Sima Qian described the life of General Guang in the "Historical Records of General Li" and made a very high evaluation of Li Guang, which can be said to be a classic in historical criticism.
Li Guang was humble and respectful throughout his life, and made many outstanding military exploits in the process of fighting against the Huns. But the strangest thing is that when Li Guang was in trouble, he did not have a title in Li Guang until his death. Moreover, Li Guang's death was not natural, because he was framed and forced to commit suicide. Sima Qian was very sympathetic to Li Guang's experience and had a very positive attitude towards Li Guang's achievements. So in the "Historical Records" year, Sima Qian wrote a biography of Li Guang alone to praise Li Guang's achievements.
"The Biography of General Li" is also a well-known article in "Historical Records". The whole article is full of emotion, gorgeous rhetoric, and ever-changing writing techniques. It can be said that it is full of wonderful writing. Sima Qian used such words to describe Li Guang's life full of legends and tragedies, and created an out-and-out heroic image for people.
Sima Qian not only praised Li Guang, but also criticized the employment system of the Han Dynasty, expressing his regret and sorrow for the entire family in Li Guang. The most exciting part of the whole article is Sima Qian's evaluation of Li Guang in just over 80 words. There are famous quotes in the front and proverbs in the back. The writing technique is also very clever and flexible, which can be regarded as a masterpiece of both elegance and vulgarity. What's more, the famous saying "Everyone goes his own way" comes from this. Sima Qian used these eight words to comfort Li Guang's soul. This article not only shows that Sima Qian is a historian, but also shows that Sima Qian is a great literary master.
What are the poems praising Sima Qian?
There are countless poems praising Sima Qian, especially his magnificent masterpiece "Historical Records". Later generations also praised his style of conduct and rigorous recording of historical materials.
Among them, Lu Xun once said that "Historical Records" is the swan song of historians and a rhymeless Li Sao. This is not only a poem praising "Historical Records", but also a poem praising Sima Qian. Besides Sima Qian, who else would go through all kinds of hardships, eat in the open air, sleep soundly all the way, and end up with just a few true historical data. Later historical masterpieces include "Three Kingdoms", "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" and so on. Lu Xun only rated "Historical Records" as the swan song of historians, equivalent to "Li Sao", the highest achievement of Chinese poetry in literature. This shows the status of "Historical Records" in the hearts of future generations.
As a historian, Sima Qian set a good example for future generations. Ban Gu praised Sima Qian's poem: it is beautiful without being fake and does not hide evil, so he recorded it. You must know that Sima Qian recorded many ancient kings, including Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu who later failed to compete with Liu Bang for the world. At the same time, he also greatly praised Chen, Guang and other peasant uprising leaders, which Emperor Wu of Liang did not like as the emperor. However, Sima Qian took historical merit as the main criterion and was not afraid of Emperor Wu's preference, so he achieved an objective record.
Ban Biao also praised Sima Qian: The quality of literature is commensurate with the talent of good history. "Historical Records" written by Sima Qian is not only a historical masterpiece, but also has profound literary attainments. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a literary masterpiece. Sima Qian left countless famous aphorisms in "Historical Records" for people, leaving us with the motivation to work hard. No matter how many poems praising Sima Qian, it is just the icing on the cake. His glory does not need any poems to praise him.
Is the historian Sima Qian a eunuch?
Eunuchs refer to male officials who have lost their sexual ability after being castrated. They were used exclusively for labor in the ancient royal family. There are several key points in the definition of eunuchs, one is castration, and the other is officials serving the royal family.
On the other hand, Sima Qian was an official of the Han Dynasty and the author of history books, not a servant of the royal family. In addition, Sima Qian was castrated, and so were the eunuchs. Although there is no difference in actual operation, there is still a big difference in essence. Moreover, eunuchs were mostly children of poor families and had problems making a living outside the home, so they chose to enter the palace or be castrated as servants. However, Sima Qian was implicated and forced to undergo castration. This is essentially different.
After the eunuch was castrated, he went to the palace to become an official. After Sima Qian was castrated, he worked hard, followed the examples of sages, and completed the book "Historical Records" as his spiritual pillar, and finally completed the history of China. The first biographical history book. This history book, called "the historian's swan song and a rhymeless elegy" by teacher Lu Xun, is a treasure in the history of Chinese civilization and has a profound influence on future generations. So after suffering great humiliation, what Sima Qian and his eunuchs did were very different. So how could such a great Sima Qian be called a eunuch?
However, if someone says that all people who have been castrated and lost their sexual ability are eunuchs, we should abandon such unhealthy remarks and thoughts. In short, Sima Qian cannot be regarded as an eunuch, he is just a great man who was sentenced to death because he was implicated by others.