The author of "Historical Records" (Figure 1), Sima Qian, styled Zichang, was born in Zuo Fengyi and Xiayang (now Hancheng County, Shaanxi Province) in the Western Han Dynasty.He was born in the fifth year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (145 BC) and died around the third year of Zhenghe (90 BC) of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.The main activities of Sima Qian's life were in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which was the first heyday of my country's feudal society after the rule of Wenjing, with social stability, economic development, and unprecedented academic and cultural prosperity.Summarizing the historical experience of the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the rise of the Han Dynasty to serve the consolidation of the unified feudal regime is an urgent and realistic issue.After the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, the road of offering books was widely opened, and a large number of documents, classics, and old news of ancient history were collected.Inquiring into the historical reasons for the demise of the Qin Dynasty and looking for strategies to govern the country and stabilize the people, the ideological circles are quite active.All these conditions prepared the necessary conditions for the production of "Historical Records".

Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, served as Taishiling for a long time during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Taishi Ling is the official responsible for compiling national history, and is also in charge of royal books, astronomy and calendar, and sacrificial ceremonies.Sima Tan is knowledgeable, understands astronomy and calendar, and is familiar with laws and regulations. He once wrote an article "On the Essentials of the Six Schools", which made an insightful analysis and evaluation of the main academic schools in the pre-Qin period.Feeling that no one has compiled the history after "Spring and Autumn", and no one has recorded the deeds of "Mingzhu, Worthy King, Loyal Minister, and Deadly Man" since Han Xing. He wanted to complete such a historical work and made many years of preparations and actually work.Before he died, he took Sima Qian's hand and said earnestly with tears: "Don't forget the history book I want to write!" "You must remember!"

Living in such a family, especially under the guidance of his father, Sima Qian liked to read since he was a child, and he could recite ancient prose at the age of 10. Later, he received education from famous scholars Dong Zhongshu and Kong Anguo, and accumulated rich cultural knowledge.In order to assist his father in completing the work of compiling history, Sima Qian traveled to the Jianghuai River at the age of 20 and began on-the-spot historical investigation.He started from Chang'an, went south to Jiangling, and then went to the Miluo River to pay tribute to Qu Yuan.Floating in Yuanxiang, peeking into nine doubts, investigating Shun's burial place and deeds.Climb Lushan Mountain and learn about Dayu's achievements in water control.From Yue to Wu, visit the palace of Lord Chunshen.Then cross the river and go north to search for Han Xin's deeds.Later, I went to Qilu to pay homage to the remains of Confucius.Go west to visit the hometowns of many influential figures during the Qin and Han Dynasties, conduct on-the-spot investigations on the battlefield where Chu and Han fought, and finally return to Chang'an through Liang and Chu.Soon, Sima Qian became a doctor. Although his official position was not high, he traveled with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty many times. He went to Kongtong Mountain in the west;In the sixth year of Yuanding (111 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he was ordered to go to the southwest area, all the way to Kunming.Many trips have allowed him to fully appreciate the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, to have extensive contacts with people from all walks of life, to increase his knowledge and experience, to search for historical materials, and to greatly broaden his mind. The narration and description in "Historical Records" are particularly cordial and interesting, and the changes in cadence and ups and downs of the article are closely related to Sima Qian's rich experience.After returning from a mission in the southwest, his father was dying of illness, and before he died, he solemnly entrusted Sima Qian with his last wish to revise history.Three years later, that is, the third year of Yuanfeng, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (108 BC), Sima Qian succeeded Taishi Ling.He read and sorted out ancient historical materials and archives, making further active preparations for completing his father's unfinished business.In the first year of Taichu (104 BC), Sima Qian and more than 20 other scholars jointly formulated the Taichu calendar, and then devoted himself to writing his book.In the second year of the Tianhan Dynasty (99 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent General Li Guangli, the elder brother of his concubine Mrs. Li, to conquer the Xiongnu.Cavalry captain Li Ling was ordered to lead 5,000 infantry deep into the Huns, and fought hard against the Huns for more than ten days. The arrows were all shot, and there was no sign of reinforcements, and finally surrendered to the Huns.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked Sima Qian's opinion on this matter. Sima Qian believed that although Li Ling did not do things right, he fought hard and killed a large number of enemy troops. He made outstanding achievements and surrendered only when he had no choice.Judging from his usual personality, he will definitely look for an appropriate opportunity to repay the Han Dynasty.After hearing this, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious, thinking that Sima Qian was deliberately slandering Li Guangli, the general of the second division, and defending Li Ling who surrendered to the Huns, so he took Sima Qian to prison.In the second year, rumors spread that Li Ling was training soldiers for the Huns. Emperor Wu of the Han believed it to be true, and killed Li Ling's family.Castration is the most humiliating punishment for men.Such a great shame and humiliation made Sima Qian feel miserable.Two years later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty changed Yuan Taishi and pardoned the world. Sima moved out of prison, and was later used as Zhongshuling.Zhongshuling is the position of eunuch, Sima Qian felt an intolerable insult.However, thinking of his father's last wish, and thinking that many people who had suffered painful experiences in history could write books angrily and pass them on to later generations, he finally survived strongly and continued to write books hard, and in about the second year of Zhenghe (91 BC) The compilation work is basically completed.When Li Ling was in trouble, Sima Qian couldn't atone for his crime because of his poor family. No one from his friends came to rescue him, and no one from the emperor's courtiers said a word for him.He was ruthlessly devastated by the imperial power of despotism, and he also experienced the warmth and coldness of human feelings and the inconsistency of the world. This incident had a profound impact on his thinking.He saw the darkness of feudal tyranny more clearly, and sympathized with the suffering of the people more.His grief and indignation, full of the pain of his life experience, often can't help showing it in the books he wrote. The text of "Historical Records" is full of emotion and emotion, no wonder Mr. Lu Xun called it "the swan song of historians, the "Li Sao" without rhyme." ()

Sima Qian wrote this work, but did not determine the title for it.It was common for the ancients to write books without first deciding on their own titles.Scholars in the Han Dynasty called this book "Tai Shi Gong", or "Tai Shi Gong Shu", "Tai Shi Gong Ji", and "Tai Shi Ji".There are eight references to the word "Historical Records" in Sima Qian's book, all of which refer to the ancient history of various countries, which was originally a general term.It was not until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty that people abbreviated "Tai Shi Gong Ji" as "Historical Records", and "Historical Records" has since become the proper name of Sima Qian's books.

A few years after Sima Qian's death, it was not until the time of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty that his grandson Yang Yun [yun Yun] published the complete "Historical Records" to the world, and it became popular. "Hanshu Sima Qian Biography" said: "Ten chapters are missing, there are records but no books." It can be seen that the book was incomplete at the beginning of its circulation.As for which chapters are missing, later generations have very inconsistent opinions, and it is difficult to determine the detailed situation now. The lower limit of the content of "Historical Records" originally ended in the last years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.In the late Western Han Dynasty, many people continued to make up for it, and the one who made up the most was Chu Shaosun, a doctor in the period of Emperor Yuan and Emperor Cheng.The parts he added generally start with "Mr. Chu said". In the current "Historical Records", the format is lower and easy to distinguish.What others make up is different.The current "Historical Records" has many descriptions of historical events after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the text in some places has repetitions, contradictions, or confusion.These are all caused by subsequent supplements or additions, and we need to carefully identify them when we study.Despite such circumstances, "Historical Records" still retains the basic features of Sima Qian's original works.

The content of "Historical Records" is very rich. It can be said that it runs through the past and the present and covers everything. It is really an encyclopedia-style general history.It was written in one volume for more than 3,000 years, starting from the time of the Yellow Emperor in the legendary era and continuing to the era of the author's current Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Everything from politics, military affairs, society, economy, culture, academics, astronomy and calendar, river and canal geography, to ethnic minorities in border areas, mountains and rivers, customs and customs, is all-encompassing, without any omission.Sima Qian attached great importance to human production and economic activities, and created the "Biography of Huo Yu Biography" and "Ping Zhun Shu" for the first time.He attached great importance to ethnic relations and advocated the maintenance of ethnic unity centered on the Western Han Dynasty. From "Biography of the Huns" to "Biography of Southwestern Yi", he wrote five historical biographies of ethnic minorities.He attached great importance to the changes of cultural thought, set up biographies of the representatives of various schools of thought, and paved the way for the history of academic thought of later generations.He can not only take the emperor's words and administrative achievements as the keynote, pay attention to reflecting the historical achievements of the Ming Lord, the virtuous emperor, the loyal minister, and the righteous man, but also extensively describe the historical activities of all social strata, including some lower-level people, and provide a good example for rangers, assassins, The biographies of various characters such as sycophants, comedians, bourgeois, scholars, etc., try to reflect the comprehensiveness of society.Such a magnificent and unprecedented summarization of history, adapted to the objective historical requirements of feudal autocratic centralized rule, is the great practice of Sima Qian's ideal of "studying the time between heaven and man, understanding the changes of the past and the present, and forming the words of one family".

The ancient history before "Historical Records" either records words or events, and writes only one aspect; or records a period of history, or is limited to a certain region, which are just fragmented and miscellaneous notes;In short, it is simple and immature, with many shortcomings."Historical Records" is the first one that is truly mature and original, creates its own scale, integrates various historical materials in a complete and rigorous style, extracts them through tailoring, organizes and processes them, and writes a history with rich historical materials, clear themes, and consistency from beginning to end. department.In this way, he melted the thoughts and behaviors of the monarchs, ministers, and common people, as well as the changes and developments of the natural society in the past 3,000 years since the beginning of culture, which actually reflected the objective historical trend of the unification of the Qin and Han Dynasties.

"Historical Records" created a complete biographical history book genre centered on characters.The book has 130 chapters, including twelve chronicles, ten tables, eight books, thirty aristocratic families, and seventy biographies, with a total of 526,500 words.It's a complete system.This Ji is a memorabilia that records the achievements of the emperor's speech and administration in chronological order. With the emperor as the center, it records major events in politics, economy, military, culture, and diplomacy at that time.This chapter is the outline of the whole book, and its status is at the top of the book.This is a symbol of the supremacy of the monarchy in feudal society.The aristocratic family records the history of the hereditary princes and princes who ruled the country. In fact, it is the chronicle of the princes and kings.Biographies are mainly biographies of various characters, mostly generals, ministers, high-ranking officials and nobles, while the middle and lower classes of the ruling class and influential representatives of various social fields also occupy a certain proportion.There are also several biographies, which record the history of ethnic minorities and some countries or regions that have contacts with our country.Biographies take up the most space, and are customarily divided into four types.Those who only write about one character are called "special biographies", such as "Biography of Huaiyin Hou".Writing about two or more people is called "joint biography", such as "Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qi" records two people, and "Biography of Lian Po Lin Xiangru" records four people, including Zhao She and Li Mu.The characters recorded in the joint biography are either related to their deeds or have similar behaviors.Those who combine characters of the same nature or the same profession together are called "class biographies", such as "Biography of Rangers", "Biography of Cool Officials", "Biography of Huozhi" and so on.In addition, there is "attached biography", which means that after a person's biography, there are additional descriptions of his family descendants or other people with similar deeds.The table is to arrange the intricate characters and historical events into a table according to a certain relationship and order to simplify and organize it. It can also be used to supplement the deficiencies in the narration of the century, family, and biography.Tables are divided into three types: chronology, world and moon.The chronology is arranged chronologically, and the historical materials are relatively detailed, such as "Chronology of the Six Kingdoms" and "Chronology of Generals and Ministers since Han Xing".Because of the long history and the annihilation of historical materials, the World List cannot be arranged by year, so it has to be vague, such as "Three Generations of World List".The moon watch is "The Moon Watch between Qin and Chu".During the several years of struggle between Chu and Han, regimes changed, wars were frequent, and the changes were drastic. The chronological records are too insufficient to reflect the richness and rapidity of historical changes.The book is dedicated to the evolution of laws and regulations, and is a collection of special materials in a certain aspect.For example, "Tianguanshu" is devoted to astronomy and astrology, "Hequshu" is devoted to river water conservancy, and "Pingzhunshu" is devoted to economic policies.The five genres have their own division of labor, but are also intrinsically linked, complement each other, and complement each other to form a tight whole.

"Historical Records" created the biography style, and all historians after Ban Gu emulated it.From the "Hanshu" to the "Drafts of Qing History", the official history of feudal society has adopted this genre without exception, with only partial adjustments in some cases.For example, "Hanshu" changed "book" to "zhi" and merged "family" into "biography".Because the main examples are nothing more than Ji, Biao, Zhi, and Zhuan, a period was once called Ji Biao Zhi Chuan.Because tables and chronicles are more difficult to make, starting from "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" and "Three Kingdoms", some historical books lack these two parts.And because Ji and Zhuan are inherently important and indispensable, later generations simply call them Ji Zhuan.The biographical history book narrates the history of feudal society centered on emperors and generals.The naming and status of each body vividly reflect the hierarchical order of feudal society and meet the needs of feudal autocratic monarchy.This is the fundamental reason why biographical history books can be promulgated as official history by feudal rulers.

There are many "Tai Shi Gong said" in "Historical Records".Later generations will put it before an article called "Preface", put it at the end of an article called "Praise", and put it in the middle of an article called "Lun".This is a form of historical theory created by Sima Qian imitating the "Gentleman's Saying" in "Zuo Zhuan".Its content is rich and colorful, or the finishing touch, clarifying the main purpose of an article; or self-narrative, explaining the principles of material selection;The vertical and horizontal strokes, eclectic, add a layer of lively theoretical color to "Historical Records".Although all the historians of later generations imitated him and wrote historical theories, they were far from his knowledge and literary talent.

"Historical Records" is a factual record with a wide range of materials selected carefully. Its sources of historical materials are very rich, including ancient literature and classics, such as "Shangshu", "Chunqiu", "Zuo Zhuan", "Guoyu", "Shiben" ", "Warring States Policy", "Chu-Han Chunqiu" and the books of various schools of thought; there are also national archives and documents, such as records of records, calendars of the Spring and Autumn Calendar, column seals, merit orders, etc.In addition to written materials, there are also many field investigation materials, including cultural relics and historic sites, stone inscriptions, palace utensils, images of ancient people, historical legends, and contemporary knowledge.When Sima Qian wrote history, he paid attention to the near and far, and the present and the past.Many modern and contemporary historical events, Sima Qian got them from seeing and hearing them personally, such as "I heard Feng Wangsun said..." ("Zhao Family" praise), "When I saw General Li, I was as humble as I, and I couldn't say anything." (Praise of "Biography of General Li").There are many similar records in the book, which increases the authenticity and intimacy of "Historical Records". "Historical Records" also collected many ballads, poems, proverbs and slang, such as "the saying goes: the ruler is short, and the inch is long." Pingyuanjun Biography praises) "Yingshui is clear, Guan's Ning; Yingshui is turbid, Guan's clan." ("Wei Qiwu Anhou Biography") These materials are not only true, but also vivid.Such rich and diverse historical materials are gathered together, including classics and archives; official records and folk word-of-mouth; written materials and physical evidence; There are slang in the streets and alleys; there are both ancient history and legends, as well as current knowledge.If the author didn't put in the effort of screening, examining, tailoring, and casting, it would be difficult for the author to control the choices and use them freely.Sima Qian adopted an extremely cautious and scientific attitude towards the selection of historical materials.Regarding the ancient legends, he wanted to "test the credibility of the six arts" (praise of "Bo Yi Biography"). "Six Arts" is the classic of ancient Confucianism.That is to say, legends must be confirmed by ancient documents before they can be believed.Without reliable original data as a basis, he would rather not talk about it. The records about the Yellow Emperor in "The Benji of the Five Emperors" were written in the book after careful consideration.Due to the long history, insufficient historical materials, some historical facts are incomplete, or there are different sayings, it is difficult to determine the authenticity for a while.He only talks about what he knows; what he doesn’t know, he just doesn’t talk about it.If it is reliable, he will say it is reliable; if it is unreliable, he will say it is unreliable.This is the history compiling principle of "Que [que Que] Doubt" and "Trust to spread faith, doubt to spread doubt". In the "Historical Records", sometimes the same thing, the biography, biography, family and chronology, have different interpretations in several places.Some may be due to the author's negligence and lack of context; some are due to different sources of historical materials, so it is impossible to determine whether they are right or wrong, so they have to be kept together and left for future generations to verify.Doing so is safer than jumping to judgment and taking it by force. Sima Qian has the spirit of recording respecting historical reality.Ban Gu said in "Han Shu Sima Qian's Biography": "Since Liu Xiang and Yang Xiong's extensive collection of books, they all claim that Qian has good history, obeying his good order and reason, discerning but not flashy, quality but not sloppy. Wenzhi, the core of the matter, does not pretend to be beautiful, and does not conceal evil, so it is called a true record." Sima Qian's narration of historical figures is relatively objective and fair, and seeks truth from facts.From ancient times to the present time of the author, more than 3,000 years, there are more than tens of millions of people of all colors!When writing about who and not who, what is important is the historical merits and demerits, the size of the influence, and the selection of various typical characters. The characters written in "Historical Records" are strictly selected, which is different from the general list of later historians.At the same time, Sima Qian is good at portraying the main characteristics of characters with concise brush and ink, such as Xiang Yu's bravery and boldness, Liu Bang's cleverness and cunning, Fan Zeng's insidiousness, Zhang Liang's kindness, Xiao He's stability, Han Xin's wisdom, Li Guang's good shooting, All written realistically.Whether it is a feudal emperor or an ancient sage, in Sima Qian's works, they are all ordinary people with flesh and blood. "Historical Records" not only praises its historical achievements, but also exposes its crimes or shortcomings, and it is straight and straightforward.For example, Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, not only wrote that he was far-sighted, talented and broad-minded, knew people well, and followed advice like a stream, but also wrote that he didn't care about his family's production work, good wine and sex, and the drunken state of returning home after proclaiming the emperor, and later killed heroes. Wait.However, the writing method of "Historical Records" is more flexible and economical, and the main aspects of the characters are often highlighted in this chapter, while other issues are scattered in other chapters.It is easier to concentrate pen and ink, distinguish between primary and secondary, and save space by using this "mutual seeing method" to write about people.When we read "Historical Records", we should also use the method of mutual reference, focusing on one article, and pay attention to collecting other relevant narratives so as not to be one-sided. "Historical Records" writes people, which can objectively reflect the historical reality, without seeking complete blame, without partial generalization, and without judging heroes by success or failure.For example, Han Xin, Peng Yue, and Ying Bu, the three great heroes in the early Han Dynasty, were all exterminated for the crime of treason.After Liu Bang's death, no one in the Western Han Dynasty rehabilitated these three people, but Sima Qian dared to write biographies for them, historically and comprehensively describing the merits and demerits of their lives.Another example is that Xiang Yu was not the son of heaven, but was listed in the "Benji"; Confucius was not a prince, and although Chen Sheng was named Zhang Chu, he failed and died within half a year, but they were all listed in the "family".The main reason here is that Sima Qian respects historical reality.Because in the transition period after the fall of Qin Dynasty and before the rise of Han Dynasty, Xiang Yu actually dominated the political situation at that time and also represented the political power at that time.This is what Sima Qian said: "Government comes from the feathers, and the title is Overlord. Although the position will not end, it has never existed in modern times." Its actual historical status is quite comparable to that of princes, so it is listed in the "family".Sima Qian said: "As for the kings of the world, as long as there are many sages, they will be honored at that time, and they will be gone when they are gone. Confucius commoner has been handed down for more than ten generations, and he is a scholar. From the son of heaven to the princes, those who have the six skills of Chinese language can be said to be the most holy. "("Confucius Family" praise) is not only a lofty evaluation, but also reflects the historical reality.He also said: "Although Chen Sheng is dead, the princes and generals he ordered to die in Qin Dynasty are all related to the first incident." fully affirmed.These all reflect Sima Qian's progressive thought.Sima Qian summed up the historical experience and lessons from the fall of Qin Dynasty and the rise of Han Dynasty. He paid attention to the support of the people and sympathized with the sufferings of the people.This is the ideological basis for the great achievements of "Historical Records". The book "Historical Records" is vivid in writing, wonderful in discussion, and concise in narrative description.In chapters such as "Biography of Xiang Yu", "Biography of Gaozu", "Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru", "Biography of Prince Wei", "Biography of General Li", "Biography of Assassins", the descriptions of characters are lifelike and have distinct personalities. The language of "Historical Records" is easy to understand, it is good at sketching, and it is full of emotion.The book quotes ancient books and changes the difficult ancient prose into the easy-to-understand language of the Han Dynasty without losing the original meaning. This is where Sima Qian excels. "Historical Records" also has some shortcomings and mistakes.Due to insufficient information, some legends and stories without factual basis are collected in the book, such as the story of King Zhou You playing with the princes in Fenghuo, Gongsun Chujiu and Cheng Ying who sacrificed his life to save Zhao Wu, and the story of Su Qin and Zhang Yi's alliance. History does not match.The recently unearthed Mawangdui Han tomb silk script "Warring States Strategies Family Letters" confirmed some of these errors.There are still some mistakes, contradictions or inappropriate omissions in the book, especially the part during the Warring States period is more serious. Researchers should collect materials from multiple sources for cross-reference, and not blindly trust them.Nevertheless, "Historical Records" is still a great historical work in ancient times. There have been many annotations for "Historical Records", the most famous ones are "Three Schools' Annotations", namely Liu Song Pei Yi's "Historical Records Collection", Tang Dynasty Sima Zhen's "Historical Records Suoyin" and Zhang Shoujie's "Historical Records Justice" .These three annotations were originally engraved separately, but they were only combined in the Northern Song Dynasty and attached to the relevant text of "Historical Records" (Figure 2).During the reign of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, Jinling Bookstore published a joint edition of the three annotations of "Historical Records".The punctuated version published by Zhonghua Book Company based on Jinling Book Company is currently the most readable book.