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Sima Qian was sentenced to castration, which is too honest in today's words. Liling was besieged by Khan at that time, and all ammunition and food were used up. In desperation, he had to surrender to the Huns and become a prisoner of war. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so angry that his senior officials had no time to continue praising Li Ling. On the contrary, they said they were not ashamed of Li Ling. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked Sima Qian for advice. However, Sima Qian admitted that Li Ling has always been a diligent, kind, loyal and patriotic soldier. If he said he surrendered, how could he surrender? Maybe he is still wondering when he can return to the court and be loyal to his country again. Sima Qian's words went against the wishes of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, who put Sima Qian in prison.
Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Gongsun Zan to the Huns and came to the Mausoleum. Gongsun ao failed. He was worried about the blame of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, so Gong Sun Ao falsely accused Li Ling of attacking Chang 'an on the orders of Khan during the training of Xiongnu. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed it and ordered the killing of Li Ling's wife and children in a rage. Sima Qian, who represented Li Ling, was also implicated and executed according to law. However, castration can replace the death penalty in the Han Dynasty. Sima Qian still had lofty ideals in his heart and grandparents' wishes on his back, so Sima Qian chose to be castrated and saved his life.
It is also Sima Qian's choice to let future generations see the classic historical records. Sima Qian endured humiliation and pain unimaginable to ordinary people. It is a great blessing for China people to finish this work.
The process of Sima Qian's writing history books
Sima Qian began to write historical records as early as BC 104, and was later called Historical Records.
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Sima Qian traveled all over the country in his early years, collecting local customs, understanding the ancient stories of local people, and then learning from Kong Anguo and Dong Zhongshu. Sima Qian has the ability and materials to write, so he started writing very early.
But no one's life will be smooth sailing, and so will Sima Qian. In 98 BC, an accident happened. At that time, Li Ling invited five thousand soldiers to attack the Xiongnu, and was defeated and captured. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very angry about this. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked Sima Qian what he thought of this matter. Sima Qian said that Li Ling was filial to his parents, loyal to the monarch and patriotic, and surrender was a helpless move. So Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Sima Qian to Luotian. Later, when Li Ling surrendered to the Huns, Sun Ao "sat up" and Sima Qian was implicated and sentenced to prison.
Sima Qian was greatly humiliated and never recovered. Instead, he worked harder and devoted all his energy to the creation of historical records. According to world books, Mandarin, Ji Qin, etc. At that time, he carefully selected the documents and files circulated in the society and in the countries where various schools wrote, as well as some materials obtained from his own local investigation, eliminated unfounded rumors, kept things that could not be confirmed, or attached various statements. After 14 years' efforts, Sima Qian completed this historical masterpiece "Historical Records", leaving a valuable cultural wealth for future generations.
Later generations' evaluation of Sima Qian
As a famous historian in the history of China, Sima Qian devoted his life to completing the first biographical history of China-Historical Records. The process of finishing this book was not smooth. Sima Qian first made a lot of preparations for the book, and was found guilty in the process of writing and imprisoned in the palace. It can be said that Historical Records is his lifelong effort. What is the evaluation of Sima Qian by future generations?
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Yang Xiong of the Han Dynasty wrote a book called Fa Yan, in which he wrote: "The history of the country was touched, which is called record." "He loves as much as his son." Therefore, Yang Xiong became the first person to praise Sima Qian's true spirit. He thinks Sima Qian is actually recording characters. He thinks Sima Qian likes wizards. Ban Gu is a historical figure who systematically evaluates Sima Qian. In Han Shu by Ban Gu, Ban Gu specially wrote a biography of Sima Qian. The article said, "Since Liu Xiang and Yang wrote a batch of books, they all claimed to have a good historical materials movement. According to their situation, they are orderly and reasonable. They argued, but couldn't reach an agreement. They are of high quality, but not vulgar. Their writing is frank and frank, and their core is not empty, and they don't hide evil. Therefore, they are called true records. " Ban Gu praised Sima Qian's documentary spirit of "no beauty and no evil", which left a deep impression on future generations. Sima Qian's documentary spirit has also become a fine tradition of China's historiography.
Han Yu, a scholar in the Tang Dynasty, praised Sima Qian. In his view, Sima Qian's style of writing is "vigorous, profound and elegant". Han Yu once said that "except Sima Xiangru, Tai Shigong, Liu Xiang and Yang Xiong, Han people can't write", which shows his reverence for Sima Qian. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Ma Cun and Zheng Qiao also praised Sima Qian one after another. Among them, Macun mainly praised Sima Qian's heroic journey. He said that Sima Qian "did everything in the world to help my spirit, and then spit it out as a book." Therefore, Sima Qian's writing style is either bold or deep and implicit. Zheng Qiao, a historian of the Southern Song Dynasty, said: "Sima Qian and his son engaged in the collation of ancient books, from the Yellow Emperor to the Qin and Han Dynasties, and wrote five volumes in one volume. Therefore, historians cannot change their methods, nor can scholars change their books. After six classics, there is only this book. " It can be seen that Zheng Qiao spoke highly of Sima Qian.
Jin Shengtan, Qian, Zhang Xuecheng, Zhao Yi and Liang Qichao all evaluated Sima Qian in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Jin Shengtan can be said to be Sima Qian's confidant, and his exposition of Historical Records is unique. Zhao Yi called Sima Qian a "great historian". On the other hand, Liang Qichao thought that "Mao Zedong pushed Sima Qian in the field of history" and spoke highly of Historical Records, saying that "all readers must read".
In modern times, Lu Xun called Historical Records a masterpiece of historians and a quatrain. Mao Zedong also mentioned Sima Qian's famous saying in "Serving the People": "Death is inherent in people, or it is heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather." . "Guo Moruo even appreciated Sima Qian's talent. He wrote an inscription for Sima Qian's shrine: "Broad-minded, outstanding" and "meritorious in pursuing his father". However, Jian Bozan thinks that Sima Qian is the founder of China historiography.