Chapter 52 postscript

When Qin Huang was written, it was natural to write Han Wu, because Qin Huang and Han Wu were two great emperors in China, and they created two glorious dynasties in Chinese history.If it is said that Qin Shihuang created the great unification of China and established centralization, then Emperor Wu of Han consolidated the great unification and strengthened the centralization even more.Both of these two emperors have made significant contributions to China's development, so the former is worthy of being an emperor through the ages, and the latter can be called a generation of British lords.

The Western Han Dynasty was prosperous from the rule of Wenjing to the period of Emperor Wu.Because Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty adopted and implemented a series of reforms, including the strengthening of centralization and the adoption of Sang Hongyang's economic reforms, the Western Han Dynasty entered a country with unprecedented economic prosperity, expanded territory, strong academic ideas, and people's achievements. A glorious era, especially one that has profoundly influenced future generations in terms of academic thought. Zhang Qian's two missions to the Western Regions opened the door to China for the first time, which not only promoted the exchange of cultural trade between China and foreign countries, but also had a profound impact on the opening of the Tang Dynasty.

In particular, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty pushed the prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty to its peak and played an important role in China's influence in the world, so I want to write Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and show the prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty. This is the reason why I wrote Han Wu. Writing about Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty from the perspective of Sima Qian is the feature of this book.Sima Qian was not the only person who had close contact with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The reason why he chose Sima Qian was: First, Sima Qian was the main witness to the history of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Sima Qian went in and out of the court with his father Sima Tan when he was young. When he was young, he was the Lang Guan (guard) who had stood beside Emperor Wu for more than ten years. He was always inside the palace and accompanied Emperor Wu wherever he went.And because Sima Qian's father was Ma Tan of the Taishi Company, Sima Tan and his son had to accompany him in all ceremonies and inspections.After the death of his father, Sima Tan, Sima Qian was in charge of the historical archives and recorded the affairs of the court from acting Taishigong to Taishiling.After he was released from prison, he served as Zhongshuling and became the confidential secretary of Emperor Wu.Sima Qian has been with Emperor Wu for more than 30 years, and he is the person who has been with Emperor Wu for the longest time, so he is the main witness of this period of history.

Second, Sima Qian and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty were two historical giants in the Western Han Dynasty, and they both made outstanding contributions to Chinese history.Emperor Wu pushed the flourishing age of the Western Han Dynasty to its peak, and Sima Qian wrote a masterpiece of general history from the Yellow Emperor to the Emperor Wu that spans three thousand years from ancient to modern times.The contributions of the two of them to China are completely comparable. Third, Sima Qian and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a relationship of kindness and resentment, right and wrong.Sima Qian is a mirror of Emperor Wu, and Emperor Wu created good conditions for Sima Qian to write history.

Therefore, although Emperor Wu had a close relationship with many ministers, Sima Qian was the person who had the closest relationship with Emperor Wu.Therefore, the writing of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty through Sima Qian complements each other and complements each other. From the beginning to the end of the book, the two lines are intertwined and complement each other, which is why this book chooses Sima Qian to show Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In the official history, Sima Qian only has the year of birth: 145 BC (the fifth year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty), and there is no record of the year of death.There are different legends in later generations. Some say that he was killed by Emperor Wu, while others say that he committed suicide. So what happened to Sima Qian when he died?analyse as below:

First, he was killed by Emperor Wu. According to the "Hanshu Jiuyi Zhu" (written by Wei Hong) in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Sima Qian wrote the book of Emperor Jing, which was extremely short. When Emperor Wu passed by, Emperor Wu was angry and cut it off. After sitting on Li Ling, Li Ling descended to the Xiongnu, so he moved down to Canshi If you complain, you will die in prison." That is to say, Sima Qian wrote "Xiaojing Benji" to expose the shortcomings of Emperor Jing and the faults of Emperor Wu, which made Emperor Wu furious, so he used Sima Qian's defense of Li Ling to punish him. Because of complaints, he was imprisoned again and executed.

The official history "Han Shu Sima Qian Biography" (written by Ban Gu) also records that Sima Qian's death was "to learn about Qian's natural resources, but not to be self-sufficient with knowledge. Self-sorrow, "Xiaoya" Xiangbo Zhilun, Huwei "Daya" not only understands his philosophy, but can protect himself. It is difficult!" That is, Ban Gu lamented that Sima Qian failed to save his life. Guo Moruo, a modern scholar, proposed that Sima Qian’s death was imprisoned twice by Emperor Wu to death. According to Guo Moruo’s "Salt and Iron Theory Zhou Qin Pian" (written by Huan Kuan): "One day in the silkworm room, the wound was not healed...entered and exited the palace... ...The high-ranking food officials enjoy the bestowal...so if you are included in the list of ministers, you will see them with a knife and see no mercy." That is to say, Sima Qian was imprisoned for the first time and sentenced to corruption (down to the silkworm room). He was imprisoned again and eventually executed ("sawed by a knife").

As for the reason for being imprisoned again, some people think that it was because Emperor Wu was dissatisfied with Sima Qian's writing of "The Benji of Xiaojing" and "The Benji of Emperor Wudi", and then punished him with the help of witchcraft.Because it is recorded in "Hanshu", the "witchcraft disaster" in Emperor Wu's later years even killed many people, including scholar-bureaucrats.Sima Qian was outspoken, so he must criticize the big mistake committed by Emperor Wu at that time, so he was killed. Some people think that Sima Qian was killed by Emperor Wu because of his complaints and allusions to Emperor Wu in the "Letter to Ren Shaoqing" written to Ren An.Just imagine that "Reporting to Ren Shaoqing" is Sima Qian's complaint against Emperor Wu's blood and tears.How could Emperor Wu tolerate him accusing himself of a death row prisoner, so Sima Qian mysteriously disappeared after Sima Qian wrote the "Letter to Ren Shaoqing".

Second, suicide said. The possibility of Sima Qian's suicide is relatively high. In his "Report to Ren Shaoqing", Sima Qian complained to his best friend Ren An in tears that he had suffered a great shame and humiliation, and the reason why he was still alive was to complete the writing of history books. Sima Qian said: "There is nothing sad to be sad, nothing to be ugly before humiliation, and nothing to criticize for uterine punishment." He thinks that he has suffered the greatest humiliation in the world and has become a person who "works with eunuchs". Maybe it's not cold and the back is stained with clothes"!

Sima Qian said that the reason why he endured the humiliation was to complete the writing of "Historical Records". His famous lines through the ages: King Wen detains and plays "Book of Changes", Zhong Nier writes "Spring and Autumn"; Qu Yuan exiles, but writes "Li Sao"; Wei Qianshu, "Lu Xian" is handed down from generation to generation; Han Fei prisoned Qin, "Said Difficulty", "Lonely Anger"; "Poems" three hundred pieces, most of what the sages did and did when they were angry.It also shows that his purpose of living is to complete the history books.Now that the book has been written, there is no need to survive. Sima Qian thought: "Men are mortal, and they are heavier than Mount Tai, or lighter than a feather." Now that he has suffered a disaster, "he has been laughed at by the township party and humiliated his ancestors. How can he return to his parents' tomb? " In addition, Sima Qian has always been the most virtuous, and when he was young, he cried bitterly for Qu Yuan's death in Miluojiang River. No desire to live anymore.So Sima Qian is more likely to commit suicide.But the book has not been published yet, and Sima Qian should not die. This means that Sima Qian had another reason for his quick death, which is the third reason. Third, being forced to commit suicide. Forced to jump into the river, this is the ending arranged for Sima Qian in this book.What is the reason? The reason why Sima Qian lived after being sentenced to the palace has been clearly scolded in his "Report to Ren Shaoqing". It is to complete his father's order to write a history book. Although the book has been completed, it has not yet been published, so it is impossible for him to die.But why he died in a hurry must be forced by someone. So who forced him, of course it was Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Because Emperor Wu was seriously ill, he was very concerned about the historical records behind him, so he forced Sima Qian to revise according to the order, but Sima Qian insisted on the real record, which made Emperor Wu dissatisfied, so in order to protect his name, he had to fight with death. Another reason is that Sima Qian's "Letter to Ren Shaoqing" was in the hands of Emperor Wu, which made Emperor Wu determined to punish him, so Sima Qian had to ask someone to hide the copy in a famous mountain, and then fled in a hurry and committed suicide by jumping into the river. Longkou of the Yellow River is the place where Sima Qian was born, so Sima Qian imitated Qu Yuan and threw himself into the river when he was forced by the king, and defended the truth of history with his life, which became the greatest possibility for Sima Qian.This is why this book arranges for Sima to move to the Yellow River. In addition, according to Ban Gu, the author of "Han Shu", ten articles are missing in "Historical Records", and these ten articles only have a table of contents but no text. "Hanshu Yiwenzhi" contains: ""Taishigong" has one hundred and thirty chapters. Ten chapters are recorded but not in books." "Hanshu Sima Qian Biography" also contains: "And ten articles are missing, there are records but no books." Zhang Yan of the Three Kingdoms specifically believes that the missing ten articles include "Jingdi Benji" and "Wudi Benji". If this is the case, then "Historical Records" The "Benji of Xiaojing" and "Benji of Emperor Wu" in the book may not be the original works of Sima Qian, which can explain the anger of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty at that time, so that people have a clearer understanding of the cause of Sima Qian's death. It is a rule that outstanding talents emerge in prosperous times, and outstanding talents promote history.The Western Han Dynasty is another flourishing age in Chinese history following the Western Zhou Dynasty. It can be said that there are brilliant stars and talents. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Sima Qian were the two giants of the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the most talented emperor in China. He pushed the Western Han Dynasty to a top stage in Chinese history.Sima Qian's "Historical Records" is the swan song of historians, which has influenced Chinese historiography for five thousand years. Although Sima Qian was not an emperor, his contribution to Chinese history is comparable to that of Emperor Wu. Dong Zhongshu is the originator of Confucianism. His proposal of "abolishing all schools of thought and respecting only Confucianism" was adopted by Emperor Wu. Since then, he has created an era in which Confucianism has become the mainstay of Chinese thought and ruled China for more than two thousand years. Zhu Fuyan put forward the "Turning En Policy", which played a major role in consolidating the centralization of power.His strategy not only weakened the power of the princes, strengthened the power of the central government, but also made their descendants grateful to the emperor, which can be said to kill three birds with one stone.The master father Yan can be regarded as an outstanding talent in the Western Han Dynasty. Zhang Qian made two missions to communicate with the Western Regions, opened the Silk Road, and opened a precedent for China to expand its influence in the world and establish diplomatic relations with Central Asia and West Asia. He can be called an outstanding diplomat in ancient China. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing: They were the famous generals of the Western Han Dynasty who fought back against the Huns, because they defended Chang'an, ensured the development of the prosperous Western Han Dynasty, and opened up China's territory, which is enough to last forever. Sima Xiangru: Originally created the form of Han Fu, and the latecomers cannot surpass him.Occupy a prominent place in Fu history. Sang Hongdan: He was a famous financial manager in the Western Han Dynasty and also in Chinese history. He advocated the unified monopoly of salt and iron by the state and the unified minting of coins, which has influenced China for thousands of years.He was an outstanding economist in China's feudal era. Su Wu: The Xiongnu was detained as a sheep herder in Beihai when he was an envoy, and he remained unchanged for 19 years. He maintained the integrity of the Chinese nation and was admired by later generations. Li Yannian: A music superstar in the era of Emperor Wu. He developed the ancient Chinese Yuefu to its peak, and was a pioneer in communicating Han music with music from the Western Regions. His musical talent played the symphony of the prosperous Western Han Dynasty. For a dazzling superstar. This book makes these ten outstanding talents complement each other, and reproduces the glory of the prosperous Western Han Dynasty in my country. Writing history with people is an important method of this book. The book shows the splendor of the Western Han Dynasty in Chinese history through ten outstanding figures such as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Sima Qian, and also describes their important role in history. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty is the number one character in this book. The whole book uses more than ten characters around him to set off the central character like stars.However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a complicated personality. He was not only talented and ambitious, but also autocratic and ecstatic; A villain, nepotism; not only a pioneering politician, but also a superstitious witch, greedy for life and fear of death; he worships Confucianism on the outside, but respects the law in his heart... All these can show that Emperor Wu's personality is very complicated.It is precisely this kind of personality that makes him, as Ji An commented: There are many selfish desires in the heart and pretending to be righteous on the surface.Therefore, while highlighting the achievements of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, this book also portrays his "overcoming" side. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che was a generation of emperors in Chinese history alongside Qin Shihuang and Emperor Kangxi. He reigned for fifty-four years. His great achievements include five: First, he further expanded China's territory with his famous Wenzhiwugong, conquering the South and the North. Second, the implementation of great unification has established China as a multi-ethnic unified country with the Han nationality as the main body, and determined the Han nationality, Chinese language and Chinese characters. Third, the promotion of Confucianism, the emphasis on ideological unity, and the strengthening of centralization have created the scale of a large empire in China's feudal society for more than 2,000 years. Fourth, Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions twice, opened up the Silk Road, and communicated economic and cultural exchanges between China and the West. He was a pioneer in opening China's door to the world. Fifth, the unification of the beginning of the new calendar, the unification of coinage, and the monopoly of salt and iron laid the postscript for the economic prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty, which laid the foundation and influenced China for thousands of years. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy in his life and did not care about the people. This led to the excessive dissipation of national power and manpower, which led to economic decline in the later period, and the emptiness of the treasury.But in his later years, he was still able to make an edict to repent and rein in the precipice.In short, his life has not jumped out of the vicious circle of many young and middle-aged men who are promising heroes, dare to think and do, create great careers, decay and decline in their later years, greedy for life and afraid of death, fatuous and irrational. However, although Emperor Wu made many mistakes in his later years, his great achievements are the main ones, and he is worthy of being a generation of heroes. First, Sima Qian's personality I have put "Historical Records" on my desk since I was a child, so I naturally have a soft spot for Sima Qian. Besides, as a person who studies literature and history, how can he not admire Sima Qian, a great literary and historical superstar? When I wrote the "Chinese Five Thousand Years of Cultural Classics Series" in the library of Peking University, when I wrote the historical volume, I did a serious study of Sima Qian and the historical value of "Historical Records"; At that time, he explored the literary value of Sima Qian's "Historical Records"; wrote this historical novel, and then made a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between Sima Qian and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.After three explorations, it can be said that I have a deeper understanding of Sima Qian's personality, thoughts, and academics, which laid the foundation for me to create this historical novel. Sima Qian is a great historian and writer in China, no matter his character, literary talent and contribution are commendable.In terms of character, Sima Qian wrote flattery from wood, and the history he wrote insisted on factual records, not false beauty, not restraining evil, which is also the purpose of Sima Qian's family history writing.So Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked Sima Qian to rewrite history. He would rather pay the price of his life than give in, because he insisted that history is the history of the people, not the history of the monarch alone, and history is not written for the emperor alone, but for generations to come. of.It is precisely because Sima Qian has such a great personality and such a lofty ideological realm that he wrote such a great work. Through the description of Sima Qian's soul breaking the Yellow River, this book pushes his great personality to the extreme. Second, the historical value of "Historical Records" Sima Qian's contribution is that he seems to have created a great "Historical Records". "Historical Records" was written from the Three Emperors and Five Emperors to the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It spans three thousand years of Chinese history and is China's first general history masterpiece. A great contribution has been made to the development of research and historiography. "Historical Records" has pushed my country's historiography to an unprecedented stage, and has epoch-making significance in the history of Chinese historiography. Third, the literary value of "Historical Records" "Historical Records" not only created a precedent for writing history with people, but also set a model for the creation of historical literature. Although "Historical Records" is a history book, it is a great work of historical biography. "Historical Records" adopts the form of biographies, uses history to describe people, and creates hundreds of characters with distinctive personalities, becoming the pioneer of biographical literature in my country.It has a very important position in the history of Chinese literature.Lu Xun called it "no rhyme and no Lisao", which shows its great literary value. After finishing the writing, my tears are about to dry up. I just shouted a hundred times and a thousand times in my heart: The Chinese nation is too great, China, I love you so much...so no matter how busy I am, I will keep my heart full. Ten volumes of the long historical novel "Eternal Series" have been completed. Finally, please let me express my heartfelt thanks to the various departments and leaders at all levels of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing House, as well as responsible editors for their strong support for the publication of my historical novel "Eternal Series", and sincerely thank the famous painter Mr. Li Shiji for his wonderful illustrations.