In ancient China, the full-time librarian in charge of writing records was called "History". The word "history" symbolizes something in the right hand, but there are many different explanations for what it is. Wu Dayou of the Qing Dynasty said that this was a simple strategy; Jiang Yong said it was a government book; Wang Guowei said it is a powerful tool; Ma Xulun said it was a pen; The lair said it was a bow drill, and it was also used to drill and burn Oracle Bone Inscriptions. In a word, although these explanations are different, one thing is the same, which is related to words and books. Wang Guowei said that "history" is an official who specializes in keeping, researching and writing. Another name is "Book Making", which is responsible for drafting books and recording important events of the imperial court, the words and deeds of emperors and generals, and various activities of government agencies. In many bronze inscriptions and ancient books, there is often a formulaic sentence: "Say-",that is to say, these documents were not written by Wang himself, but were inspired by historians.
Historians should not only record the emperor's words and deeds and military affairs, but also manage various government files and books, and engage in superstitious activities such as religious affairs and chastity sacrifices. Therefore, they have accumulated a large number of files and documents around them. They were the most knowledgeable people at that time, and the task of compiling history naturally fell on them.
Legend has it that Cang Xie, who created Chinese characters, is the official history of the Yellow Emperor, which is also a reflection of history. During the Three Dynasties, the number of historians increased and the division of labor became more detailed. We can find the names of many historians from Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bronze inscriptions and early classics, such as Taishiling, Taishiling, Taishiling and Taishiling in Xia Dynasty, and the internal history, grand history, mini-history, internal history, foreign history, left history and right history of Yin Shang Dynasty. These historians perform their respective duties, such as "the great historian is in charge of the six national codes, the miniature historian is in charge of the country's ambition, the internal history is in charge of the king's life, and the external history is in charge of the Chinese book, making it almost everywhere, and the left historian says that the right historian does it" ("Shi Tong Historian Compilation"). Historians were also established in various vassal States, initially appointed by the Zhou royal family, and the recorded materials were also sent to the royal family for preservation; During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Marquis rose and the royal family declined. The vassal States set up their own historians and recorded history with their own chronicles to show respect. Therefore, it appears in hundreds of documents such as Lu Chunqiu, Jin Dynasty Cheng, Zheng Chunqiu and Lang Lang of Chu Ci. Confucius, who was born at the right time, once sent his disciples to "seek the historical records of the Zhou Dynasty" and "get a hundred and twenty national treasures". (biography of the ram). Mozi also claimed to have "read Hundred Schools of Spring and Autumn Annals". It can be seen that there were rich historical books in various countries at that time.
The position of historian is hereditary. A dutiful family usually has a surname related to keeping books or records. Such as Jane, Ji, Shi and Dong. "Fifteen Years of Zuo Gong" records that in 526 AD, there was a descendant of a historian named Ji Tan in the State of Jin. Although he inherited the surname of his ancestors, he didn't know the history of his family. Zhou Jingwang told the history of his surname and laughed at him for "forgetting his ancestors after several times".
In the early literature of our country, it is often recorded that historians fled to other countries and took books and classics with them. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" records that Lu was dismissed as a businessman by Xia Taishi because he did not listen to Xia Taishi's advice. Yin Shi devoted himself to ambition, saw the rebellion of sealing the king and recorded his death week. Sima Qian, the Taishi Duke, also said in the preface of Historical Records that his ancestors had been in charge of Zhou's classics. In the middle of the 7th century BC, "Sima went to Zhou Jinshi". Because these history books are written by historians, most of them are partial to historians and accuse the rulers of confusing fornication. Most of these escapes have the nature of selling information. On the occasion of the change of dynasties; It also shows the importance of books and classics in the rulers' struggle for power and position, and also shows the important role of historians, the custodians of books and archives. They fled with important national archives and maps, which sometimes led to the weakening and overthrow of the old dynasty. At the end of Qin Dynasty and the beginning of Han Dynasty, Liu Bang invaded Xianyang, and the people competed for gold and silver treasures. Only Xiao He first entered the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Mansion of Qin Dynasty to collect books and documents. Later, the reason why Hanwang Liu Bang had a clear understanding of the city congestion, the number of registered permanent residence, the strength and the sufferings of the people was because Xiao He got maps, documents and suggestions from the Qin Prime Minister's Office. This also illustrates the importance of books from another angle.
It has a long history and has been in the same strain since Qin and Han Dynasties. Taishi made officials take charge of history, with Hu Wujing in Qin and Sima Qian in Han. Lantai and Dongguan were established in the Eastern Han Dynasty. These two places are not only the archives and libraries of the central government, but also the places where official books are compiled. Ming Di took Ban Gu as the history of Lantai and wrote a letter to change the history of the country. Dongguan Hanji, which is also called "Three History" with Historical Records and Hanshu, is the first historical book compiled by many historians in China. It created a precedent for the government to organize historians to compile history books collectively, which laid the foundation for the emergence of history museums later. During Cao's Taihe years, he began to write for Lang and Zuo Lang, specializing in national history. By the time of the Northern Qi Dynasty, it was renamed Shige, also known as Guanshi, which was a national specialized historical revision institution. After the development and perfection of the Tang Dynasty, a relatively complete historical revision system was formed. The Song Dynasty History Museum is divided into National History Museum. Recording institutions, calendars, meetings, etc. Historians are called editors, editors, editors and judges.
Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties changed to imperial academy, and historians set up national history compilation, editing and proofreading. In addition to permanent institutions, there are temporary special history museums with various names.
In ancient China, the tradition of compiling history for the former dynasty was formed. "The country can die, but history can't" (biography of Dong Wenbing in Yuan Dynasty), rulers of all previous dynasties attached great importance to the continuation and inheritance of history. All kinds of history books have a wide variety and different styles. Among them, the official biographical history, headed by Historical Records, stretches for thousands of years, with 24 histories, 3,259 volumes and a history of 5,000 years. This is an unparalleled encyclopedia of general history. For another example, in the chronological history books, there are 1 16 records modified by * * in past dynasties, and there are 4,355 volumes of Qing Shi Lu alone. Historians have always been respected in China, and they are often selected and appointed by the emperor. Some emperors, such as Emperor Taizong and Ming Taizu, made their own editing rules and took part in historical editing activities. Why did the supreme rulers of past dynasties attach so much importance to the activity of compiling history and institutionalize it? There are four reasons:
First, in order to absorb the experience of predecessors, take history as a mirror, educate future generations, and achieve the purpose of connecting the past with the future.
The second is to revise the history of the former dynasty, prove the legal status of the new dynasty, and correct its orthodoxy in order to win the hearts of the people.
Third, in order to beautify peace, spread the facade, win over literati, especially those who "don't eat Zhou Su", and kill their hostile consciousness. In other respects, they flatly refused to identify with the new dynasty, and it was extremely difficult to cooperate. Only when compiling the history of the old country, their mood is complicated and accommodating. They threw themselves into it with nostalgia, nostalgia, grief and indignation, for fear that loyalists and traitors could not tell right from wrong. They are familiar with the history of the old dynasty, which can restrain historians from distorting and belittling the history of the new dynasty to a certain extent.
Fourth, in order to control the right to praise and criticize, punish evil and promote good, monopolize public opinion, praise the virtues of the rulers of this dynasty, and establish a monument to consolidate the rule of the dynasty. The historical revision system of past dynasties ensured the continuity of China's historical books. This is just a microcosm of China's books. China's whole book culture has a long history, and it comes down in one continuous line, which is unmatched by any country in the world.