Chapter 2 Preface to the Chinese translation

The author of this book, Xenophon, is an Athenian, born in a wealthy family in the village of Erchia, and his father's name is Gryllus.There is no exact record about the date of his birth and death. Judging from the fact that he himself claimed to be young repeatedly in the book, he was about 30 years old in 401 BC, so his birth date was around 430 BC.His article "The Income of Athens" was written between 355 and 354 BC, so the year of his death should be 354 BC or later, but not earlier.In Geography (IX, 2, 7), Strabo (St-rabo) mentions in passing that the Athenians fought a battle here (424 B.C. , the opponent was a Thebes), Xenophon fell to the ground in the battle, but thanks to the rescue of Socrates, he survived.Based on this, some people deduce that Xenophon was born in 444 BC, because he participated in the Battle of Delum, and he was no less than twenty years old at that time.But Xenophon himself said nothing about it.Diogenes Laertius (DIogenes Laertius) talked about an early anecdote between Socrates and Xenophon in "The Lives of Famous Philosophers" (II, 48), but did not mention this matter either.The rumors recorded by Strabo are very different from Xenophon's own statement in terms of age (for example, according to Strabo, Xenophon was over forty years old when he participated in the "Long March"), so most scholars do not believe it. This said.

Xenophon was educated by Socrates in his early years and may have served in the Athenian cavalry.From 401 to 400 BC, he participated in what this book calls the "Long March."In 399 BC, Xenophon left this team of Greek mercenaries.In the same year his teacher Socrates was sentenced to death in Athens.Then Athens also announced the banishment of Xenophon.The reason is probably that Xenophon had defected to Cyrus the Younger, and Cyrus the Younger was the one who supported the Spartans in defeating Athens in the Peloponnesian War.In 396 BC, the Spartan king Ages Ilaus fought against Persia in Asia Minor, and Xenophon devoted himself to Ages Ilaus.In 394 BC, Xenophon returned to Greece with Agsilau and met his wife and two sons in Sparta.The Spartan government gave Xenophon a house and an estate at ScIllus near Olympia.He himself bought some estates with his mercenary savings.The Spartans also gave him some prisoners of war as slaves.Xenophon lived here for more than 20 years, writing books, hunting, and entertaining friends (see Diogenes. Laertius, II, 52-53).In 371 BC, the Elis recaptured Scylus from Sparta.Xenophon and his son fled to Corinth.In 369 BC, Athens switched to support Sparta.Xenophon sent his two sons back to Athens to serve in the Athenian cavalry.At about the same time, Athens also abolished the banishment of Xenophon.Xenophon may return to Athens from time to time to visit, but he always dies in Corinth.

Xenophon was one of the prolific writers in ancient Greece, and his writings covered a wide range of subjects.In addition to this book, his works mainly include "History of Greece" (writing the history of Greece from 411 to 362 BC, with a clear tendency to favor Sparta), "Memoirs of the Master", "Defense of Socrates" (recording the words and deeds of Socrates, based on Doxenophon's imitation), "The Regime of Rasidia's Dream", "Biography of Agsilau" (many of which contain details about the Spartan system and Agsilau) words), "The Education of Cyrus" (under the pretext of describing the education and deeds of Cyrus, the founding monarch of Persia, and expounding his own ideal modeled on the Spartan system), "Economic Treatise", "The Income of Athens" (expressing Xenophon's economic and financial thoughts and ideas) and so on.

Among the works of Xenophon, it is the most famous and influential one.With his excellent literary talent, Xenophon narrates his personal experience in this book, which is naturally fascinating.More importantly, Xenophon revealed the decay of the Persian Empire with facts in the book, which greatly inspired and encouraged the Macedonian and Greek invasions to the east.During the eastward invasion, Alexander of Macedonia mobilized his subordinates on the eve of the battle with King Darius III of Persia at Issus, and mentioned the expedition of Xenophon and ten thousand mercenaries in order to improve the morale of his officers and soldiers ( See Arrian: "Alexander's Expedition", II, 7, 8).It is only natural that Xenophon's work should have played such an important role in the history of the near future, that the general attention it is given.

It is worth noting that this book by Xenophon is often used as "justification" for the prejudice that the West is superior to the East.On this point, it seems necessary to make some analysis and explanation. Xenophon did use many examples in this book to illustrate the weakness of the Persian Empire, and he also said that Cyrus the Younger said how brave the Greeks were and how pitiful the Persians were (see Volume 1, VII).Whether Cyrus the Younger really said such a thing cannot be confirmed now.However, Xenophon himself still retains the traditional thoughts and sentiments of the Greeks as "barbarians", which is self-evident.It should be pointed out that the weakness of the Persian Empire is embodied in two basic aspects: the decay of the ruling class of the empire and the alienation of the majority of the people.The unwillingness of the Persian people to die for the Persian king showed the weakness of the empire, not the weakness of the people.For example, when the Greek mercenaries passed through the area of ​​the Kadukya people, they encountered a great blow. Xenophon himself once said that the pain of marching in the land of the Kadukya people was worse than that of the Persian king. It is more than the suffering of Tisafonis (see Volume 4, III, 2 of this book).They also encountered extremely heroic resistance as they traveled through the Armenian region (see Vol. IV, VII, 13).Therefore, it is only the Persian Empire that is corrupt and weak, not the vast oriental people of all ethnic groups in the Persian Empire.Moreover, as far as the ruling class of the Persian Empire is concerned, they were not inherently corrupt and incompetent from the beginning.Xenophon himself clearly admitted in "The Education of Cyrus" (VIII, 8) that the Persian rulers gradually became corrupt after Cyrus.We deserve class and historical analysis and understanding of the decay and incompetence of the Persian Empire.All opinions that despise the people of the East because of the decay of the Persian Empire are unfounded national prejudices and are unacceptable.

Xenophon illustrated the freedom-loving tradition of the Greeks with many examples in this book, and at the same time generally recorded the various manifestations of this mercenary army in other aspects.Some scholars one-sidedly exaggerated the advantages of Greek mercenaries, saying that they showed the character of the Greek nation, etc. Wait).This is difficult to conform to the basic facts of history.For these ten thousand or so Greeks, what are their basic historical facts?It's very simple, they are mercenaries first, and they must have the basic character of mercenaries.They camp thousands of miles and come here for profit, so what kindness can there be?How much rationality can there be?They began to rob on the way with Cyrus the Younger, and they made a living by robbing people all the way in the retreat.There are many such cases, and Xenophon was not ashamed at all when he recorded them, and he did not hide anything.Xenophon himself believed that it was unsustainable for mercenaries to buy supplies from the market, and they mainly relied on plunder (see Volume III, II, 21 of this book). (See Volume V, VI, 32 of this book).Everyone knows that these are the basic habits of mercenaries, and Xenophon is not surprised or ashamed.

As for the Greek national character, it's hard to say about mercenaries.This team was recruited by a few Greeks with the money of Cyrus the Younger, and its initial composition had nothing to do with Greece.They finally went to fight the King of Persia with Cyrus the Younger, not thinking of any Greek interests, but only because their employers paid them more and promised more.After the death of Cyrus the Younger, the King of Persia ordered them to lay down their arms.Some of them had thought of switching to the employment of the Shah of Persia, but he did not do so, considering the danger to his life in laying down his arms.They resisted the Persian king not to maintain the freedom or national integrity of the Greeks, let alone their loyalty to Cyrus the Younger, but out of their own personal interests.Xenophon gives an encouraging speech to his companions after the mercenary general has been booby-trapped by the Persians.He said that the ancestors of the Greeks defeated the Persian invasion and defended the freedom of Greece, and now they have to inherit the traditions of their ancestors.He also said that the mercenaries had already shown their courage, but that was to help Cyrus the Younger fight for the throne; but now it is for everyone's own survival, so they should show more courage (see Volume 3, II of this book) ).His words are indeed very telling: the Greeks resisted Persia in the past to defend the freedom of Greece and the autonomy of the city-state; but now this group of mercenaries are only defending themselves.It should be noted that the mercenaries are all free elements from the Greek city-states.They have lost all rights in their mother state, and correspondingly no longer have any obligations to the mother state.They are orphans abandoned by their mothers in the decaying Greek city-states. Who should they go to?I had no choice but to say "If you have milk, you are a mother"

up.In this book we can see Xenophon's high praise for Cyrus the Younger, and he even said that Cyrus the Younger was loved by more people than any Greek or non-Greek (see this book. Vol. I, IX).However, it was this young Cyrus who supported Sganda in defeating Xenophon's mother state Athens in the Peloponnesian War, almost bringing Athens into ruin.Regarding this point, Xenophon seems to have forgotten everything, but what is unforgettable is the generosity of Cyrus the Younger.This can also be said to be a reflection of Xenophon's character as a mercenary.We must not forget that when Alexander invaded eastward, Greek mercenaries also stood on the side of Persia to resolutely resist the Macedonian Greeks (see Arrian: "Alexander's Expedition", I, 16).Therefore, we can also say that a basic character of mercenaries is the lack of national character.The lack of national character is only natural for the Greek mercenaries, having become mercenaries.Here, we also need to analyze all the shortcomings of the Greek mercenaries through class and history, and realize that they are all products of the development of contradictions in the Greek city-states.It would also be an undesirable national prejudice to simply attribute all the shortcomings of the Greek mercenaries to the Greek national character.

Liu Jiahe August 1983