What are Sima Qian’s main works?

Sima Qian’s highest achievement in his life was to write the first biographical history book in Chinese history, "Historical Records". This work is called "Shiji" The first of the "Twenty-Four Histories" records the legends from the time of the Yellow Emperor to the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which spans one to three thousand years.

Historical Records

One of the reasons why "Historical Records" can be praised by people is because it created a new way of writing history. Before this, historical books were all It is mainly written in chronological style and is compiled year by year. The biographical compilation method pioneered by Sima Qian was also used by the "official histories" of later generations. After Qin Shihuang burned books and harassed Confucians, many precious books were lost. After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, laws, regulations, and etiquette were re-established. Many literati were used by the court, and many ancient books that were destroyed and lost at that time were also loved. It was searched and contributed by literary people, which also provided a large amount of documentation for Sima Qian's writing.

"Historical Records" is divided into five parts: annals, tables, books, aristocratic families, and biographies. It includes twelve annals that record the achievements of emperors in the past dynasties, and records the rise and fall of thirty aristocratic families in vassal states. , a series of biographies recording the words, deeds, and life stories of important figures (one of which is a self-preface), ten chronologies of major events, and eight books recording regulations and systems in music, calendar, and astronomy. The book contains a total of 130 chapters and more than 526,000 words. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" can be said to be the first general history in Chinese history that connects ancient and modern times. It has a profound impact on later generations. It is precisely because of the emergence of "Historical Records" that this style of general history has always affected the history books and history of later generations. Research.

What did Ma Qian of Taishi Company invent?

Sima Qian was the greatest historian of the Western Han Dynasty and an outstanding writer and thinker. However, some people say that Sima Qian was also an "inventor" ".

Statue of Sima Qian

Sima Qian, the "inventor", invented "Historical Records", or to be more precise, it is the way of writing history in the biographical style. Because the history of pre-Qin or earlier periods is written based on time. However, Sima Qian innovated the way of writing, so a biographical way of writing history appeared in "Historical Records".

Biography is a way of narrating historical facts centered on biographies, reflecting historical events by describing the activities of characters. The most prominent feature of the biographical style is that it takes biographies as the core content and combines narratives with words and deeds to better display the characters' personality traits.

Moreover, the narrative method of biographies also had a profound impact on the creation of many literary works such as novels, dramas, and biographies in later generations. Because of the character-centered nature of biographies, many characters are highlighted, thus establishing a number of important character prototypes. In many novels and dramas of later generations, many images of emperors, heroes, knights, etc. evolved from here.

Moreover, martial arts novels and other novels have also been influenced by "Historical Records", and the shadow of "Historical Records" can also be seen in the genres and narrative methods of many martial arts novels. Moreover, many novels are named after "The Biography of So-and-so", etc. It must be said that these are influenced by the literary style of biographies in "Historical Records".

In the Han Dynasty, when industry was not yet famous, the great historians and writers in ancient my country had already begun to invent and create, which shows what a great feat it was for Sima Qian to write "Historical Records".

What are Sima Qian’s patriotic quotes?

The most famous patriotic quote by Sima Qian is that Chang Si sacrificed himself for his country regardless of his own safety. Sima Qian left us countless classic quotes in the mammoth "Historical Records". He was not only a historian of the Western Han Dynasty, but also a writer and thinker.

Portrait of Sima Qian

So many famous sayings and aphorisms are the spiritual wealth left by Sima Qian to us. I can’t help but get excited every time I read the part where King Wen acted in the Book of Changes and Zhongniu composed the Spring and Autumn Period. Excited and seemed to be full of strength. But whenever I see this patriotic quote from Sima Qian, I always feel a sense of inexplicable ridicule. This poem was mentioned by Sima Qian in describing Li Ling in "Book of Ren An", but it was because of Li Ling that Sima Qian received the palace punishment. Because of his upright nature, Sima Qian stood in the objective Jiangdu and told Li Ling's difficulties in surrendering to the Huns. Unexpectedly, he was so After offending Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty imprisoned him and sentenced him to castration. Sima Qian originally wanted to die, but he survived in humiliation for the sake of historical records.

Finally, I wrote this famous saying in a letter to my friend in the book "Report to Ren An". Whether Sima Qian's patriotic quotes were written to Li Ling or to himself was a huge irony for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He is bent on revenge for the sake of the world, but whose world belongs to him? It belongs to the Liu family! When one's views are inconsistent with yours, it is cruel treatment, treating a loyal person who is always ready to die for the country.

If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty were in front of him, I really want to ask him: Is his conscience at peace? The timing of the appearance of Sima Qian's patriotic quotes is even more ironic, as he wrote them down after he had been castrated. For such a thing, I can only use the four words Sima Qian wrote in his letter to Ren An: Sad husband! Sad husband!

What are the idioms to describe Sima Qian?

As a great man in Chinese history, Sima Qian never dares to evaluate him casually, and he doesn’t know how to describe him. I searched for idioms to describe Sima Qian, and most of them related to perseverance and perseverance. This description is certainly appropriate, but I always feel that the idioms used to describe Sima Qian cannot only be limited to his spirit and body. I think the idioms used to describe Sima Qian can still be used to describe his achievements, such as a monumental work, a magnificent masterpiece, a shock to the past, a name that will go down in history, etc., which further reflect the greatness of a person.

Portrait of Sima Qian

Sima Qian went through many hardships in the process of compiling "Historical Records". At the age of twelve, he began to visit all over the country and collect detailed historical materials. After being tortured by castration, he still persisted in completing the compilation of "Historical Records" despite suffering both physical and spiritual torture. This spirit cannot but be admired. Originally, idioms like "magnificent masterpiece" were used to describe "Historical Records", but I think it would be more appropriate to use it as an idiom to describe Sima Qian.

Sima Qian spent thirteen years and wrote 120 articles totaling more than 520,000 words, covering a history spanning more than 3,000 years. Sima Qian was able to complete such a magnificent work. It is nothing but a normal thing for a name to last forever. Being able to persist in compiling even after being physically tortured is not as simple as being strong, but rather perseverance and forbearance. No matter how many and appropriate idioms are used to describe Sima Qian, even all the idioms are pale and powerless in front of Sima Qian and Sima Qian's historical records. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" is a poem without rhyme, which sings the eternal Chinese civilization. In the historical trend of five thousand years, Sima Qian was at the helm of the first three thousand years, writing gorgeous poems in books.

Where did Sima Qian travel

Sima Qian was born in a well-off family. Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, was also a historian, and the family's conditions were not bad. Later, when Sima talked about becoming an official in Chang'an District, he asked Sima to move to various parts of the country to travel. The ancients said that they traveled thousands of miles and read thousands of books, so this may be one of the reasons why Sima Qian had such an achievement.

Sima Qian

When he was ten years old, Sima Qian came to Chang'an, the capital of the Han Dynasty. At that time, Chang'an could be said to be very prosperous, with unprecedented national strength, economic prosperity, and a hundred schools of thought contending. During this period, Zhang Qian was sent as an envoy to the Xiongnu, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu, and the culture was unprecedentedly prosperous. It was during this period that Sima Qian was able to gain rich knowledge, which inspired Sima Qian's interest in writing history.

When he was about twenty years old, Sima Qian began to travel. Historical books record that Sima Qian first traveled south to the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, which is today's Jiangnan and Huainan areas. After that, he went to Kuaiji (today's Shaoxing) and also to Jiuyi Mountain, where it is said that Dayu was buried. After that we will go to the Yuanshui and Xiangshui areas in Guangxi and Guizhou. After that, he went north to Wenshui, Sishui and other places in Shandong Province. In this area, he also visited many counties and cities during the Warring States Period. Afterwards, Sima Qian went to the Henan area to inspect the ruins of the Liang Kingdom and the Chu Land in the old days. Sima Qian also went to the Bashu area in Sichuan, which can be said to have traveled through most of China.

It is precisely because of his travel experience when he was young that Sima Qian collected a large number of folk legends, old news, ancient events and other materials, and accumulated a large amount of original materials for Sima Qian's future writing. Of course, Sima Qian also conducted research on these rumors. In order to carefully select the excerpts, those nonsense words were not included in "Historical Records".

Couplets praising Sima Qian

There are many famous people in the past dynasties of our country. For some historical figures who have made great contributions, people often create couplets to praise or commemorate them. Sima Qian is an outstanding figure in our country. The famous writer and historian and the creator of "Historical Records" are naturally deeply admired and missed by future generations. There are also many couplets written by Sima Qian, expressing people's admiration and remembrance of Sima Qian.

Sima Qian's paintings

"You are upright and upright, leaving the generals with righteousness in the sky. You are sad and angry, and the history is written down to the world." This is a typical couplet praising Sima Qian. This painting The couplet is also a famous couplet written in Sima Qian Temple in Hancheng. Although the author of this couplet is no longer known, this couplet perfectly summarizes and praises Sima Qian's life. As written in the couplet, Sima Qian had an upright character, endured and worked hard to write a history book, and finally shined the light of history on future generations, and he became famous in history.

"The power of a generation of monarchs was destroyed by silkworms, and the history of a thousand years can be traced back to Longmen." This couplet was sponsored by Pu Songling, and it also describes the fate of Sima Qian's life and his immortal achievements. It means that although Sima Qian was tortured and imprisoned, he endured the humiliation and worked hard to write books, and wrote the historical masterpiece "Historical Records" with a thousand-year history. Jamsil refers to a place specially used to hold prisoners who have just been raped.

"Endure humiliation to clarify one's ambitions, penetrate history, use words and phrases to write about the Spring and Autumn Period, and the masterpieces of writing will last through the ages; seek truth and distinguish wrong, explore confusion, preserve truth and eliminate falsehood, interpret life and death, heroes and charlatans reveal their true nature Allow.

"This is a couplet written by Yu Zhenyu in the Sima Qian Temple. It also describes Sima Qian's tragic fate in his life and his great achievements in forbearing to write books.

There are many more Sima Qian couplets. Although the content is different, What is meant to express is the admiration and memory of this great man, and the couplets provide just such a way of remembering him. The catchy couplets also make the story of Sima Qian widely circulated.