven years of great harvest. Back in Chang'an, he suppressed the excitement of returning home and devoted himself to sorting out the records.A great historian is just around the corner.Of course, he also supplemented his nutrition and tasted the long-lost Kyoto cuisine.But still don't talk about marriage.Sima Qian wrote more than 500,000 words, including Tai Shigong's preface, and "Bao Ren An Shu" about his life experience, but he did not leave us a single word about this lifelong event.Maybe after the castration, he wrote the pen, and he deleted this experience.He has no brothers, he cannot be a celibate, and no matter how poor he is, he must marry and have children.I guess, apart from poverty, another reason is: his father is too busy, as Taishi Ling, he must follow Emperor Wu, and Emperor Wu ran around in order to become a god; he put this matter back, anyway, he is still young.

Recommended by Kong Anguo, he took the doctoral student examination and passed.He didn't have the qualifications to take the exam, but the teacher who was an official made it for him.Doctors are well-versed in the present and ancient times, and serve as advisors to the emperor. Those with an annual salary are about 600 shi, while the general senior officials are around 2,000 shi.Needless to say, there are feudal lords, and there are hundreds of households to tens of thousands of households in Shiyi.In feudal rule, rank is the top priority.Ph.D. students are poor, and Ph.D. students wait a little bit for living expenses, just like the current graduate students.Doctoral disciples should be called into the palace, probably through relationships.Sima Qian has read thousands of books and traveled thousands of miles, but it is a personal act. If there is no father and teacher, the government will not care about him.Throughout the dynasties, the saying that talents will always stand out and gold will always shine is a lie full of good intentions.There are far more opportunities for broken copper and iron to shine than gold.

Sima Qian was lucky, and soon after passing the exam, he went to the palace to become a doctor.Not the doctor who sees the doctor, but the emperor's attendant. He got close to the "hero" Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but soon became complicated, and his lofty sense of mission became entangled with strange things and dark scenes in the court.