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158-614: Early Chinese historical records, by Sima Qian (146-86 BCE) in the Shiji and Liu An (179-122 BCE) in the Huainanzi , mention that the Qin Emperor built the twelve monumental bronze statues for his Epang Palace . These bronze statues remained very famous in ancient China and were the object of numerous descriptions and commentaries, until they were lost around the 4th century CE. In his report, Sima Qian (c.145–86 BCE) explains that

316-583: 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 ,

474-499: 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 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

632-563: A big person carrying a bow, someone to perhaps be feared or respected, but not to be despised. The scholar Léon Wieger provided multiple definitions to the term yi : “The men 大 armed with bows 弓, the primitive inhabitants, barbarians, borderers of the Eastern Sea, inhabitants of the South-West countries." Hanyu Da Cidian , a major Chinese language dictionary, notes Siyi as derogatory: "古代華夏族对四方小数民族的統称. 含有轻蔑之意." [Contrasting with

790-487: A considerable political meaning: after unifying the country and bringing together the "Six countries", Qin Shihuang confiscated all bronze weapons and melted them to cast the statues, and installed the statues at his newly built personal palace. This can be considered as an important symbol of conquest, unification and peace. Howard suggested that the 12 monumental statues may have formed 6 pairs, each pair representing one of

948-500: A definite answer remains elusive in the absence of direct proof. Lukas Nickel, Professor at SOAS , suggests that the monumental statues of Qin Shihuang represented 12 foreigners of large stature or "giants" (大人 daren ) encountered at the western end of the country, in Lintao , Gansu , and that they might not have been giants but large statues of the twelve Olympian gods . Duan Qingbo , Chief Archaeologist and Director of excavations at

1106-470: 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

1264-508: A general word for 'barbarian'", and proposes a "sea" etymology, "Since the ancient Yuè (=Viet) word for 'sea' is said to have been yí , the people's name might have originated as referring to people living by the sea". The modern character for yi ( 夷 ), like the Qin dynasty seal script , is composed of 大 "big" and 弓 "bow" – but the earliest Shang dynasty oracle bone script was used interchangeably for yi and shi 尸 "corpse", depicting

1422-519: 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

1580-405: A lady returning from the dead, a child being born with two heads and four arms, an old man with horns growing on his head, and so on." In this context, the term daren likely referred to an abnormal human physical condition rather than sculptures. These physical abnormalities were preceded by disasters accompanied by abnormalities in horses. This sequence of omens is illustrated in the "Commentary on

1738-563: 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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1896-438: 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,

2054-508: A major impulse for the creation of monumental statuary, which would naturally have influenced as well the creation of the monumental statues in his mausoleum, namely the Terracotta Army . Up to his time, very few sculptures in human form had ever been created in China, and none were naturalistic. From the preceding Zhou dynasty period, only rare and very small figurines are known, such as the rather unnaturalistic Taerpo horserider ,

2212-604: 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

2370-583: A minister will not be able to protect my sons and grandsons and people; and may he not also be pronounced dangerous to the state?" It is only the truly virtuous man who can send away such a man and banish him, driving him out among the barbarous tribes around, determined not to dwell along with him in the Middle Kingdom. The Liji also gives detailed information about the Four Barbarian peoples. The people of those [ wufang 五方] five regions –

2528-430: 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

2686-472: A much lower status, served the rulers in positions such as infantry soldiers, palace guards, servants, and slave laborers. Chen compares the social status of Yi with " xiangren 降人, people captured from other states or ethnicities, or their descendants". Chen analyzed diachronic semantic changes in the twin concepts of Xia and Yi . During the Western Zhou, they were employed to distinguish "between

2844-505: 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

3002-469: A person with bent back and dangling legs. The archeologist and scholar Guo Moruo believed the oracle graph for yi denotes "a dead body, i.e., the killed enemy", while the bronze graph denotes "a man bound by a rope, i.e., a prisoner or slave". Ignoring this historical paleography , the Chinese historian K. C. Wu claimed that Yi should not be translated as "barbarian" because the modern graph implies

3160-435: 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

3318-543: 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

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3476-593: A ruler. Chen has difficulty understanding why these twelve Big Men would have appeared among the list of abnormalities and human illnesses if they had been sculptures, as Nickel suggests. Chen points out that Nickel omitted part of the quotation in Gao You's commentary on the Huainanzi that he used as evidence that the First Emperor commissioned Golden Men sculptures that were inspired by the twelve Big Men. In

3634-536: 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

3792-403: A standard term for human-shaped bronze statues. Several Han dynasty texts use zhongju as a synonym for "bronze figures" while others omitted it. In another part of his account Sima Qian writes "He melted down the weapons and cast ju [posts], in order to make 12 metal figures" (銷鋒鑄鐻, 以為金人十二), which tends to confirm that he made anthropomorphic "posts", comparable to the anthropomorphic posts of

3950-605: A state of decay as we in China"; "The Master said, In private life, courteous, in public life, diligent, in relationships, loyal. This is a maxim that no matter where you may be, even amid the barbarians of the east or north, may never be set aside." This text has an indirect reference to "barbarians" (5/6), "The Master said, The Way makes no progress. I shall get upon a raft and float out to sea." The (c. 290 BCE) Confucianist Mencius (1A/7) uses Siyi once when Mencius counsels King Xuan of Qi (r. 319–301 BCE) against territorial expansion: "You wish to extend your territory, to enjoy

4108-610: 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

4266-522: A translation of the twelve daren in Lintao as twelve "chryselephantine statues". The platter's date of manufacture has been dated to no earlier than the 2nd or 3rd century CE, and probably did not enter China until the 7th or 8th century CE, while there are no credible sources to support the translation. Another issue is that half the Olympian gods are female. If the twelve Golden Men had been modeled after

4424-531: 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

4582-415: 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

4740-405: 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

4898-515: 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

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5056-541: 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 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

5214-435: 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

5372-692: Is respectful and reverent, your heart loyal and faithful, if you use only those methods sanctioned by ritual principles and moral duty, and if your emotional disposition is one of love and humanity, then though you travel throughout the empire, and though you find yourself reduced to living among the Four Yi 夷 tribes, everyone would consider you to be an honorable person. If you strive to be the first to undertake toilsome and bitter tasks and can leave pleasant and rewarding tasks to others, if you are proper, diligent, sincere, and trustworthy, if you take responsibility and oversee it meticulously, then wherever you travel in

5530-421: 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

5688-551: 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 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

5846-575: Is what they were [called]. Later Wengzhong was portrayed as a giant Chinese hero who went to fight against the Xiongnu at the border city of Lintao , and to whom the First Emperor built a monumental statue. Since then, "Wengzhong" statues have been set up to protect Chinese Imperial tombs, as in the Qianling Mausoleum ( c.  700 CE ), and the word itself has become a generic term for large scale statues of bronze and stone. Due to

6004-477: 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

6162-452: The Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) used the ethnonyms Yi and Siyi . For example, the (139 BCE) Huainanzi , which is an eclectic compilation attributed to Liu An , uses Siyi "Four Barbarians" in three chapters (and Jiuyi "Nine Barbarians" in two). Yu understood that the world had become rebellious and thereupon knocked down the wall [built by his father Gun to protect Xia], filled in

6320-816: The Later Zhao dynasty moved the statues to his capital of Ye , 500 km northeast of Xi'an. Finally Fu Jian (r.337–385 CE), Emperor Xuanzhao of the Former Qin dynasty, moved the two statues back to Xi'an and melted them down. No illustration of the statues has remained. In the 1st century CE, Ban Gu (32–92 CE) in his moralistic Treatise on the Five Elements of the Hanshu , explained that if rulers did not behave properly and governed inadequately, then humans would be plagued by scourges and deformities. As an example of such calamity, he explained that in

6478-657: The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor from 1998 to 2006, believes that the twelve "men of great stature" were unlikely to be East Asian and were possibly subjects of the Macedonian empire , such as the Greco-Bactrians (250-100 BCE). Although there is "no data... that can prove there was any direct contact between Eastern civilization and either Greek or Persian civilization" or "any concrete proof that

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6636-473: 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

6794-533: 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

6952-634: The Si River . An attempted salvage mission by 1,000 men in 219 BC failed. The Twelve Metal Colossi have been depicted in numerous Chinese movie scenes, such as The First Emperor of China (1989). The monumental colossi are shown in two lines of six, bordering the avenue leading to the main gate of the Palace of the First Emperor , and dwarfing the multitude of visitors. Sima Qian Sima Qian (Chinese: 司馬遷 ; ( [sɹ̩́mà tɕʰjɛ́n] ); c.  145  – c.  86 BC )

7110-508: 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

7268-490: The si "four" in Siyi as sifang (四方 "four directions"). Liu Xiaoyuan says the meaning of Siyi "is not 'four barbarians' but numerous 'barbarous tribes' in the four directions". However, Liu also states that the term yi might have been used by the early Chinese to simply mean "ordinary others". Yuri Pines translates Siyi as "barbarians of the four corners". In Chinese Buddhism , siyi (四夷) or siyijie (四夷戒) abbreviates

7426-603: The si boluoyi (四波羅夷) "Four Parajikas " (grave offenses that entail expulsion of a monk or nun from the sangha ). Bronze inscriptions and reliable documents from the Western Zhou period (c. 1046–771 BCE) used the word Yi in two meanings, says Chinese sinologist Chen. First, Yi or Yifang (夷方) designated a specific ethnic group that had battled against the Shang since the time of King Wu Ding . Second, Yi meant specifically or collectively (e.g., zhuyi 諸夷) peoples in

7584-408: The "casual use of such concepts as " Tianxia "...and "Four Barbarians"." The Chinese classics contain many references to the Siyi "Four Barbarians". Around the late Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BCE) or early Warring States period (475–221 BCE), the names Man , Yi , Rong , and Di became firmly associated with the cardinal directions. Yi changed from meaning a specific "barbarians in

7742-531: The 'men of great stature'... were either Persians or Greeks", Duan believes that the exaggerated height of the giants was due to their non-East-Asian appearance. He thinks that this group of people may have been Greeks or Persians who reached the Qin and transmitted institutional culture and material technologies that were put into practice by the Qin emperor. The Qin Emperor would thus have received from western regions

7900-531: The 26th Year of the Emperor (221 BCE) twelve giant humans in foreign clothes had arrived from the west at the frontier town of Lintao . According to Ban Gu, the Qin emperor took their visit as a favorable omen of his military victories, and decided to model the twelve statues after their likeness. Ban Gu lived in the capital Xianyang when the twelve statues were still extant in the Changle Palace , and his account does provide crucial additional details about

8058-470: The 26th Year of the Emperor, when he first brought together all-under-heaven, divided the principalities into provinces and districts, and unified the weights and measures, [these] giants appeared in Lintao [the Far West]. They were 5 zhang [11.5 meters] high and had feet 6 chi [1.38 meters] long." The story of the monumental statues evolved over the centuries with some variations, Ban Gu recounting that

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8216-469: 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

8374-473: The First Emperor made 12 monumental bronze statues as one of the major endeavours of his reign: 收天下兵, 聚之咸陽, 銷以為鍾鐻金人十二, 重各千石, 置廷宮中. 一法度衡石丈尺. 車同軌. 書同文字. He collected the weapons of All-Under-Heaven in Xianyang , and cast them into twelve bronze figures of the type of bell stands, each 1000 dan [about 30 tons] in weight, and displayed them in the palace. He unified the law, weights and measurements, standardized

8532-473: The First Emperor's reign, and it would have been unlikely for twelve giant statues to be erected without the Qin state's prior knowledge. Chen also questioned the connection between the twelve statues and the twelve Olympian gods. Lucas Christopoulo linked the Big Men to the Olympian gods based on a gilt-silver platter, found near Lintao, depicting the heads of the twelve Olympian gods surrounding Dionysus and

8690-481: The Five Elements in the Great Plan" (洪範五行傳 Hongfan wuxing zhuan ): goblins that attack by shooting, plagues of dragons and snakes, disasters involving horses, human illnesses manifested in inferiors encroaching upon superiors, and "irregularities in the paths of the sun and the moon, and retrograde movements of planets and constellations." These omens occur when the ruler fails to live up to the six moral criteria of

8848-478: 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

9006-609: 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

9164-582: The Middle states, and the Rong, Yi, (and other wild tribes round them) – had all their several natures, which they could not be made to alter. The tribes on the east were called Yi. They had their hair unbound, and tattooed their bodies. Some of them ate their food without its being cooked. Those on the south were called Man. They tattooed their foreheads, and had their feet turned in towards each other. Some of them (also) ate their food without its being cooked. Those on

9322-523: The Nine Wild Tribes of the East. Someone said, I am afraid you would find it hard to put up with their lack of refinement. The Master said, Were a true gentleman to settle among them there would soon be no trouble about lack of refinement." Yidi 夷狄 "Eastern and Northern Barbarians" occurs twice, "The Master said, The barbarians of the East and North have retained their princes. They are not in such

9480-460: The Olympian gods, then surely the depiction of exotic females would have drawn the attention of historians, but no such description of female features exist. Wu Hung describes six bronze sculptures found in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng , dated to the 5th century BC, as "naturalistic" and displaying an understanding of human anatomy. This led some scholars to identify them as possible predecessors to

9638-568: The Renovation of the Temple of the Grand Historian ) erected in the nearby county seat Han City (韓城) claims that the title was given to the grandson of Sima Lin. Four Barbarians " Four Barbarians " ( Chinese : 四夷 ; pinyin : sìyí ) was a term used by subjects of the Zhou and Han dynasties to refer to the four major people groups living outside the borders of Huaxia . Each

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9796-466: The Shang dynasty: "With this he gained the trust of the Empire, and when he marched on the east, the western barbarians complained, and when he marched on the south, the northern barbarians complained. They all said, 'Why does he not come to us first?'" Dongyi occurs in a claim (4B/1) that the legendary Chinese sages Shun and King Wen of Zhou were Yi : "Mencius said, 'Shun was an Eastern barbarian; he

9954-506: 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

10112-614: The Twelve Golden Men lend support to the assumption that they were based on Hellenic statuary, but does not consider these records to be reliable historical information. He referred to descriptions of the Twelve Golden Men as ancient tales and Ban Gu's description to be a variation of a legend recorded by Sima Qian . Wu Hung concluded that to confirm any connection "between these vanished sculptural works and foreign models, we would need substantial new archaeological evidence". The twelve colossi built by Qin Shihuang were imbued with

10270-435: The Twelve Golden Men. Wu Hung says there may be some truth to this hypothesis, but notes that there is a temporal gap of 200 years between the Twelve Golden Men and the figures, which are "human-shaped components" ( caryatids for bells) and fundamentally different works than free-standing sculptures. The lack of large free-standing sculptures led to Nickel's Hellenic hypothesis. Wu Hung believes Ban Gu and others' descriptions of

10428-412: 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

10586-404: 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

10744-524: 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

10902-467: The Zhou elite and non-Zhou people"; during the Eastern Zhou, they distinguished "between the central states and peripheral barbarian tribes in a geographical sense, as well as between Zhou subjects and non-Zhou subjects in a political sense." Eastern Zhou canonical texts, says Chen, "frequently assert a differentiation between Xia (or Zhongguo ), meaning those states in the central plains subject to

11060-686: The Zhou sovereign, and Yi 夷, Di 狄, Rong 戎, and Man 蠻, all of which could be used generally to refer to non-Chinese ethnic groups". Among these four terms, Yi was most widely employed for "barbarian" clans, tribes, or ethnic groups. The Chinese classics used it in directional compounds (e.g., "eastern" Dongyi 東夷, "western" Xiyi 西夷, "southern" Nanyi , and "northern" Beiyi 北夷), numerical (meaning "many") generalizations ("three" Sanyi 三夷, "four" Siyi 四夷, and "nine" Jiuyi 九夷), and groups in specific areas and states ( Huaiyi 淮夷, Chuyi 楚夷, Qinyi 秦夷, and Wuyi 吳夷). Historians Liu Junping and Huang Deyuan describe how early Chinese monarchs used

11218-598: 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 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

11376-414: The ancient Chinese people, a name for ethnic minorities in all four directions. Contains a pejorative meaning.] "Four barbarians" is the common English translation of Siyi . Compare these Chinese-English dictionary equivalents for Siyi : "the four barbarian tribes on the borders of ancient China", "the barbarians on borders of China", and "four barbarian tribes on the borders". Some scholars interpret

11534-625: The appearance of the twelve colossi, revealing that they represented individuals in foreign (夷狄, "Barbarian") clothes, from the western frontier of the Empire: 史記秦始皇帝二十六年, 有大人長五丈, 足履六尺, 皆夷狄服,凡十二人,見于臨洮. 天戒若曰, 勿大為夷狄之行, 將受其禍. 是歲始皇初并六國, 反喜以為瑞, 銷天下兵器, 作金人十二以象之. In the 26th Year of the Emperor (221 BC) giants appeared that were 5 zhang tall and had feet of a size of 6 chi, all dressed in foreign ( yidi 夷狄 ) robes. There were 12 of them and they appeared in Lintao . A heavenly taboo once said that he who recklessly follows foreign models will encounter disaster. In

11692-433: 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

11850-423: The axle width of carriages, and standardized the writing system. An alternative reading of the passage describes the twelve statues supporting bells: "...all the weapons in the country...were melted down to make Twelve Golden Men as supports of bells". However it is possible that by the 3rd century BC, the term zhongju tongren and zhongju jinren , both originally meaning "bell-supporting bronze figures", had become

12008-402: The barbarian tribes" in a given cardinal direction. For example, " Yi " became " Dongyi ", literally meaning "East(ern) Yi ". The Russian anthropologist Mikhail Kryukov concludes: This would, in the final analysis, mean that once again territory had become the primary criterion of the we-group, whereas the consciousness of common origin remained secondary. What continued to be important were

12166-417: The barbarous tribes all around will come and acknowledge your sovereignty.' The king said, 'Oh! Grand-Master, the security or the danger of the kingdom depends on those officers of Yin. If you are not (too) stern with them nor (too) mild, their virtue will be truly cultivated. … The penetrating power of your principles, and the good character of your measures of government, will exert an enriching influence on

12324-417: 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

12482-583: 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

12640-464: The bellstands of the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng , but that bells were not otherwise involved. The Twelve Metal Colossi were commented upon for several centuries, and relocated several times by the successive rulers of the country, first by the Han dynasty , which moved the statues to the Changle Palace , at the front of the Daxia Hall. The Eastern Han tyrant Dong Zhuo (d. 192 CE) melted 10 of

12798-476: 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

12956-539: 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

13114-471: 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 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

13272-404: 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

13430-529: The character of the people, so that the wild tribes, with their coats buttoning on the left, will all find their proper support in them, and I, the little child, will long enjoy much happiness. The (c. 239 BCE) Lüshi Chunqiu has two occurrences of Siyi . Seeking depth, not breadth, reverently guarding one affair … When this ability is utterly perfect, the barbarian Yi states of the four quarters are tranquil. (17/5) If your desires are not proper and you use them to govern your state, it will perish. Therefore,

13588-500: The civilized world and though you find yourself reduced to living with the Four Tribes, everyone would be willing to entrust you with official duties. John Knoblock notes, "The 'Four Yi tribes' refers to the barbarians surrounding the Chinese "Middle Kingdom" and does not designate particular peoples". The Xunzi uses Man-Yi-Rong-Di once. Accordingly, [諸夏] all the states of Xia Chinese have identical obligations for service to

13746-678: 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 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

13904-430: The clothes suitable for them; their proper implements for use; and their vessels which they prepared in abundance. In those five regions, the languages of the people were not mutually intelligible, and their likings and desires were different. To make what was in their minds apprehended, and to communicate their likings and desires, (there were officers) – in the east, called transmitters; in the south, representationists; in

14062-476: The concept of the Four Barbarians to justify their rule. Just how heaven ( yang ) was matched with the inferior earth ( yin ) , "the Chinese as an entity was matched with the inferior ethnic groups surrounding it in its four directions so that the kings could be valued and the barbarians could be rejected." Lius and Huang propose that later Chinese ideas about the "nation" and "state" of China evolved from

14220-535: The conquered kingdoms. Wu Hung believes that the statues were meant to evoke the Nine Tripod Cauldrons created in Chinese antiquity. They were said to have been made of bronze collected from different regions and symbolized their assimilation into the Xia dynasty . The Nine Tripods were lost when the Qin emperor (then king of Qin) ordered for their transport to his capital, but the ship carrying them sank in

14378-449: 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

14536-425: 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

14694-517: 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 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

14852-482: The defenses of the sons of Heaven were the rude tribes on every side of the kingdom; and when their authority became low, their defenses were the various States. In addition, the Zuozhuan has an early usage of Man-Yi-Rong-Di 蠻夷戎狄 meaning "all kinds of barbarians". When any of the wild tribes, south, east, west, or north, do not obey the king's commands, and by their dissoluteness and drunkenness are violating all

15010-618: The design of the Twelve Metal Colossi. Frederick Shih-chung Chen disputes the analysis according to which great Hellenistic statues were discovered in Lintao. Chen does not dispute the possibility of Hellenistic influence on the Terracotta Army per se but Nickel's interpretation of the twelve daren that appeared in Lintao as Hellenistic statues. According to Chen, the twelve Big Men (大人 daren ) were not statues but exceptionally tall visitors and an "omen related to human illness manifested in physical abnormality." The account of

15168-415: The duties of society, the king gives command to attack them. The (c. 4th century BCE) Mozi has one occurrence of Siyi referring to King Wu of Zhou . After King Wu had conquered the Shang dynasty and received the gifts bestowed by God, he assigned guardians to the various spirits, instituted sacrifices to Zhou's ancestors, the former kings of Shang, and opened up communications with the barbarians of

15326-485: The east" to "barbarians" generally, and two new words – Siyi and Man-Yi-Rong-Di 蠻夷戎狄 – referred to "all non-Zhou barbarians in the four directions". The Zuozhuan and Mozi contain the earliest extant occurrences of Siyi . The (early 4th century BCE) Zuozhuan commentary to the Chunqiu (" Spring and Autumn Annals ") uses Siyi four times. The affair [presenting Rong prisoners and spoils of war to Duke Zhuang]

15484-431: 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

15642-456: 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 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

15800-428: 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

15958-480: 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

16116-464: The factors of language, the acceptance of certain forms of material culture, the adherence to certain rituals, and, above all, the economy and the way of life. Agriculture was the only appropriate way of life for the [ Huaxia ]. In Chinese, the term "Four Barbarians" uses the character for Yi ( 夷 ). The sinologist Edwin G. Pulleyblank states that the name Yi "furnished the primary Chinese term for 'barbarian'," despite paradoxically being "considered

16274-590: The first known representation of a cavalryman in China. Coincidentally or not, the Greeks also had a practice of representing their twelve Olympian gods as sculpture in human form. Diodorus Siculus recounts how Alexander the Great , when he reached the easternmost point of his conquests in India about 325 BCE, established altars to the 12 Greek gods, his idea being to make "a camp of heroic proportions and then leave to

16432-526: The four quarters, so that there was no one in the world who did not pay him allegiance. The (c. 4th century BCE) Guanzi recounts how Duke Huan of Qi (d. 643 BCE) conquered all his enemies, including the Dongyi 東夷, Xirong 西戎, Nanman 南蠻, and Beidi 北狄. Further to the west, he subjugated the Western Yu, of Liusha and for the first time the Rong people of Qin were obedient. Therefore, even, though

16590-471: The four seas". The Four Barbarians were the Yi to the east of China, Man in the south, Rong in the west, and Di in the north. Scholars such as Herrlee Glessner Creel argue that Yi , Man , Rong , and Di were originally Chinese names of particular ethnic groups or tribes. During the Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BC), these four exonyms were expanded into "general designations referring to

16748-498: The giants (or a single giant) were named " Wengzhong ": 秦皇帝二十六年, 初兼天下, 有長人見於臨洮, 其高五丈, 足迹六尺.放寫其形, 鑄金人以象之.翁仲君何是也. In the 26th year of the reign of the Emperor of Qin [221 BCE], [when the emperor] had just brought together all-under-heaven, there were tall men appearing in Lintao. They were 5 zhang tall and had footprints the size of 6 chi . Imitating their images, the Golden Men [Metal Men] were cast to represent them. Wengzhong

16906-599: 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

17064-471: The historical and inscriptional accounts of the Eastern Zhou". Inscriptions on bronze gui vessels (including the Xun 詢, Shiyou 師酉, and Shi Mi 史密) do not always use the term yi exclusively in reference to alien people of physically different ethnic groups outside China. According to Chen, " yi " was also used for "certain groups of people residing in places within the region of Zhou control". Expanding upon

17222-706: The homage of Ch'in and Ch'u, to rule over the Central Kingdoms and to bring peace to the barbarian tribes on the four borders. Seeking the fulfillment of such an ambition by such means as you employ is like looking for fish by climbing a tree." This text (3A/4) uses Yi 夷 in quoting Confucius, "I have heard of the Chinese converting barbarians to their ways, but not of their being converted to barbarian ways." The Mencius uses western Xiyi 西夷 four times (three contrasting with northern Beidi 北狄), eastern Dongyi 東夷 once, and Yidi 夷狄 once. Three repeated Xiyi occurrences (1B/11) describe Tang of Shang establishing

17380-485: 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

17538-488: 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 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

17696-610: The king and have identical standards of conduct. The countries of Man, Yi, Rong, and Di barbarians perform the same obligatory services to the kind, but the regulations governing them are not the same. … The Man and Yi nations do service according to treaty obligations. The Rong and Di do irregular service. The (3rd–1st centuries BCE) Liji uses Siyi once. But if it be his character, when he finds men of ability, to be jealous and hate them; and, when he finds accomplished and perspicacious men, to oppose them and not allow their advancement, showing himself really not able to bear them: such

17854-452: The lack of direct evidence on their precise form, scholars have focused on "possible origins or inspirations of such giant statues, which were absent in pre-Qin China." Later, over the 600 years until their final destruction, numerous stories circulated about the subject of these monumental statues, some involving giant barbarians from the West, others involving the Qin giant hero Wengzhong , but

18012-408: 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

18170-407: 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

18328-473: 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

18486-437: 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

18644-415: 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,

18802-446: 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

18960-517: The most civilized of the non-Chinese peoples." Schuessler defines Yi as "The name of non-Chinese tribes, prob[ably] Austroasiatic, to the east and southeast of the central plain (Shandong, Huái River basin), since the Spring and Autumn period also a general word for 'barbarian'", and proposes a "sea" etymology, "Since the ancient Yuè (=Viet) word for 'sea' is said to have been yí , the people's name might have originated as referring to people living by

19118-556: The natives evidence of men of huge stature, displaying the strength of giants". Lukas believes the first Qin Emperor seems to have made monumental bronze statues on a western model for his palace, which provides an intriguing precedent for the Terracotta Army in his mausoleum. Highly realistic statues made by the Qin Emperor, such as the Acrobats , may have received Western influence through the intercultural exchange involved in

19276-473: The north and the west would often be designated as " Hu " (胡). Ancient China was composed of a group of states that arose in the Yellow River valley. According to historian Li Feng, during the Zhou dynasty ( c.  1041–771 BCE ), the contrast between the 'Chinese' Zhou and the 'non-Chinese' Xirong or Dongyi was "more political than cultural or ethnic". Lothar von Falkenhausen argues that

19434-451: 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

19592-467: 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

19750-603: The omitted section, the two characters referring to the Big Men are chang ren (長人), which means "tall men", and mentions the large footprints they left behind, in accordance with the omens of the "Treatise on the Five Elements". There is also no linguistic precedence for da ren (大人) denoting statues in ancient Chinese texts while the Treatise makes clear that they referred to exceptionally tall visitors that represented an omen of human illness. The place they appeared in, Lintao, had been under effective Qin administration since before

19908-485: The perceived contrast between "Chinese" and "Barbarians" was accentuated during the Eastern Zhou period (770–256 BCE), when adherence to Zhou rituals became increasingly recognised as a "barometer of civilisation"; a meter for sophistication and cultural refinement. The Chinese began making a distinction between China ( Hua ) and the barbarians ( Yi ) during that period. Huaxia , the earliest concept of "China",

20066-485: 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

20224-437: 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

20382-470: 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

20540-459: 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

20698-469: 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

20856-577: The remote lands east and south of China, such as the well-known Dongyi (東夷), Nanyi (南夷), and Huaiyi (淮夷). Western Zhou bronzes also record the names of some little-known Yi groups, such as the Qiyi (杞夷), Zhouyi (舟夷), Ximenyi (西門夷), Qinyi (秦夷), and Jingyi (京夷). Chen notes, "These yi are not necessarily identical with the numerous yi in Eastern Zhou literature. On the contrary, except for the Huaiyi , Dongyi and Nanyi , these yi all seem to have vanished from

21014-624: The research of Li Ling that Western Zhou bronze writings differentiate the Zhou people ( Wangren 王人, lit. "king's people") from other peoples ( yi 夷), Chen found three major categories: people of Zhou, people of Shang, and people of Yi (neither Zhou nor Shang). "The Zhou rulers treated the Shang remnant elites with courtesy and tolerance, whereas they treated yi people with less respect." Shang people were employed in positions based upon their cultural legacy and education, such as zhu 祝 "priest", zong 宗 "ritual official", bu 卜 "diviner", shi 史 "scribe", and military commander. Yi people, who had

21172-530: 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

21330-511: The sage-kings of antiquity paid particular attention to conforming to the endowment Heaven gave them in acting on their desires; all the people, therefore, could be commanded and all their accomplishments were firmly established. "The sage-kings held fast to the One, and the barbarians of the four directions came to them" refers to this. (19/6) The Daoist Zhuangzi uses Siyi twice in the (c. 3rd century BCE) "Miscellaneous Chapters". The sword of

21488-479: The same year, however, the Emperor succeeded in subjecting the six states, so he reinterpreted the appearance as an auspicious sign. Therefore, he melted down the weapons of all-under-heaven and cast the twelve bronze men to represent those [the "giants" from Lintao]. A 3rd-century commentary of the Hanshu , explained that these statues were inscribed with the following inscription: 其铭曰: 「皇帝二十六年, 初兼天下, 改諸侯為郡縣, 一 法律, 同度量.大人來見臨洮, 其長五丈, 足跡六尺.」 The inscription said: "In

21646-496: The sea". Yi is the Modern Chinese pronunciation. The Old Chinese pronunciation is reconstructed as * ‍ dyər ( Bernhard Karlgren ), * ɤier (Zhou Fagao), * ləj ( William H. Baxter ), and * l(ə)i (Axel Schuessler). Schuessler defines Yi as "The name of non-Chinese tribes, prob[ably] Austroasiatic, to the east and southeast of the central plain (Shandong, Huái River basin), since the Spring and Autumn period also

21804-470: 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

21962-566: The soldiers went forth only once, their great accomplishments [victories] numbered twelve, and as a consequence none of the eastern Yi, western Rong, southern Man, northern Di, or the feudal lords of the central states failed to submit. This text also recommends, "To use the states bordering the four seas to attack other states bordering the four seas is a condition distinguishing the central states." The (c. 4th century BCE) Confucian Analects does not use Siyi , but does use Jiuyi 九夷 "Nine Barbarians" (9/19), "The Master wanted to settle among

22120-591: The son of heaven has a point made of Swallow Gorge and Stone Wall … It is embraced by the four uncivilized tribes, encircled by the four seasons, and wrapped around by the Sea of Po. (30) Master Mo declared, "Long ago, when Yü was trying to stem the flood waters, he cut channels from the Yangtze and the Yellow rivers and opened communications with the four uncivilized tribes and the nine regions. (33) Many texts dating from

22278-733: The statues to mint new coinage to finance a personal castle in Mei County near Chang'an . This new bronze cash devalued rapidly because the new coins did not weigh the same, had no defined edge, and had no statement of their value on the coin surface. The two remaining statues were moved to the Qingming Gate on the east side of Xi'an . Emperor Cao Rui (r.226–239 CE) of the Wei dynasty tried to move them to his capital of Luoyang , but had to abandon east of Xi'an at Bacheng because of their enormous weight. Later, Emperor Shi Hu (295–349 CE) of

22436-451: The twelve Big Men appears in the "Treatise on the Five Elements" (五行志 Wuxing zhi ) in the Hanshu and was narrated as part of several physical abnormalities that portend imminent calamity caused by the usurpation of the ruler by their subjects. The twelve Big Men appeared alongside "three tall foreign brothers, a woman turning into a man, a man turning into a woman and giving birth to a child,

22594-400: The west were called Rong. They had their hair unbound, and wore skins. Some of them did not eat grain-food. Those on the north were called Di. They wore skins of animals and birds, and dwelt in caves. Some of them also did not eat grain-food. The people of the Middle states, and of those Yi, Man, Rong, and Di, all had their dwellings, where they lived at ease; their flavours which they preferred;

22752-472: The west, Di-dis; and in the north, interpreters. The Shujing history uses Siyi in two forged "Old Text" chapters. Yi said, 'Alas! be cautious! Admonish yourself to caution, when there seems to be no occasion for anxiety. Do not fail to observe the laws and ordinances. … Do not go against what is right, to get the praise of the people. Do not oppose the people's (wishes), to follow your own desires. (Attend to these things) without idleness or omission, and

22910-532: 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 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

23068-596: 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

23226-422: Was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty . He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his Records of 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

23384-403: 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 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

23542-458: Was at the center of tianxia ("[everywhere] under heaven; the world"). It was surrounded by "Four Directions/Corners" ( 四 方 ; sìfāng ), "Four Lands/Regions" ( 四 土 ; sìtǔ ), " Four Seas ", and "Four Barbarians/Foreigners". The text Erya from the late Zhou dynasty defines the Four Seas as " the place where the barbarians lived, hence by extension, the Four Barbarians... are called

23700-816: Was born in Chu Feng, moved to Fu Hsia, and died in Ming T'iao. Ken Wen was a Western barbarian; he was born in Ch'i Chou and died in Pi Ying." Yidi occurs in context (3B/9) with the Duke of Zhou , "In ancient times, Yu controlled the Flood and brought peace to the Empire; the Duke of Chou subjugated the northern and southern barbarians, drove away the wild animals, and brought security to the people." The (c. 3rd century BCE) Xunzi uses Siyi twice in one chapter. If your deportment

23858-418: 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

24016-496: Was contrary to rule. When a prince has gained success over any of the wild tribes, he presents the spoils to the king, who employs them to terrify other tribes. It is virtue by which the people of the Middle State are cherished; it is by severity that the wild tribes around are awed. I have heard that, when the officers of the son of Heaven are not properly arranged, we may learn from the wild tribes all about. Anciently,

24174-404: 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

24332-462: Was named for a cardinal direction: the Dongyi ("Eastern Barbarians"), Nanman ("Southern Barbarians"), Xirong ("Western Barbarians"), and Beidi ("Northern Barbarians"). Ultimately, the four barbarian groups either emigrated away from the Chinese heartland or were partly assimilated through sinicization into Chinese culture during later dynasties . After this early period, "barbarians" to

24490-443: 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

24648-480: 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 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

24806-515: 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

24964-463: 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 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

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