His father, Sima Tan, is Taishiling (equivalent to the post of director of the National Library now). In his early years, Sima Qian lived a poor life in his hometown. At the age of 65,438+00, I began to read ancient books and studied hard. When he meets a difficult problem, he always thinks over and over again until he understands it. At the age of 20, Sima Qian set out from Chang 'an and traveled around the world. Later, he returned to Chang 'an and became a doctor. He made several voyages with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and visited many places. At the age of 35, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent him to Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou. He learned about the customs of some ethnic minorities there. After the death of his father Sima Tan, Sima Qian succeeded to the throne as Taishiling in 108 BC (the third year of Yuanfeng). In BC 104 (the early first year), he reached an agreement with astronomer Tang Dou and others and formulated the taichu calendar Law. In the same year, I began to compile historical records. In 99 BC (the second year of Tianhan), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu, became furious and surrendered. Sima Qian defended Li Ling and angered Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He was arrested and sentenced to death. People are inherently mortal, either heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather. (Report to Ren Anshu) In order to fulfill his father's wishes, he completed historical records and left them to future generations, and endured corruption (the torture of cutting off his nose or reproductive organs). In 96 BC (the first year of Taishi), he was pardoned and released from prison, issued a written order and mastered the confidential documents of the emperor. So he worked hard to write books and devoted himself to writing historical records. Around the age of 55, he finally finished writing and revising the whole book. Sima Qian, with his historical knowledge of studying the relationship between heaven and man, linking the changes of ancient and modern times and forming a unified view, made the first biographical general history of China in Historical Records. Book 130, with more than 526,500 words. Historical Records includes twelve biographies (recording the political achievements of emperors in past dynasties), thirty biographies (recording the rise and fall of vassal states and governors in Han Dynasty), seventy biographies (recording the words and deeds of important people, mainly describing the characters and ministers, and the last one is the preface), ten tables (chronology of major events) and eight books (recording various laws and regulations, such as etiquette, music, temperament, calendar, astronomy, etc.). Therefore, Sima Qian was called Shi Qian and Shi Sheng by the later Buddha. He is also known as the second Sima in history and the second Sima in the Western Han Dynasty.
Sima Qian's works, in addition to the Historical Records and annals, also recorded eight poems, all of which have been lost. Only Volume 30 quoted fragments of bad karma Renfu and the famous Letter to Ren 'an (namely "Letter to Ren"). Bao Ren An Shu expressed his painful feelings of being determined to endure humiliation and filth in order to finish his works. It is an important material to study Sima Qian's life thought and an excellent prose full of emotion. A Sad Man Never Met Fu is also a work in his later years, expressing the author's anger that he was not willing to be nameless after being punished by corruption.
achievement
Among the astrologers in the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian should be the first to be put forward. Everyone knows that Sima Qian is a great historian, but he doesn't know that he is also an expert in astronomy and astrology. In fact, as long as you carefully read his Historical Records, Official Books, Law Books and Almanac, you will understand that calling him an expert in astronomical astrology is by no means a hollow name. A profound literary master like Sima Qian will never define his own scope and limit his own knowledge system and exploration field. Ancient historians have always regarded ephemeris as one of their duties, so it is not surprising that they are proficient in astrology. Sima Qian, on the other hand, can combine astrology with historical issues and study the changes of ancient and modern times with the foresight of historians, which is beyond the reach of other astrologers and historians. Sima Qian did not use astrology to measure specific personnel changes, but summed up historical laws, which can not be said to be his creative application of Galaxy Studies.
Sima Qian inherited his father's will, completed the task of historical records and deducing the changes in ancient times, and clearly expressed them as changes in ancient times and changes in modern times. When studying the relationship between man and nature, his conclusion was expressed in the Book of Heaven Officials, that is, according to the solar eclipse and comet sighting in the Spring and Autumn Period of 242, the decline of the son of heaven, the rise of the Five Dynasties and the social chaos and turmoil in the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties were linked, and the fate of heaven was summarized. This is the most important example of Sima Qian's application of astrology, which occupies the highest position in the whole history of astrology education.
In addition, Sima Qian also summarized the basic principles of astrology since the Warring States Period, which are expressed as follows (also recorded in official books):
I carefully checked the notes in history books and investigated historical events, and found that in 100 years, all five stars were retrograde. When the five stars are retrograde, they often become particularly bright. The eclipse of the sun and the moon and its movement from south to north have a certain speed and period, which is the most basic data on which astrology is based. The Purple Palace Star Wall, the four palaces in the sky, the stars in the east, west, north and south, and their countless stars are all in the same position, and their sizes and mutual distances are constant. Their distribution and arrangement symbolize the position of the five senses in the sky. This is the basis of astrology as a' classic', that is, unchanged. Water, fire, gold, wood and Saturn are the five auxiliary elements of heaven. Their appearance and concealment have a certain time and period, but their running speed is uneven. This is the' latitude' in astrology, which is the part that changes through purple. By combining these fixed and changing astrology, we can predict the changes of personnel.