The great man will live forever

Chapter 157 On a whim
On this day, Liu Han suddenly became interested.

"Go, accompany me to meet someone."

"Who?" Shu Yuzhu was a little curious.

"Sima Qian, the living Sima Qian, a person who only appeared in history textbooks before. I heard that he is preparing to write historical records. Do you want to meet him?"

"Let's go!"

The two looked at each other and smiled, then led the people directly to the door.

Many people feel that Sima Qian's "Historical Records" contains strong personal emotions and is not objective and fair enough.

First of all, you must know that "Historical Records" is not a particularly official history book.Sima Qian made it very clear in his "Book of Reporting to Ren An" that he wanted to "study the relationship between heaven and man and understand the changes in ancient and modern times" to finally achieve "the words of a family".

To put it simply, what I do is a private creation, a family story. It is what I want to write for future generations. As for what I want to say, you can read whatever I say. Otherwise, do you have the ability to write it yourself?
Many people, not to mention writing about it, just know a little bit about a lot of history, and they start to think that they are great. They read a little bit of knowledge on the Internet and self-righteously criticize Sima Qian for being too emotional.

In fact, he may not even know what it is to study the relationship between heaven and man and understand the changes in ancient and modern times, so he started talking nonsense.

If you look carefully at the criteria for selecting people in "Historical Records", you will actually find that Sima Qian had his own judgment criteria, which were sometimes very willful and did not necessarily conform to orthodox historical concepts.

For example, Xiang Yu was moved by Sima Qian to the exclusive emperor's epoch, because Sima Qian felt that his abilities and achievements should be regarded as the emperor of the previous generation. There have been many emperors since ancient times, but there is only one overlord of Western Chu.

Another example is Confucius, who was listed in a noble family by Sima Qian because Sima Qian felt that Confucius' achievements in "making rituals for the world and laying down the six arts for future generations" deserved to be in a noble family.

When it comes to the deeds of the Han Dynasty fighting against the Huns, the first thing he wrote about was not the legendary generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, but Li Guang, one of the many generals during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, because he felt that Li Guang was "brave in being an enemy and benevolent." "Soldiers, they don't bother with orders, they are masters and disciples." He admired him even more.

Sima Qian worked hard to distinguish what was caused by the will of heaven, the general trend, and cannot be changed by human power. Only in this way can he get rid of the historical view of judging heroes based on success or failure, and prevent his works from merely endorsing the victors.

"Historical Records" writes about many losers and puts them in higher-level positions. What he writes about is actually a kind of spirit and some shining points of human nature.

They can be benevolence and righteousness, loyalty and patriotism, integrity, bravery...

But more importantly, even though there are tens of millions of people, I am going!
In "Book of Bao Ren'an", Sima Qian wrote: "This person's mind is stuck, and he can't find his way, so he talks about the past and thinks about the future. It's just like Zuo Qiu has no eyes, and the grandson has broken his foot, and he can't use it anymore, so he retreats Discuss the strategy of writing to soothe his anger, and think about the empty writing to see for yourself."

In fact, in the final analysis, Sima Qian wrote "Historical Records" not to write a historical story, but to "relieve his anger" by "telling the past and thinking about the future."

When he wrote these things, he ultimately wanted to express himself through praise, criticism and description of the characters. What he wrote was his own heart, the determination to not give in, not give up, and to fight against fate.

And he believed that his heart could withstand the test of time and could be evaluated "by future generations of saints and gentlemen."

You know, although he came from a family of historians, Sima Qian considered himself the successor of Confucius.

Therefore, "Historical Records" is not like history, but more like living people. Historical figures have come to life.

Their unyielding, perseverance, bravery, kindness... are all here, and their regrets, hesitation, fear, and retreat... are also here.

Their success is in it, and so is their failure.

They are like each of us, living every minute. It is difficult for people who read history to realize that it is what really happened. Without that unforgettable experience, they are destined to make the same mistakes again.

Humans are not machines. Is there absolute objectivity in the world?It probably does not exist, subjectivity is inevitable, and it is precisely because of subjectivity that we live.

Those spirits will always float on the long river of history and shine through the ages!

Even though he knew that he would not succeed and that he would definitely die, he still acted generously.Generally speaking, this kind of behavior has many names, such as stupidity, overestimation, moths rushing to the flame, etc...

In the eyes of Westerners, this is an incredible violation of logic.

In the ancient Chinese philosophy, this kind of behavior has a suitable name: knowing that it is impossible and doing it.

Perhaps, this is the soul of our great nation, and it is also the shining point in Sima Qian's "Historical Records". It is also the reason why "Historical Records" was praised by Mr. Lu Xun as "the swan song of the historian, the rhymeless "Li Sao"".When Mr. Lu Xun looked at the devastated land, the numb living beings, and the landowners and warlords who preyed on the common people, what kind of grief made him realize that studying medicine could not save China, and he decided to abandon medicine and pursue literature.

Maybe he also saw that path and spirit from Sima Qian's "Historical Records".

Liu Han and Shu Yuzhu arrived at Sima Qian's residence. It was not big, just five rooms, and there were no servants at the door.

He knocked on the door gently, and the person who opened the door was a 28-year-old woman who looked young and beautiful. Next to him was a little girl, about 10 years old, who looked very cute.

"Who are you?" The woman was surprised. Looking at Liu Han, she knew that this man was not a simple man. He was very well-dressed and looked like he was from a wealthy family.

"Is this the home of Taishi Ling Sima Qian?"

"Exactly, that is my husband, who are you?"

"Lanlinghou Liu Han, I have taken the liberty to come to visit you!"

"Ah?" Sima Qian's wife was startled. Who in Chang'an doesn't know about the Marquis of Lanling?

Sima Qian was not actually rich, and his family conditions were average. His ancestors were from the Chongli family. From Zhuan Xu to Tang Yao and Yu Shun, they had been responsible for the geography of the Tiangong for generations.

Sima Qian's grandfather Sima Xi became rich by farming, and bought a low-level title "Five Doctors" in name only with grains of grain.

In the Western Han Dynasty, money was useful. Common people could donate officials, which meant that by giving a certain amount of silver to the court, they could get a position. Usually, the more money given, the higher the rank.

Of course, some positions cannot be bought with money, and the officials who can be donated are not important positions.

Also, if you are rich enough, you can avoid the death penalty, such as Li Guang, Gongsun Ao, and Yang Pu. It is a capital crime originally, but you will be fine if you pay the money, but the title will be lost.

Due to his grandfather, Sima Qian's father Sima Tan also served as an official in the court.

Sima Tan was very knowledgeable. He received a good education since he was a child and had read a lot of poetry and books.

In the early years of Emperor Wu, Sima Tan served as the Taishi Ling. His main responsibility was to compile historical books and record what happened in the Han Dynasty. He died when Mount Tai was granted the title of Zen for the first time.

Within a few years, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made Sima Qian the Taishi Ling.

At the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, the Taishi Order was established, which led to the Western Han Dynasty. He was responsible for the compilation of history books and astronomical calendars. He had a salary of [-] dan and was at the same level as the chiefs of counties and counties. According to today's level, he was a full-level official.

This official position is very small. If you put it in Chang'an, you can kill many such officials with one blow. The only difference is that he can often see Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

When Sima Qian was a child, he was like ordinary children. He often did farm work and had a strong body.In addition to doing farm work, he also read a lot of books. He learned "Spring and Autumn" from Dong Zhongshu and asked questions about "Shangshu" from Kong Anguo. It can be said that he was full of knowledge at a young age.

With his father's support, he traveled thousands of miles, traveling at the age of 20, passing through the Yangtze River, Xiangjiang River, Yuanjiang River, Huai River, Sishui River, Yellow River and other river basins, inspecting scenic spots and historic sites, visiting historical relics, and investigating social customs along the way.

While traveling, Sima Qian met Li Ling, who was equally high-spirited.

After Li Ling saw Sima Qian, the two hit it off immediately. This Li Ling also acted as a matchmaker for Sima Qian because he had a cousin named Liu Qianniang, and Liu Qianniang's grandfather was familiar to everyone, that was Li Guang.

This is probably why Sima Qian wrote so much about Li Guang later. Isn't this wife's grandfather his own grandfather?
With Li Ling's help, Liu Qianniang married Sima Qian 11 years ago and gave birth to a daughter named Sima Qian.

Sima Qian considered old cows to eat young grass. Liu Qianniang was only 17 years old when she married him. He was almost 30 years old at that time, and now he is in his 40s.

"Ah, husband, husband, come out quickly, the Marquis is here, the Marquis is here!"

When she heard it was Liu Han, Liu Qianniang, who had always been very steady, screamed, pulled her daughter and ran into the house.

(End of this chapter)