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122-692: There are two biographies of Chen Shou. The first one is in the Chronicles of Huayang , which was written by Chang Qu in the fourth century during the Eastern Jin dynasty . The second one is in the Book of Jin , which was written by Fang Xuanling and others in the seventh century during the Tang dynasty . He started his career as an official in the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era but

244-583: A speech in which he paid tribute to a fallen PLA soldier. Sima Qian wrote eight rhapsodies ( fu ), which are listed in the bibliographic treatise of the Book of Han . All but one, the "Rhapsody in Lament for Gentlemen who do not Meet their Time" ( 士不遇賦 ) have been lost, and even the surviving example is probably not complete. Sima and his father both served as the taishi (太史) of the Former Han dynasty ,

366-621: A yushi zhishu (御史治書; an auditor). The Jin Shu mentioned that Chen Shou took a leave of absence when his mother died, and he fulfilled her dying wish to be buried in Luoyang . However, he ended up being castigated and demoted because his act of burying his mother in Luoyang – instead of in his hometown in Anhan County – was a violation of the proprieties of his time. The Huayang Guozhi gave

488-587: A Gentleman Palace Writer (中書郎), the Ministry of Personnel appointed Chen Shou as the Administrator (太守) of Changguang Commandery (長廣郡) instead on the recommendation of Xun Xu . The Jin Shu mentioned that Xun Xu detested Zhang Hua and disliked Chen Shou for his association with Zhang Hua, so he urged the Ministry of Personnel to reassign Chen Shou to another position. Chen Shou declined the appointment on

610-492: A collection of writings, illustrations, objects and photographs related to Chen Shou's life, his works and his legacy. Chronicles of Huayang The Chronicles of Huayang or Huayang Guo Zhi ( traditional Chinese : 華陽國志 ; simplified Chinese : 华阳国志 ; lit. 'Records of the Lands South of Mt. Hua') is the oldest extant gazetteer of a region of China. It was compiled by Chang Qu during

732-619: A continuation of the Han dynasty . While " Shu " was a geographical term for where their state was based in, it was also a derisive name used by the Wei and Jin dynasties to discredit their claim of continuing the Han. Chen Shou opted to use the name "Shu" in his works, which in Tang Geng's view, was a deliberate neglect of impartiality to appease his patrons and personal animosity. To contrast, he brought up

854-470: A general history affected later historiographers like Zheng Qiao (鄭樵) in writing Tongzhi and Sima Guang in writing Zizhi Tongjian . The Chinese historical form of dynasty history, or jizhuanti history of dynasties, was codified in the second dynastic history by Ban Gu 's Book of Han , but historians regard Sima's work as their model, which stands as the "official format" of the history of China . The Shiji comprises 130 chapters consisting of half

976-519: A highly admired example of literary prose style, studied widely in China even today. The Letter to Ren An contains the quote, "Men have always had but one death. For some it is as weighty as Mount Tai ; for others it is as insignificant as a goose down. The difference is what they use it for." ( 人固有一死，或重于泰山，或輕于鴻毛，用之所趨異也。 ) This quote has become one of the most well known in all of Chinese literature. In modern times, Chairman Mao paraphrased this quote in

1098-467: A historian for two reasons. The first one was about Chen Shou attempting to extort 1,000 hu of grain from the sons of Ding Yi (丁儀) and his younger brother Ding Yi (丁廙) – two officials in Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He promised them that he would write biographies for their fathers in the Sanguozhi if they gave him the grain, but they refused, so he did not write the biographies. However,

1220-557: A historian was clearly justified if he decided to not write biographies for the Ding brothers, because, in his opinion, the Dings had committed grievous sins – instigating sibling rivalry and causing instability in the Wei imperial clan – which made them unworthy of having biographies in historical records. Pan further noted that there were also other notable persons in Wei (e.g. Chen Lin , Wu Zhi and Yang Xiu ) who did not have biographies in

1342-563: A long dialogue between Zhonghang and an envoy sent by the Emperor Wen of China during which the latter disparages the Xiongnu as "savages" whose customs are barbaric while Zhonghang defends the Xiongnu customs as either justified and/or as morally equal to Chinese customs, at times even morally superior as Zhonghang draws a contrast between the bloody succession struggles in China where family members would murder one another to be Emperor vs.

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1464-438: A major impact on the course of history, regardless of whether they were of noble or humble birth and whether they were born in the central states, the periphery, or barbarian lands. Unlike traditional Chinese historians, Sima went beyond the androcentric, nobility-focused histories by dealing with the lives of women and men such as poets, bureaucrats, merchants, comedians/jesters, assassins, and philosophers. The treatises section,

1586-604: A million characters. The jizhuanti format refers to the organization of the work into benji (本紀) or 'basic annals' chapters containing the biographies of the sovereigns ('sons of heaven') organized by dynasty and liezhuan (列傳) or 'ordered biographies' chapters containing the biographies of influential non-nobles, sometimes for one prominent individual, but often for two or more people who, in Sima Qian's judgment, played similarly important roles in history. In addition to these namesake categories, there are chapters falling under

1708-430: A moralizing approach to history with the historian high-guiding the good and evil to provide lessons for the present could be dangerous for the historian as it could bring down the wrath of the state onto the historian as happened to Sima himself. As such, the historian had to tread carefully and often expressed his judgements in a circuitous way designed to fool the censor. Sima himself in the conclusion to chapter 110 of

1830-505: A palace eunuch to complete his histories, rather than commit suicide as was expected of a gentleman-scholar who had been disgraced by being castrated. As Sima Qian himself explained in his Letter to Ren An :       且夫臧獲婢妾猶能引決，況若僕之不得已乎。所以隱忍苟活，函糞土之中而不辭者，恨私心有所不盡，鄙沒世而文采不表於後也。古者富貴而名摩滅，不可勝記，唯俶儻非常之人稱焉。       If even the lowest slave and scullion maid can bear to commit suicide, why should not one like myself be able to do what has to be done? But

1952-473: A period of stagnation until Zhang Hua recommended him to serve in the government of the Jin dynasty . Zhang Hua appreciated Chen Shou's talent and felt that even though Chen did not have an untarnished reputation, he did not deserve to be demoted and dismissed while he was in Shu. Chen Shou was recommended as a xiaolian (civil service candidate), and appointed as a zuo zhuzuo lang (佐著作郎; an assistant scribe) and

2074-490: A policy to which Sima was apparently opposed. Sima also broke new ground by using more sources like interviewing witnesses, visiting places where historical occurrences had happened, and examining documents from different regions and/or times. Before Chinese historians had tended to use only reign histories as their sources. The Shiji was further very novel in Chinese historiography by examining historical events outside of

2196-543: A position which includes aspects of being a historian, a court scribe, calendarist, and court astronomer/astrologer. At that time, the astrologer had an important role, responsible for interpreting and predicting the course of government according to the influence of the Sun, Moon, and stars, as well as other astronomical and geological phenomena such as solar eclipses and earthquakes , which depended on revising and upholding an accurate calendar. Before compiling Shiji , Sima Qian

2318-487: A scholar in reclusion ( 隱士 ; yǐnshì ) after leaving the Han court, perhaps dying around the same time as Emperor Wu in 87/86 BC. Although the style and form of Chinese historical writings varied through the ages, Records of the Grand Historian ( Shiji ) has defined the quality and style from then onwards. Before Sima, histories were written as certain events or certain periods of history of states; his idea of

2440-609: A similar situation during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period , where the Southern Tang was called Wu and the Northern Han was called Jin in derogative manners. Yet, historical documents still refer to them by their respective self titles. Tang Geng then laments that recently, someone had used Chen Shou's works as an example to convince a historian to not record the events he considered minor. According to

2562-610: A traitor's death, the world has united in scoffing at him and has been loath to study his policies ... Su Qin arose from the humblest beginnings to lead the Six States in the Vertical Alliance, and this is evidence that he possessed an intelligence surpassing the ordinary person. For this reason I have set forth this account of his deeds, arranging them in proper chronological order, so that he may not forever suffer from an evil reputation and be known for nothing else. Such

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2684-528: A varying account of the events: It was Chen Shou's stepmother (not his biological mother) who died. She did not want to be buried together with his father (in Anhan County), so Chen Shou buried her in Luoyang. According to the Jin Shu , many years after his demotion, Chen Shou was appointed as a zhongshuzi (中庶子; an aide) to the crown prince Sima Yu , but he did not assume his role. He died of illness at

2806-531: A very literary style, making extensive use of irony, sarcasm, juxtaposition of events, characterization, direct speech and invented speeches, which led the American historian Jennifer Jay to describe parts of the Shiji as reading more like a historical novel than a work of history. For an example, Sima tells the story of a Chinese eunuch named Zhonghang Yue who became an advisor to the Xiongnu kings. Sima provides

2928-415: Is a descendant of Qin general Sima Cuo (司馬錯), the commander of Qin army in the state's conquest of Ba and Shu . Before his castration, Sima Qian was recorded to have two sons and a daughter. While little is recorded of his sons, his daughter later married Yang Chang (楊敞), and had sons Yang Zhong (楊忠) and Yang Yun (楊惲). It was Yang Yun who hid his grandfather's great work, and decided to release it during

3050-405: Is a reply to a lost letter by Ren An to Sima Qian, perhaps asking Sima Qian to intercede on his behalf as Ren An was facing execution for accusations of being an opportunist and displaying equivocal loyalty to the emperor during the rebellion. In his reply, Sima Qian stated that he is a mutilated man with no influence at court. Some later historians claimed that Sima Qian himself became implicated in

3172-583: Is also depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang. Sima Qian was born at Xiayang in Zuopingyi (near present-day Hancheng , Shaanxi ). He was probably born around 145 BC, although some sources say he was born about 135 BC. In about 136 BC, his father Sima Tan was appointed to the position of "grand historian" ( tàishǐ 太史 , alternatively "grand scribe" or "grand astrologer") at

3294-571: Is also rendered in English as: Hong Liangji said that Chronicles of Huayang is one of the oldest extant Chinese gazetteers, along with the Yue Jue Shu  [ zh ] . There are twelve chapters in Chronicles of Huayang , the first four are on the history and descriptions of ancient polities of the region, while the following chapters are chronological history of the region from

3416-515: Is because I regretted that it had not been completed that I submitted to the extreme penalty without rancor. When I have truly completed this work, I shall deposit it in the Famous Mountain. If it may be handed down to men who will appreciate it, and penetrate to the villages and great cities, then though I should suffer a thousand mutilations, what regret should I have? Upon his release from prison in 97/96 BC, Sima Qian continued to serve in

3538-435: Is only those who were masterful and sure, the truly extraordinary men, who are still remembered.       僕竊不遜，近自託於無能之辭，網羅天下放失舊聞，考之行事，綜其終始，稽其成敗興壞之理 ... 凡百三十篇，亦欲以究天人之際，通古今之變，成一家之言。草創未就，適會此禍，惜其不成，是以就極刑而無慍色。僕誠已著此書，藏諸名山，傳之其人通邑大都，則僕償前辱之責，雖萬被戮，豈有悔哉！       I too have ventured not to be modest but have entrusted myself to my useless writings. I have gathered up and brought together

3660-421: Is suspicious and doubtful, clarifies right and wrong, and settles points which are uncertain. It calls good good and bad bad, honours the worthy, and condemns the unworthy. It preserves states which are lost and restores the perishing family. It brings to light what was neglected and restores what was abandoned. Sima saw the Shiji as being in the same tradition as he explained in his introduction to chapter 61 of

3782-440: The Chronicles of Huayang ( Huayang Guo Zhi ), appraised Chen Shou as follows: "Learn from the past, promote and consolidate those reflections." After Chen Shou's death, the official Fan Jun (范頵) and others wrote a memorial to Emperor Hui : "In the past, Emperor Wu of Han issued an imperial decree: ' Sima Xiangru is critically ill. Retrieve his writings.' The emissary who collected Sima Xiangru's writings told Emperor Wu about

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3904-494: The Records of the Grand Historian and completed it before 91 BC, probably around 94 BC. Three years after the death of his father, Sima Qian assumed his father's previous position as taishi . In 105 BC, Sima was among the scholars chosen to reform the calendar. As a senior imperial official, Sima was also in the position to offer counsel to the emperor on general affairs of state. In 99 BC, Sima became embroiled in

4026-400: The Records of the Grand Historian until his own time, every state in official history is referred to by the name they used no matter their circumstances as it was basic decency to do so. However, Chen Shou was the sole historian who made an exception for Shu Han. Throughout its existence, Liu Bei and Liu Shan always used the name "Han" for their state since they were positioning themselves as

4148-749: The Taichu calendar , which was officially promulgated in 104 BC. Sima was acutely aware of the importance of his work to posterity and its relationship to his own personal suffering. In the postface of the Records , he implicitly compared his universal history of China to the classics of his day, the Guoyu by Zuo Qiuming , " Li Sao " by Qu Yuan , and the Art of War by Sun Bin , pointing out that their authors all suffered great personal misfortunes before their lasting monumental works could come to fruition. Sima Qian

4270-581: The fengshan ceremonies, which were mentioned in Sima's writings. The emperor was very surprised. We, Your Majesty's subjects, propose: The late zhishu shi yushi Chen Shou wrote the Sanguozhi , which contains good advice and evaluates successes and failures. It is beneficial to promoting culture. Even though its writing style is not comparable to the works of (Sima) Xiangru, its message is simpler and clearer. We hope that it can be collected and reproduced." Emperor Hui approved and issued an imperial decree ordering

4392-544: The Bashu Qijiu Zhuan (巴蜀耆舊傳; Biographies of Famous People from Bashu ). Chen Shou felt that the Bashu Qijiu Zhuan was not comprehensive enough, so he expanded it to the 10-volume Yibu Qijiu Zhuan (益部耆舊傳; Biographies of Famous People from Yi Province ). His work was presented by the official Wen Li (文立) to Emperor Wu, who praised it. Other writings by Chen Shou include: the 50-volume Gu Guo Zhi (古國志; Records of Ancient States ), which received high praise;

4514-477: The Book of Han , which was written under the supervision of the imperial dynasty, Shiji was a privately written history since he refused to write Shiji as an official history covering only those of high rank. The work also covers people of the lower classes and is therefore considered a "veritable record" of the darker side of the dynasty. In Sima's time, literature and history were not seen as separate disciplines as they are now, and Sima wrote his magnum opus in

4636-610: The Intendant of Henan (河南尹) and Prefect of Luoyang (洛陽令) to send scribes to Chen Shou's house and copy the Sanguozhi . In the fifth century, Emperor Wen of the Liu Song dynasty felt that Chen Shou's Sanguozhi was too short and not comprehensive enough, so he commissioned Pei Songzhi to annotate the Sanguozhi . Pei Songzhi completed his assignment in 429. He included new materials he collected through research, and added his personal commentary. Pei Songzhi's annotations increased

4758-574: The Jin Shu account. Sometime in the third century after 280, Chen Shou wrote his magnum opus : the 65-volume Sanguozhi ( Records of the Three Kingdoms ), which records the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The text was divided into three sections – Book of Wei (魏書), Book of Shu (蜀書) and Book of Wu (吳書) – and was composed of mainly biographies of notable persons in those eras. Chen Shou received acclaim from his contemporaries for his work and

4880-485: The Jin Shu claim: Chen Shou gave highly positive comments about Zhuge Liang's ability as a politician in the Zhuge Liang Collection and in his personal commentary at the end of Zhuge's biography in the Sanguozhi . Zhao Yi's concluding remarks on this issue were that Chen Shou had clearly identified Zhuge Liang's strengths and weaknesses in his appraisal of Zhuge Liang in the Sanguozhi . Chen Shou in

5002-445: The Jin Shu prefaced the anecdote with the term huoyun (或云), which meant "rumours". The Qing dynasty writer Pan Mei (潘眉) rebutted the Jin Shu' s account about Chen Shou attempting to extort from the Dings and called it "uninformed". He disproved the claim that the Ding brothers were very famous officials in Wei by pointing out that they had neither held important appointments nor made any significant achievements. Pan also felt that

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5124-534: The Jin Shu , Chen Shou collected and compiled the writings of Zhuge Liang during his early career under the Jin dynasty. The compiled text was called Shu Xiang Zhuge Liang Ji (蜀相諸葛亮集; Collection of the Shu Chancellor Zhuge Liang ). The Huayang Guozhi mentioned that later on, Zhang Hua proposed to Emperor Wu to have the text reorganized and composed as a 24-volumes. At the time, Shou Liang

5246-465: The Jin Shu , Chen Shou's mentor, Qiao Zhou , often told Chen, "You'll become famous for your talent. However, it might not be a misfortune if you encounter any setback. You should be more mindful about what you do." Fang Xuanling remarked that Chen Shou's experiences – being demoted and humiliated when he was in Shu, and again while he was serving under the Jin dynasty – fitted what Qiao Zhou said about him. Chang Qu , who wrote Chen Shou's biography in

5368-511: The Jin dynasty . It contains roughly 110,000 characters. Its contents comprise history, geography and biographies of the Sichuan region. It was used by the Liu Song dynasty historian Pei Songzhi in his annotations to the Records of the Three Kingdoms , and by the Tang dynasty prince Li Xian when he wrote his commentaries on the Book of the Later Han . The Chronicles of Huayang

5490-522: The Li Ling affair for speaking out in defense of the general, who was blamed for an unsuccessful campaign against the Xiongnu . Given the choice of being executed or castrated, he chose the latter in order to finish his historical work. Although he is universally remembered for the Records , surviving works indicate that he was also a gifted poet and prose writer, and he was instrumental in the creation of

5612-420: The Sanguozhi , so being notable did not mean that a person should have a biography written for him. His concluding remarks on this issue were that the Jin Shu made a malicious claim (about Chen Shou). The second one suggested that Chen Shou held personal grudges against the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang and his son Zhuge Zhan , hence he wrote negative comments about them in the Sanguozhi . Chen Shou's father

5734-473: The Shiji declared that he was writing in this tradition where he stated:       孔氏著春秋，隱桓之閒則章，至定哀之際則微，為其切當世之文而罔褒，忌諱之辭也。       When Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals , he was very open in treating the reigns of Yin and Huan, the early dukes of Lu; but when he came to the later period of Dukes Ding and Ai, his writing was much more covert. Because in

5856-533: The Shiji where he wrote:       或曰：天道無親，常與善人。若伯夷、叔齊，可謂善人者非邪。積仁絜行如此而餓死。... 盜蹠日殺不辜，肝人之肉 ... 竟以壽終。是遵何德哉。 ... 余甚惑焉，儻所謂天道，是邪非邪。       Some people say "It is Heaven's way, without distinction of persons, to keep the good perpetually supplied." Can we say then that Boyi and Shuqi were good men or not? They clung to righteousness and were pure in their deeds yet they starved to death ... Robber Zhi day after day killed innocent men, making mincemeat of their flesh ... But in

5978-543: The Sinosphere in general until the 20th century. Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan , first conceived of the ambitious project of writing a complete history of China, but had completed only some preparatory sketches at the time of his death. After inheriting his father's position as court historian in the imperial court, he was determined to fulfill his father's dying wish of composing and putting together this epic work of history. However, in 99 BC, he would fall victim to

6100-458: The Tang – Song period. The great use of characterisation and plotting also influenced fiction writing, including the classical short stories of the middle and late medieval period (Tang- Ming ) as well as the vernacular novel of the late imperial period. Sima had immense influence on historiography not only in China, but also in Japan and Korea. For centuries afterwards, the Shiji was regarded as

6222-666: The Yangtze River to Changsha Kingdom (modern Hunan ), where he visited the Miluo River site where the Warring States -era poet Qu Yuan was traditionally said to have drowned himself. He then went to seek the burial place of the legendary rulers Yu on Mount Xianglu and Shun in the Jiuyi Mountains (modern Ningyuan County , Hunan). He then went north to Huaiyin (modern Huai'an , Jiangsu) to see

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6344-511: The filial mourning period after his father's death. Some guests who visited his home expressed disapproval when they saw him being served medicine by his servants, because he was expected to lead an austere life during that period. His fellow townsfolk criticised him when they heard about it. According to the Huayang Guozhi , Chen Shou was a close friend of Li Xiang , courtesy name was Shulong (叔龍), from Zitong Commandery (梓潼郡). Li Xiang

6466-471: The 7-volume Guansi Lun (官司論; Dissertation on Bureaucracy ), which used historical examples to discuss reforms; Shi Yi (釋諱; Explaining Taboos ); Guang Guo Lun (廣國論); Wei Mingchen Zou (魏名臣奏; Memorials by Notable Officials of Cao Wei ). Chen Fu (陳符), whose courtesy name was Changxin (長信), was the son of Chen Shou's elder brother. He was also known for his literary talent and he succeeded his uncle as an Assistant Gentleman of Writing. He also served as

6588-469: The Confucian classics, he systemically compared the information with other documents. Sima mentioned at least 75 books he used for cross-checking. Furthermore, Sima often questioned people about historical events they had experienced. Sima mentioned after one of his trips across China that: "When I had occasion to pass through Feng and Beiyi I questioned the elderly people who were about the place, visited

6710-460: The Grand Historian , a general history of China covering more than two thousand years beginning from the rise of the legendary Yellow Emperor and the formation of the first Chinese polity to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han , during which Sima wrote. As the first universal history of the world as it was known to the ancient Chinese, the Records of the Grand Historian served as a model for official history-writing for subsequent Chinese dynasties and

6832-478: The Han court as zhongshuling ( 中書令 ), a court archivist position reserved for eunuchs with considerable status and with higher pay than his previous position of historian. The Letter to Ren An was written by Sima Qian in reply to Ren An in response to the latter's involvement in Crown Prince Liu Ju 's rebellion in 91 BC. This is the last record of Sima Qian in contemporary documents. The letter

6954-459: The Later Han to the Cheng-Han period, with the last few covering the biographies of notable men and women in the area. Sima Qian Sima Qian (Chinese: 司馬遷 ; ( [sɹ̩́mà tɕʰjɛ́n] ); c.  145  – c.  86 BC ) was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty . He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his Records of

7076-546: The Li Ling affair, where Li Ling and Li Guangli , two military officers who led a campaign against the Xiongnu in the north, were defeated and taken captive. Emperor Wu attributed the defeat to Li Ling, with all government officials subsequently condemning him for it. Sima was the only person to defend Li Ling, who had never been his friend but whom he respected. Emperor Wu interpreted Sima's defence of Li as an attack on his brother-in-law, Li Guangli, who had also fought against

7198-554: The Li Ling affair. Although there are many theories regarding the exact dating as well as the true nature and purpose of the Letter to Ren An , one common interpretation suggests that the letter, in part, tacitly expressed a refusal to play an active role in securing a reduced punishment for Ren An. The early-20th-century scholar Wang Guowei stated that there are no reliable records establishing when Sima Qian died. He and most modern historians believe that Sima Qian spent his last days as

7320-610: The Prefect (令) of Shanglian County (上廉縣). Chen Fu's younger brother, Chen Li (陳蒞), whose courtesy name was Shudu (叔度), served as an Attendant Officer (別駕) in Liang Province and later under Sima You , the Prince of Qi (齊王) and General of Agile Cavalry (驃騎將軍). He also died in Luoyang . Chen Li had a younger relative, Chen Jie (陳階), whose courtesy name was Dazhi (達之). Chen Jie assumed the following appointments: Registrar (主簿) of

7442-455: The Sima ancestors. To this day, people living in the village with surnames Feng and Tong are forbidden from intermarrying on the grounds that the relationship would be incestuous. According to the Book of Han , Wang Mang sent an expedition to search for and ennoble a male-line descent of Sima Qian as 史通子 ("Viscount of Historical Mastery"), although it was not recorded who received this title of nobility. A Qing dynasty stele 重修太史廟記 ( Records of

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7564-580: The Three Kingdoms era. It was also the place where Chen Shou studied in his early life. It was destroyed in the 1960s after years of neglect, but was rebuilt in 1990 by the Chinese government at a cost of four million yuan. The present tower, which covers an area of 2,400 square metres, consists of three main attractions – the Reading Tower of Chen Shou, the Chen Shou Memorial Hall, and Collecting Books Tower. The tower has on display

7686-412: The Xiongnu as savages who had the appearance of humans, but the minds of animals. In his comments about the Xiongnu, Sima refrained from evoking claims about the innate moral superiority of the Han over the "northern barbarians" that were the standard rhetorical tropes of Chinese historians in this period. Likewise, Sima in his chapter about the Xiongnu condemns those advisors who pursue the "expediency of

7808-404: The Xiongnu less favorably, so the debate was almost certainly more Sima's way of criticizing the Chinese court system and less genuine praise for the Xiongnu. Sima has often been criticized for "historizing" myths and legends as he assigned dates to mythical and legendary figures from ancient Chinese history together with what appears to be suspiciously precise genealogies of leading families over

7930-620: The Xiongnu without much success, and sentenced Sima to death. At that time, execution could be commuted either by money or castration . Since Sima did not have enough money to atone for his "crime", he chose the latter and was then thrown into prison, where he endured three years. He described his pain thus: "When you see the jailer you abjectly touch the ground with your forehead. At the mere sight of his underlings you are seized with terror ... Such ignominy can never be wiped away." Sima called his castration "the worst of all punishments". In 96 BC, on his release from prison, Sima chose to live on as

8052-472: The Yellow Gate (黃門侍郎). In the final years of Shu ( c. 250s–260s), many officials fawned on Huang Hao , an influential court eunuch , in their bid to win his favour. Chen Shou's refusal to engage in such flattering and obsequious behaviour took a toll on his career: He was demoted on several occasions and sent out of the Shu capital, Chengdu . After the fall of Shu in 263, Chen Shou's career entered

8174-524: The Zhou dynasty (originally serving as vassals to the Zhou kings), as well as the histories of contemporary aristocratic houses established during the Han dynasty. In all, the Records consist of 12 Basic Annals, 10 Tables, 8 Treatises, 30 House Chronicles, and 70 Ordered Biographies. The last of the Ordered Biographies is the postface. This final chapter details the background of how the Shiji

8296-570: The acting Prefect (令) of Yangping County (陽平縣). In 274, he collected and compiled the writings of Zhuge Liang , the first chancellor of Shu, and submitted them to the Jin imperial court. He was promoted to zhuzuo lang (著作郎; a scribe) and appointed as the zhongzheng (中正) of Baxi Commandery. The Huayang Guozhi mentioned that he also served as the Chancellor (相) to the Marquis of Pingyang (平陽侯). When Zhang Hua recommended Chen Shou to serve as

8418-536: The age of 65 (by East Asian age reckoning ) in 297 during the reign of Emperor Hui . The Huayang Guozhi gave a different account of the events before Chen Shou's death. It stated that Chen Shou was appointed as a zhongshuzi to Sima Yu, but was reassigned to be a Regular Mounted Attendant (散騎常侍) again after the crown prince was deposed in 299. Emperor Hui told Zhang Hua, "(Chen) Shou possesses genuine talent. He should not remain in his current appointment for long." Zhang Hua wanted to nominate Chen Shou to take up one of

8540-453: The age of ten Sima was able to "read the old writings" and was considered to be a promising scholar. Sima grew up in a Confucian environment, and Sima always regarded his historical work as an act of Confucian filial piety . In 126 BC, around the age of 20, Sima Qian began an extensive tour around China as it existed in the Han dynasty. He started his journey from the imperial capital, Chang'an (modern Xi'an ), then went south across

8662-433: The author himself. The postface concludes with a self-referential description of the postface as the 70th and last of the Ordered Biographies chapters. Sima was greatly influenced by Confucius's Spring and Autumn Annals , which on the surface is a succinct chronology from the events of the reigns of the twelve dukes of Lu from 722 to 484 BC. Many Chinese scholars have and still do view how Confucius ordered his chronology as

8784-417: The basic accuracy of the Shiji including the reigns and locations of tombs of ancient rulers. Sima's Shiji is respected as a model of biographical literature with high literary value and still stands as a textbook for the study of classical Chinese. Sima's works were influential to Chinese writing, serving as ideal models for various types of prose within the neo-classical ("renaissance" 复古 ) movement of

8906-638: The basic annals section, the Emperor Gaozu is portrayed as a good leader whereas in the section dealing with his rival Xiang Yu, the Emperor is portrayed unflatteringly. Likewise, the chapter on Xiang presents him in a favorable light whereas the chapter on Gaozu portrays him in more darker colors. At the end of most of the chapters, Sima usually wrote a commentary in which he judged how the individual lived up to traditional Chinese values like filial piety, humility, self-discipline, hard work and concern for

9028-573: The biographies sections and the annals section relating to the Qin dynasty (as a former dynasty, there was more freedom to write about the Qin than there was about the reigning Han dynasty) that make up 40% of the Shiji have aroused the most interest from historians and are the only parts of the Shiji that have been translated into English. When Sima placed his subjects was often his way of expressing obliquely moral judgements. Empress Lü and Xiang Yu were

9150-479: The biography of Liu Shan wrote that the state of Shu Han did not have a historical bureau or department, justifying the pitiful condition of the biography of their officials. Tang Geng cast doubt on this claim, remarking that although ancient texts advised to have one scribe write every word of his sovereign while another writes every action, those were merely hyperbolic terms. He provides past examples of people combining their role as historian alongside other function of

9272-539: The book dealing with the Xiongnu "barbarians" might indicate his disapproval of the foreign policy of the Emperor Wu. In writing Shiji , Sima initiated a new writing style by presenting history in a series of biographies. His work extends over 130 chapters—not in historical sequence, but divided into particular subjects, including annals , chronicles , and treatises —on music, ceremonies, calendars, religion, economics, and extended biographies. Sima's work influenced

9394-404: The categories of biao (表) or 'tables', containing graphical chronologies of royalty and nobility, and shu (書) or 'treatises', consisting of essays giving a historical perspective on various topics like music, ritual, or economics. Most importantly, the shijia (世家) chapters, or 'house chronicles', document important events in the histories of the rulers of each of the quasi-independent states of

9516-449: The course of several millennia (including his own where he traces the descent of the Sima family from legendary emperors in the distant past). However, archaeological discoveries in recent decades have confirmed aspects of the Shiji , and suggested that even if the sections of the Shiji dealing with the ancient past are not totally true, at least Sima wrote down what he believed to be true. In particular, archaeological finds have confirmed

9638-425: The courts, providing a broader history than the traditional court-based histories had done. Lastly, Sima broke with the traditional chronological structure of Chinese history. Sima instead had divided the Shiji into five divisions: the basic annals which comprised the first 12 chapters, the chronological tables which comprised the next 10 chapters, treatises on particular subjects which make up 8 chapters, accounts of

9760-431: The effective rulers of China during reigns Hui of the Han and Yi of Chu, respectively, so Sima placed both their lives in the basic annals. Likewise, Confucius is included in the fourth section rather the fifth where he properly belonged as a way of showing his eminent virtue. The structure of the Shiji allowed Sima to tell the same stories in different ways, which allowed him to pass his moral judgements. For example, in

9882-428: The end he lived to a great old age. For what virtue did he deserve this? ... I find myself in much perplexity. Is this so-called "Way of Heaven" right or wrong? To resolve this theodical problem, Sima argued that while the wicked may succeed and the good may suffer in their own life-times, it is the historian who ensures that in the end good triumphs. For Sima, the writing of history was no mere antiquarian pursuit, but

10004-480: The entire Chinese court system where the Emperor preferred the lies told by his sycophantic advisors over the truth told by his honest advisors as inherently corrupt and depraved. The point is reinforced by the fact that Sima has Zhonghang speak the language of an idealized Confucian official whereas the Emperor's envoy's language is dismissed as "mere twittering and chatter". Elsewhere in the Shiji Sima portrayed

10126-541: The government. Furthermore, when the Rites of Zhou (pre-1st century BC) was written, even local warlords would have a historical bureau, so for Shu Han to suddenly lack one is suspect. Finally, he points out that Chen Shou contradicts the statement in the same biography when he wrote "the Historical Bureau (史官) reported the sighting of a brilliant star," just three paragraphs later. Tang Geng commented that since

10248-400: The governor of Yi Province ; baozhongling (褒中令); West Commandant (西部都尉) of Yongchang Commandery (永昌郡); Administrator (太守) of Jianning (建寧) and Xinggu (興古) commanderies. Chen Jie was also well known for his literary talent. Chen Fu, Chen Li and Chen Jie each wrote more than 10 works out of the over 200 writings attributed to Chen Shou. The Jin Shu mentioned that Chen Shou fell sick during

10370-416: The grave of Han dynasty general Han Xin , then continued north to Qufu , the hometown of Confucius , where he studied ritual and other traditional subjects. After his travels, Sima was chosen to be a Palace Attendant in the government, whose duties were to inspect different parts of the country with Emperor Wu in 122 BC. Sima married young and had one daughter. In 110 BC, at the age of 35, Sima Qian

10492-544: The greatest history book written in Asia. Sima is little known in the English-speaking world as a full translation of the Shiji in English has not yet been completed. His influence was derived primarily from the following elements of his writing: his skillful depiction of historical characters using details of their speech, conversations, and actions; his innovative use of informal, humorous, and varied language; and

10614-492: The grounds that he had to look after his elderly mother. The Huayang Guozhi gave a different account of Chen Shou's relationship with Xun Xu. It stated that Xun Xu and Zhang Hua were very pleased with Chen Shou's Sanguozhi and they remarked that Chen Shou surpassed Ban Gu and Sima Qian . However, later, Xun Xu was displeased by the Wei Shu – one of the three sections in the Sanguozhi – and did not want Chen Shou to work in

10736-485: The ideal example of how history should be written, especially with regards to what he chose to include and to exclude, and his choice of words as indicating moral judgments. Seen in this light, the Spring and Autumn Annals are a moral guide to the proper way of living. Sima took this view himself as he explained:       夫春秋 ... 別嫌疑，明是非，定猶豫，善善惡惡，賢賢賤不肖，存亡國，繼絕世，補敝起廢。       It [ Spring and Autumn Annals ] distinguishes what

10858-417: The imperial court. The grand historian was a relatively low-ranking official whose main duty was to formulate the yearly calendar, identifying which days were ritually auspicious or inauspicious, and present it to the emperor prior to the new year . His other duties included traveling with the emperor for important rituals and recording daily events both at the court and around the country. By his account, by

10980-407: The latter case he was writing about his own times, he did not express his judgements frankly, but used subtle and guarded language. Bearing this in mind, not everything that Sima wrote should be understood as conveying didactical moral lessons. But several historians have suggested that parts of the Shiji , such as where Sima placed his section on Confucius's use of indirect criticism in the part of

11102-537: The legendary Yellow Emperor and extended to his own time, and covered not only China, but also neighboring nations like Korea and Vietnam . In this regard, Sima was significant as the first Chinese historian to treat the peoples living to the north of the Great Wall like the Xiongnu as human beings who were implicitly the equals of the Middle Kingdom, instead of the traditional approach which had portrayed

11224-558: The length of the Sanguozhi to nearly twice its original. The Wanjuanlou ( 萬卷樓 ; 万卷楼 ; Wànjuànlóu ; 'tower of 10', '000 volumes of writings') – a tourist attraction in the Xishan Scenic Spot, Shunqing District , Nanchong , Sichuan – is named the source of the culture of the Three Kingdoms period by the Sichuan provincial government. The tower was constructed in the early third century (222–237) during

11346-437: The less fortunate. Sima analyzed the records and sorted out those that could serve the purpose of Shiji . He intended to discover the patterns and principles of the development of human history. Sima also emphasized, for the first time in Chinese history, the role of individual men in affecting the historical development of China and his historical perception that a country cannot escape from the fate of growth and decay. Unlike

11468-415: The moment", that is advise the Emperor to carry policies such as conquests of other nations that bring a brief moment of glory, but burden the state with the enormous financial and often human costs of holding on to the conquered land. Sima was engaging in an indirect criticism of the advisors of the Emperor Wu who were urging him to pursue a policy of aggression towards the Xiongnu and conquer all their land,

11590-446: The more orderly succession of the Xiongnu kings. The American historian Tamara Chin wrote that though Zhonghang did exist, the dialogue is merely a "literacy device" for Sima to make points that he could not otherwise make. The favorable picture of the traitor Zhonghang who went over to the Xiongnu who bests the Emperor's loyal envoy in an ethnographic argument about what is the morally superior nation appears to be Sima's way of attacking

11712-451: The old home of Xiao He , Cao Can , Fan Kuai and Xiahou Ying , and learned much about the early days. How different it was from the stories one hears!" Reflecting the traditional Chinese reverence for age, Sima stated that he preferred to interview the elderly as he believed that they were the most likely to supply him with correct and truthful information about what had happened in the past. During one of this trips, Sima mentioned that he

11834-467: The old traditions of the world which were scattered and lost. I have examined the deeds and events of the past and investigated the principles behind their success and failure, their rise and decay [...] in one hundred and thirty chapters. I wished to examine into all that concerns heaven and man, to penetrate the changes of the past and present, completing all as the work of one family. But before I had finished my rough manuscript, I met with this calamity. It

11956-589: The posts of the Nine Ministers , but lost his life in 300 CE during the War of the Eight Princes . Chen Shou died in Luoyang later. His talents and achievements were not reflected in his status at the time of his death and many people felt that it was an injustice to him. The Huayang Guozhi account apparently suggests that Chen Shou died in 300 CE or after, which did not match his year of death mentioned in

12078-436: The pretense that Prince Tan could via the use of magic make the clouds rain grain and horses grow horns. Sima constantly compared accounts found in the manuscripts with what he considered reliable sources like Confucian classics like the Book of Odes , Book of History , Book of Rites , Book of Music , Book of Changes and Spring and Autumn Annals . When Sima encountered a story that could not be cross-checked with

12200-437: The reason I have not refused to bear these ills and have continued to live, dwelling in vileness and disgrace without taking my leave, is that I grieve that I have things in my heart which I have not been able to express fully, and I am shamed to think that after I am gone my writings will not be known to posterity. Too numerous to record are the men of ancient times who were rich and noble and whose names have yet vanished away. It

12322-470: The rebellion as a result of his friendship with Ren An and was executed as part of the purge of the crown prince's supporters in court; however, the earliest-attested record of this account dates from the 4th century. Moreover, it has also been pointed out that Sima Qian would have been reluctant to render substantive aid to Ren An, given the severe consequences that he suffered for supporting General Li Ling, as well as Ren An's failure to act on his behalf during

12444-459: The reign of Emperor Xuan . According to local legend, Sima Qian had two sons, the older named Sima Lin (司馬臨) and younger named Sima Guan (司馬觀), who fled the capital to Xu Village (徐村) in what is now Shanxi province during the Li Ling affair, for fear of falling victim to familial extermination . They changed their surnames to Tong (同 = 丨+ 司) and Féng (馮 = 仌 + 馬), respectively, to hide their origins while continuing to secretly offer sacrifices to

12566-469: The remainder". Reflecting these rigorous analytic methods, Sima declared that he would not write about periods of history where there was insufficient documentation. As such, Sima wrote "the ages before the Ch'in dynasty are too far away and the material on them too scanty to permit a detailed account of them here". In the same way, Sima discounted accounts in the traditional records that were "ridiculous" such as

12688-530: The ruling families which take up 30 chapters, and biographies of various eminent people which are the last 70 chapters. The annals follow the traditional Chinese pattern of court-based histories of the lives of various emperors and their families. The chronological tables are graphs recounting the political history of China. The treatises are essays on topics such as astronomy , music, religion, hydraulic engineering and economics. The last section dealing with biographies covers individuals judged by Sima to have made

12810-519: The same office as him, so he had Chen Shou reassigned to be the Administrator of Changguang. In 278, before the general Du Yu assumed his appointment as the commander of the Jin military forces in Jing Province , he recommended Chen Shou to Emperor Wu and stated that Chen Shou was capable of serving as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate (黃門侍郎) or Gentleman of Scattered Cavalry (散騎侍郎). Emperor Wu accepted Du Yu's suggestion and appointed Chen Shou as

12932-470: The simplicity and conciseness of his style. Even the 20th-century literary critic Lu Xun regarded Shiji as "the historians' most perfect song, a ' Li Sao ' without the rhyme" ( 史家之絶唱，無韻之離騷 ) in his Outline of Chinese Literary History ( 漢文學史綱要 ). Sima's famous letter to his friend Ren An about his sufferings during the Li Ling Affair and his perseverance in writing Shiji is today regarded as

13054-596: The writing style of other histories outside of China as well, such as the Goryeo (Korean) history the Samguk sagi . Sima adopted a new method in sorting out the historical data and a new approach to writing historical records. At the beginning of the Shiji , Sima declared himself a follower of Confucius's approach in the Analects to "hear much but leave to one side that which is doubtful, and speak with due caution concerning

13176-490: Was a military adviser to the Shu general Ma Su . When Ma Su was executed by Zhuge Liang after his failure at the Battle of Jieting in 228, Chen Shou's father was implicated and sentenced to kun (髡), a punishment involving the shaving of a person's head. Zhuge Zhan belittled Chen Shou before. When Chen Shou wrote the biographies of Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Zhan in the Sanguozhi , he commented on them as follows: Military leadership

13298-614: Was also doing his own research on Zhuge Liang's works, with his outcome quite different from Chen Shou's original version. In the end, the text was rewritten, and became the Zhuge Liang Gushi (諸葛亮故事; Memoirs of Zhuge Liang ). Since the end of the Jianwu era (25–56 CE) in the Eastern Han dynasty , writers such as Zheng Boyi (鄭伯邑), Zhao Yanxin (趙彥信), Chen Shenbo (陳申伯), Zhu Yuanling (祝元靈) and Wang Wenbiao (王文表) had co-written

13420-418: Was composed and compiled, and gives brief justifications for the inclusion of the major topics, events, and individuals in the work. As part of the background, the postface provides a short sketch of the history of the Sima clan, from legendary times to his father Sima Tan. It also details the dying words of Sima Tan, tearfully exhorting the author to compose the present work, and contains a biographical sketch of

13542-505: Was demoted and sent out of the capital for his refusal to fawn on Huang Hao , an influential court eunuch in Shu in its twilight years. After the fall of Shu in 263, Chen Shou's career entered a period of stagnation before Zhang Hua recommended him to serve in the Jin government. He held mainly scribal and secretarial positions under the Jin government before dying from illness in 297. He had over 200 writings – about 30 of which he co-wrote with his relatives – attributed to him. Chen Shou

13664-649: Was famous for his talent and capacity, his reputation was similar to Chen Shou. He was recommended as a xiucai (秀才) and served as a Gentleman of Writing (尚書郎). He was reassigned to be the Administrator (太守) of Jianping Commandery (建平郡), but he declined the appointment and claimed that he was ill because he wanted to remain in his home province. He was then appointed as the Administrator of Guanghan Commandery (廣漢郡 around present-day Guanghan , Sichuan ). Relations between Chen Shou and Li Xiang deteriorated and they started making false accusations against each other. Other officials scorned them for their petty quarrels. According to

13786-531: Was from Anhan County (安漢縣), Baxi Commandery (巴西郡), which is in present-day Nanchong , Sichuan . He was known for being studious since he was young and was described as intelligent, insightful and knowledgeable. He was mentored by the Shu official Qiao Zhou , who was also from Baxi Commandery. Under Qiao Zhou's tutelage, he read the Classic of History and Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals . He

13908-584: Was highly regarded as such after he wrote the Sanguozhi . Despite his achievements, Chen Shou faced accusations and other controversies. The Jin Shu mentioned two controversies surrounding Chen Shou and his writing of the Sanguozhi, which his critics used to disparage him. Tang Geng (唐庚), a scholar from the Song dynasty , in his work called the Three Kingdoms Miscellaneous Cases (三國雜事; Sanguo Zashi ) also criticised Chen Shou as

14030-404: Was involved in the creation of the 104 BC Taichu Calendar 太初暦 (太初 became the new era name for Emperor Wu and means "supreme beginning"), a modification of the Qin calendar. This is the first Chinese calendar whose full method of calculation (暦法) has been preserved. The minor planet "12620 Simaqian" is named in his honour. Sima Qian is the son of court astrologer (太史令) Sima Tan , who

14152-599: Was not Zhuge Liang's forte, and he lacked the resourcefulness of a brilliant military leader; Zhuge Zhan excelled only in literary arts, and he had an exaggerated reputation. The Qing dynasty writer Zhao Yi refuted the Jin Shu claim that Chen Shou was prejudiced against Zhuge Liang in the Sanguozhi , and remarked that the claim was "an uninformed statement". He commented that military leadership did not necessarily have to be regarded as Zhuge Liang's forte because Zhuge also made outstanding achievements in other fields. Zhao also pointed out two pieces of evidence which contradict

14274-433: Was only able to put together an outline of the work before he died. The postface of the completed Shiji , there is a short essay on the six philosophical schools that is explicitly attributed to Sima Tan. Otherwise, there are only fragments of the Shiji that are speculated to be authored by Sima Tan or based on his notes. Fueled by his father's inspiration, Sima Qian spent much of the subsequent decade authoring and compiling

14396-443: Was overcome with emotion when he saw the carriage of Confucius together with his clothes and various other personal items that had belonged to Confucius. Despite his very large debts to Confucian tradition, Sima was an innovator in four ways. To begin with, Sima's work was concerned with the history of the known world. Previous Chinese historians had focused on only one dynasty and/or region. Sima's history of 130 chapters began with

14518-433: Was praised as an excellent historian. Around the time, another historian, Xiahou Zhan (夏侯湛), was writing his own Book of Wei (魏書; Wei Shu ), which recorded the history of Wei in the Three Kingdoms era. He destroyed his work after reading Chen Shou's Sanguozhi . Zhang Hua was so deeply impressed with the Sanguozhi that he told Chen Shou, "We should entrust the responsibility of writing the Book of Jin to you." Chen Shou

14640-515: Was rather a vital moral task as the historian would "preserve memory", and thereby ensure the ultimate victory of good over evil. Along these lines, Sima wrote:       蘇秦兄弟三人，皆游說諸侯以顯名，其術長於權變。而蘇秦被反閒以死，天下共笑之，諱學其術。 ... 夫蘇秦起閭閻，連六國從親，此其智有過人者。吾故列其行事，次其時序，毋令獨蒙惡聲焉。       Su Qin and his two brothers all achieved fame among the feudal lords as itinerant strategists. Their policies laid great stress upon stratagems and shifts of power. But because Su Qin died

14762-582: Was sent westward on a military expedition against some "barbarian" tribes. That year, his father fell ill due to the distress of not being invited to attend the Imperial Feng Sacrifice. Suspecting that his time was running out, he summoned his son back home to take over the historical work he had begun. Sima Tan wanted to follow the Annals of Spring and Autumn , the first chronicle in the history of Chinese literature . It appears that Sima Tan

14884-542: Was very well versed in the Records of the Grand Historian and Book of Han . According to the Jin Shu , Chen Shou served as a guange lingshi (觀閣令史; a clerk) in Shu. However, the Huayang Guozhi mentioned that he held the following appointments consecutively: Registrar (主簿) of the General of the Guards (衛將軍); donguan mishu lang (東觀秘書郎; an official librarian); Gentleman of Scattered Cavalry (散騎侍郎); and Gentleman of

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