Translated into modern Chinese, it means that people who were rich in ancient times but lost their fame cannot be recorded. Only extraordinary and special people can become famous in later generations. After Zhou Wenwang was detained, he performed the sixty-four hexagrams in Zhouyi. Confucius began to write Spring and Autumn Annals after he came back from his predicament. Qu Yuan wrote Li Sao only after he was exiled. Zuo Qiuming began to write Mandarin only after he became blind. Sun Tzu's feet were cut off and Sun Tzu's art of war was compiled. Being demoted to Shu, Lv Chunqiu was published in the world. Han Fei was imprisoned by the State of Qin and wrote articles such as Shuo (Shu). Most of the 300 poems in The Book of Songs were written by sages to express their worries. These people are depressed and can't realize their ideals, so they describe their past, hoping that later generations can see and understand their thoughts. As for Zuo Qiuming, his eyes were blind, his grandson had his foot cut off, and he couldn't be appointed in the end. He retired and wrote a book to relieve their indignation, hoping to spread the article to future generations to show his ambition. In private, I overreach myself. In recent years, I have devoted myself to useless words, collecting historical records and rumors scattered all over the world, researching the deeds of predecessors and investigating the truth of their success or failure. I have written ten tables, twelve biographies, eight chapters, thirty aristocratic families, seventy biographies, and one hundred and thirty * * from the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan to today. I also want to explore the relationship between heaven and personnel through historical development and changes from ancient times to the present, and complete a unique and self-contained work. The draft hasn't been finished yet, which is a disaster. It's a pity that the book was not finished, so the most cruel punishment didn't show resentment. I really want to write this book, treasure it in a famous mountain, pass it on to like-minded people and let it spread among cities. Then, I can pay off the debt I owed after being humiliated. Even if I am insulted again, will I regret it However, my painstaking efforts can only be said to the wise, but it is hard to say to the layman!
I hope you can find what you need from it, hehe.