Chapter 15 195 Sima Guang wrote "Tong Jian"

After Wang Anshi dismissed as Prime Minister, Song Shenzong maintained the new law set by Wang Anshi for nearly ten years.In 1085 AD, Song Shenzong died of illness, and the ten-year-old prince Zhao Xu (sound xu) came to the throne, who was Song Zhezong.Zhezong was young, and his grandmother, Empress Dowager Gao, came to court.Empress Dowager Gao has always opposed the new law.As soon as she came to court, she summoned Sima Guang, who opposed the new law most fiercely, to Tokyo as prime minister. Sima Guang was the most famous minister at that time, a native of Xia County, Shanzhou (now Xia County, Shanxi).His fame has spread since he was young.When he was seven years old, he began to concentrate on reading.No matter it's summer or winter, he always holds on to his books, and sometimes even forgets to eat and drink.He not only studies hard, but also is very clever.Once, he was playing in the backyard with his friends.There was a large water tank in the yard. A child climbed onto the edge of the tank and accidentally fell into the tank.

The tank was big and the water was deep, and it seemed that the child was almost drowned.When the other children saw that something had happened, they cried and shouted in fright, and ran out to find an adult to rescue them.Sima Guang calmly picked up a large rock from the ground and threw it at the water tank with all his might. "boom" With a bang, the water jar broke, and the water in the jar flowed out, and the child who was submerged in the water was also saved. This accident made the young Sima Guang famous.Someone in Tokyo and Luoyang drew this incident into a picture, which was widely circulated.

During Song Shenzong's reign, Sima Guang served as a Hanlin scholar.Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were good friends at first, but later Wang Anshi advocated reform and Sima Guang was conservative in his thinking, so the two could not talk together. After Wang Anshi became prime minister, Sima Guang did not object to every reform measure he proposed.Once, Sima Guang asked Song Shenzong to cancel the Green Crop Law. At the same time, as an old friend, he wrote a letter, accusing Wang Anshi of infringing the powers of other officials, causing trouble, seeking wealth, and refusing to accept other people's opinions.

Wang Anshi wrote a reply letter, rebutting Sima Guang's four accusations tit for tat.The letter said: I was ordered by the emperor to reform the legal system, how can I say that I violated other people's rights; how can I say that I caused trouble when I worked for the country; Opinion. Sima Guang was very angry when he received the reply.But seeing that Wang Anshi was backed by the emperor, there was nothing he could do.Finally, he resigned from the imperial court, left the capital, and arrived in Luoyang. He expressed his unwillingness to interfere in political affairs, and closed his door to write a book.

It turns out that Sima Guang has a lot of research on history. He believes that those who govern a country must be familiar with the history since ancient times, and learn lessons from the history of prosperity and decline.He also felt that there were too many history books from ancient times to the Five Dynasties, and the emperor didn't have so much time to read them.Therefore, he began to write a history book from the Warring States Period to the Five Dynasties very early.When Song Yingzong was in power, he dedicated part of the manuscript to the court.Song Yingzong felt that this book was good for consolidating the dynasty's rule, and he appreciated this work very much. He set up a compilation organization specially for him and asked him to continue to compile it.

After Song Shenzong ascended the throne, Sima Guang dedicated part of the compiled part to Song Shenzong. Song Shenzong did not believe in Sima Guang's political views, but he was very supportive of Sima Guang's compilation of books.He gave Sima Guang all the 2,400 volumes he collected when he was young, and asked him to finish this work well.He also personally gave the book a title, called ("Zizhi" means to help the emperor govern the world). After Sima Guang was dismissed from office and returned to Luoyang, he concentrated on writing, and it took a total of 19 years to complete this work.This book is compiled according to historical chronology, from 403 BC in the Warring States period to 959 AD in the Five Dynasties period, recording a history of 1,362 years.

In order to write this huge book, Sima Guang and his assistants collected and sorted out a lot of materials. In addition to using the official history of the past dynasties, they also consulted more than 300 kinds of historical works.It is said that when the book was completed, the original manuscripts were piled up for two rooms.Because of its rich materials, appropriate tailoring, strict textual research, and concise and vivid writing, it has become one of the most valuable works in the history of Chinese historiography.It provides relatively complete information for later generations to study history.

For nineteen years, Sima Guang devoted all his energy to this book, working late into the night every day.By the time it was finished, his body was very weak, his eyes were dim, and most of his teeth had fallen out.Because of his contributions to historiography, he is considered a famous historian in the history of our country. Sima Guang wrote books in Luoyang for more than ten years, but because he was famous for his opposition to the new law, some conservative officials missed him very much.Although he keeps saying that he doesn't talk about politics, many people still regard him as the "true prime minister". Even ordinary people know that there is a Sima Xianggong living in Luoyang.

Empress Dowager Gao came to power and recalled Sima Guang to the court. Sima Guang was already old and sick.However, he opposed Wang Anshi's new law but refused to relax at all.As soon as he became prime minister, the first major event was to abolish the new law.Some people dissuaded him, saying that Shenzong had just passed away, so it would not be good to change his political measures immediately!Sima Guang said angrily: "The laws and regulations established by the previous emperor should not be changed if they are good. The one set up by Wang Anshi is harmful to the people. Why can't they be changed? Besides, the Empress Dowager Gao is now in power, and the Empress Dowager Gao is the Emperor of God. Mother, what is wrong with a mother changing her son's opinion?"

In this way, despite the opposition of many officials, he abolished the new law established by Wang Anshi in the second year (AD 1086).Wang Anshi was of course very angry when he heard the news, and died soon after.And Sima Guang's illness became more and more serious, and he died in September of the same year.