It means: There is nothing about me that is better than others, but what I have done in my life has never been ulterior.

This sentence comes from a famous saying by Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty. The original words are "I am not superior to others, but what I have done in my life is not something that should be said to others."

< p>What Sima Guang means is that he is not a very good person, and there is nothing better than others, but everything he does is aboveboard and he has never done anything wrong. On the one hand, it shows his humility; on the other hand, it shows that he acts aboveboard and aboveboard.

From "History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Sima Guang" edited by Tuotuo, the prime minister at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Excerpt from the original text:

Guangxiao, loyal to friends, respectful, thrifty and upright, living in a lawful place and acting politely. When he was in Luo, every time he went to Xia County to display his tomb, he would pass his brother's birthday, and he would be eighty years old. He would be treated like a strict father and protected like a baby. From childhood to old age, my words have never been false. I said to myself: "I have nothing better than others, but I have never done anything in my life that I should not say to others." Sincerity is natural, and the world respects and trusts him, and everyone in Shaanxi and Luo County embodies his virtue. Not good, he said: "Is it true that you are ignorant?"

Translation:

Sima Guang was filial to his friends, loyal and trustworthy, thrifty and upright, lived in accordance with the law, and acted with etiquette. When I was in Luoyang, every time I went to Xia County to visit his grave, I made sure to visit his brother Sima Dan. Sima Dan was nearly eighty years old, and Sima Guang served him like a strict father and protected him like a baby. From childhood to old age, Sima Guang never spoke nonsense. He said himself: "I have nothing special about others. It's just what I have done in my life. There is nothing I can't say to others." Sincerity comes naturally, so people all over the world admire and believe it. He, Shaanzhou and Luoyang were all influenced by his morality. If he did something wrong, they would say, "Don't Sima Junshi know?"

Extended information

"Song History" was written and compiled in the late Yuan Dynasty. The whole book has 47 volumes of chronicles, 162 volumes of chronicles, 32 volumes of lists, 255 volumes of biographies, and a total of 490 volumes. With sixteen volumes and about five million words, it is the largest official history book among the Twenty-Four Histories.

As early as the early Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, ordered the compilation of the history of the Song Dynasty, but it could not be completed because the style was not determined. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Prime Minister Tuotuo advocated compiling the three histories of Song, Liao and Jin separately and independently. This opinion was agreed by Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty. In March of the third year of Zhizheng (AD 1343), the three histories were compiled at the same time. After two and a half years, in October of the fifth year (AD 1345), "History of the Song Dynasty" was hurriedly completed.

"History of the Song Dynasty" is based on the original "History of the State" of the Song Dynasty. During the Song and Song Dynasties, the organization of historians was complete, engraving and printing were widely used, the circulation and preservation of books were more convenient, and a large amount of historical materials were accumulated. This provided a good foundation for Yuan's revision of "History of the Song Dynasty".

However, due to the hasty compilation of the "History of the Song Dynasty", there are many shortcomings in the cutting of historical materials, the verification of historical facts, the modification of text, and the style of the whole book. For example, one person has two biographies, and there is no biography. There are biographies, one thing can be seen several times, there is no text, records and biographies, biographies and biographies, tables and biographies, biographies and biographies are contradictory, etc., which makes it known as complicated and messy in the Twenty-Five Histories. .

"Song History" is characterized by rich historical materials and detailed narrative. During the Song and Song Dynasties, the economy was prosperous, culture and academics were active, engraving and printing were popular, and historical books were easy to publish and circulate. The development of the imperial examination system formed a large group of civil servants. Their salaries were generous and they had good conditions for writing. In addition, the rulers attached great importance to compiling the history of the dynasty, which further contributed to the development of historiography in the Song Dynasty.

The work of compiling the history of this dynasty was undertaken by Chongwen Yuan in the early Northern Song Dynasty; after Wang Anshi's reform of the official system, it was mainly the responsibility of the Secretariat Department. The contemporary history compiled by the government includes daily notes that record the words and deeds of the emperor, current affairs records that record the prime ministers, governing affairs, and inquiries with the emperor. Calendars compiled by month and day based on daily notes, current affairs records, etc., detail the outlines of laws and regulations, and also There are "real records" in the chronological style and "national history" in the biographical style. This history of the Song Dynasty compiled at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was compiled by the Yuan people using the old history of the Song Dynasty, and basically preserved the original appearance of the history of the Song Dynasty.

The history of the Song Dynasty has made relatively detailed records of the politics, economy, military, culture, ethnic relations, regulations and systems of the Song Dynasty, as well as many figures in the activities of this historical period. It is a study of more than 300 people in the two Song Dynasties. basic historical data.

For example, from the records of food and goods, we can not only see the overview of social and economic development in the Song Dynasty and the strengthening of economic cooperation between various ethnic groups and regions in our country, but also the transcendence created by the working people. The huge material wealth of past generations and the brutal exploitation they suffered. The Astronomical Chronicles, Lüli Chronicles, and Five Elements Chronicles preserve many astronomical and meteorological data, scientific data, and rich historical materials on natural disasters such as earthquakes.

Baidu Encyclopedia--The Biography of Sima Guang