Sima Qian studied under Kong Anguo and Dong Zhongshu in his early years, roaming around, learning about customs and collecting rumors. As a first-time doctor, he served in the southwest. In the third year of Yuanfeng (108), he was appointed as the Taishiling, inherited his father's business and wrote history. He created China's first biography and general history book (formerly known as Taishi Gongshu) with the historical knowledge of "studying the relationship between man and nature, understanding the changes from ancient times to modern times, and making a family statement". It is recognized as a model of China's history books, which records more than 3,000 years' history from the legendary period of the Yellow Emperor to the first year of the founding of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is the first of the "twenty-five histories" and is praised by Lu Xun as "a historian's swan song, and Li Sao has no rhyme".
The life of the character
Early experience
Sima Qian was born in a well-off family in Longmen, Yellow River during the period of Wang and Wu in the Western Han Dynasty (unknown time). Sima Qian's grandfather Sima Xi, under the policy that Emperor China had the title of chestnut rice, exchanged 4,000 chestnut rice for the title of nine and five people. As real minions, the whole family had to be forced to serve.
Young Sima Qian studied calligraphy under the guidance of his father Sima Tan. By the age of ten, he had been able to read and recite China's ancient books such as Shangshu, Zuozhuan, Guoyu and Jieben. In the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Tan took Chang 'an, the capital of the Han Dynasty, as the official post, while Sima Qian stayed in Longmen, his hometown, studying hard and continuing his agriculture, reading and animal husbandry.
Learn to travel around the world
When he was a little older, Sima Qian left his hometown Longmen and came to his father in Beijing. At this time, Sima Qian had heard about it, and Sima Tan instructed Sima Qian to visit rivers and mountains all over the world to collect old news and let it go. Sima Qian began to travel around the world at the age of twenty. He started from Chang 'an, the capital city, and went southeast, leaving Wu Guan to Wan. Go south to Xiangfan to Jiangling. Cross the river, return to Xiangxi, and then turn southeast to Jiuyi Mountain. After nine doubts, I went north to Changsha, went to Laoluo Quyuan to mourn, crossed Dongting, went out of the Yangtze River and went downstream to the east. Lushan Mountain, Yu Shu Jiujiang, moved to Qiantang Exhibition. Go to a meeting to discuss Yu's point of view. Back to the Shen Jun Palace, which is at stake in the spring. Go to Gusu to see the five lakes. Later, he crossed the great river in the north and Huaiyin, and went to Linzi and Qufu to inspect Qilu regional culture and observe the legacy left by Confucius. He was trapped in Pu, Xue and Pengcheng, and then went along the Chu-Han battlefield, the hometown where historical figures surged in the Qin and Han Dynasties, passing through Pengcheng, Feng, Ying, Suiyang and Liang (now Kaifeng, Henan).
Go back to North Korea to be an official
Because of his father Sima Tan, Sima Qian was able to become a doctor after he returned to Beijing.
In the sixth year of Emperor Gaozu Ding Yuan (1 1 1), Chi Yihou ordered the southwest barbarians to be pacified, and the corps commander Guo Chang and Wei Guang led eight captains' soldiers to attack Galand and raze the southern barbarians. Yelang was frightened and came uninvited. The Han army also punished Joan and killed Hou Yu. Ran is really scared. Let me set up an official. Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established Wudu, Zhang Ke, Yuegu, Li Shen and Wenshan counties in southwest Yi. At this time, Sima Qian, who accompanied Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in his eastward expedition, went down to the southwest again and was sent to the south of Bashu to plan the construction of a new county. Later, he settled in Qionglai, Tashi and Kunming, and returned to Emperor Wu the next year.
Father's decree
In the spring of the first year of Yuanfeng (1 10 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty returned from his east tour of the Bohai Sea and held a meditation ceremony in Taishan. Sima Tan, an official who participated in the ceremony, stayed in Nan Zhou (now Luoyang) because of illness, so he could not move on, and his condition became worse. Sima Qian, who was appointed to the Western Expedition, immediately rushed to Mount Tai to attend the Zen ceremony. When he went to Luoyang, he met his dying father.
On his deathbed, Sima Tan said to Sima Qian, "Our ancestors were the masters of the Zhou Dynasty. As far back as Yu Xia in the ancient Yu Shun era, he was already famous and was in charge of astronomical work. Then it declined. Do you want to destroy it with me? If you continue to be a teacher, you can continue the work of our ancestors. Now the son of heaven has come to Mount Tai to worship Zen, and I am not allowed to follow suit. This is destiny takes a hand! After I die, you will definitely be a teacher; Don't forget the paper I want to write after I finish Taishi. Moreover, filial piety begins with serving parents, and only after serving the monarch in the middle can it finally gain a foothold in society, make a name for itself in later generations and show off its parents. This is the most important filial piety. The world praises the Duke of Zhou, that is to say, he can praise the merits and demerits of He, publicize the rogue of Zhou and Zhao, make people understand the thoughts of Zhou and Ji Wang, and the achievements of Gong Liu, so that the ancestor Hou Ji can be respected. After Li, the kingly way declined, and the rites and music were corrupted. Confucius studied and sorted out old documents and classics in order to revitalize the abandoned kingly way and rites and music. Today, scholars still take this as a criterion. It has been more than 400 years since Lu Aigong was acquired. During this period, due to the merger and melee of warlords, the historical books were scattered and the records were interrupted. Now, with the rise of the Han Dynasty, the unification of the sea, and the deeds of wise monarchs and loyal ministers, as an official, I refuse to comment and record, interrupting the historical documents of the country. I feel very uneasy about this, you should keep it in mind! " Sima Qian bowed his head and said with tears, "Although the child is not smart, he must complete all his father's plans for compiling history and dare not leave any gaps."
Ancient and modern sages in private schools
Sima Qian was able to get to know the talents gathered in Chang 'an because of his position in Chang 'an and the prosperity of Hanwu. Including Jia Yi's grandson, Gongsun Jigong (or Gong), Fan Kuai's grandson Taguang, your son Zhu Jian, Feng Tang's son Feng Sui, your youngest son, Liang Sui, Su Jian and so on. But Dong Zhongshu and Kong Anguo had the greatest influence on Sima Qian.
When discussing literature with Shang Dafu and Hu Ai, Sima Qian once said: "I heard Dong Sheng say,' The king of the Zhou Dynasty declined, and Confucius was the commander in chief of the state of Lu, which was harmed by his ministers and blocked by Dr. Qing. Knowing that his opinions were not adopted and his political ideas could not be put into practice, Confucius took the rights and wrongs of 242 years as the standard to judge the right and wrong of the world, belittling unscrupulous kings, reprimanding wrong kings and denouncing chaotic doctors, just to make the country's political affairs accessible. "Looking at Historical Records, the influence of Dong Zhongshu's Gongyangxue on Sima Qian is mainly manifested in the following aspects: First, the Gongyangjia advocated the Tang-Wu Revolution and advocated that there is no dead end, which became the ideological basis of anti-tyranny in Historical Records; Secondly, "respecting the king and rejecting foreign countries" advocated "great unification" as the main concept throughout the book Historical Records; Thirdly, the righteousness of the ram family to respect honesty and shame is the moral standard to praise and criticize historical figures in Historical Records.
Because Kong Anguo is a descendant of Confucius, he has more than ten books "History of Ancient Literature" at home, and he is also familiar with ancient and modern literature. Therefore, Sima Qian also tried to consult Kong Anguo about the history of China's ancient classics, learn the ancient teachings of China's ancient classics, and choose the ancient documents of China's ancient materials to master the method of textual research on history. As the core of the whole ancient literature, China's ancient classic history was also quoted by Sima Qian in The History of Three Dynasties in Ancient Times.
Sima Qian once sent a message to Confucius in Historical Records Confucius Family: "The mountain rises and the scenery stops." Highly praised. It also absorbed the essence of Confucius' theory and the six arts classics, imitated the spirit of Confucius, and completed the grand ceremony of a generation after Spring and Autumn Annals.
Discuss changing the calendar
The first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (104 BC) has been 102 years since the establishment of the Han Dynasty. At the beginning of the establishment of the Han dynasty, everything was ready, and most of them followed the production of the Qin dynasty. The calendar uses a closer Zhuan Xu calendar. Nevertheless, the calculation of the new moon and the new moon in the Zhuan Xu calendar is different from the actual situation. So Sima Qian, Dr. Gong Sunqing and Hu Sui, who were then Taishiling, advised Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty: "The Zhuan Xu calendar is no longer suitable for the present situation, and it is time to customize the calendar." . However, Erkuan, an imperial doctor, just knew the classics, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered Erkuan to consult with other doctors about revising the calendar. In the same year, he ordered Gong, Hu Sui, Sima Qian, Assistant Minister Zun, Dadian Hangshe and others to discuss customization.
Suffer from corruption
In the second year of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (the first 99 years), Emperor Wu asked Li Ling to escort Li Guangli, the general of the Second Division who attacked Xiongnu right Wang Xian in Jiuquan. Li Ling declined and invited 5,000 foot soldiers to ride alone to the court. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appreciated Li Ling's courage and agreed with him. However, when Li Ling went to Xunji Mountain, he was met by Xiongnu Khan's soldiers. Rupert failed to help, but the Xiongnu soldiers gathered more and more. After running out of food and grass, Li Ling finally surrendered to the enemy. Emperor Wu was furious, and his ministers denounced Li Ling's sins. Only Sima Qian said, "Li Ling serves her relatives, is loyal to her scholars, and always cares about serving the country. With only 5,000 infantry, he attracted all the Xiongnu troops and killed more than 10,000 enemies. Although he was defeated and surrendered to the enemy, his achievements can be offset. I don't think Li Ling really surrendered to the enemy. He lived to find opportunities to repay the Han Dynasty. " However, after the failure of Sun Aoying's Li Ling, in order to counter the Han Dynasty, Liang Wudi married Li Ling's family and Sima Qian was also sentenced to "lobby Li Ling because he wanted to be a mistress". The crime of false negligence is a crime of disrespect and should be beheaded according to law.
Faced with the punishment of the great monarch, Mu Yi died. Although honor can be guaranteed, the book has not been completed and the name has not been established. This kind of death is like a drop in the ocean, like the death of an ant. Zhouyi was interpreted when King Wen was in prison, and Chunqiu was written when he was in trouble. Li Sao was given to Qu Yuan when he was exiled, Mandarin was given to him when Zuo Qiu was blind, and The Art of War was revised after Sun Bin was sent to squat. Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals was handed down from generation to generation in exile. Han Fei was imprisoned in the State of Qin, and he was hard to blame. Finally, in that era when "Zanghuo's handmaids and concubines can still be the masters", Sima Qian resolutely chose to be redeemed by corruption. At this point, Sima Qian was burdened with his father's unfulfilled ideals and was fearless in the face of capital punishment. Accomplish the mission of Taishigong with perseverance and humiliation.