Does anyone have an introduction to "Historical Records"?

"Historical Records" initially had no fixed title. It was either called "Tai Shi Gong Shu", or "Tai Shi Gong Ji", or provincially called "Tai Shi Gong". "Historical Records" was originally the general name for ancient historical books. Starting from the Three Kingdoms, "Historical Records" gradually changed from the general name to the proper name of "Tai Shi Gong Shu".

The author Sima Qian, whose courtesy name is Zichang, was born in Xiayang, Zuofengyi. He was born in the fifth year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and died in the third year of Emperor Zhenghe of the Han Dynasty.

Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, served as the Taishi Ling in the central government of the Han Dynasty, responsible for managing the royal books and collecting historical materials, and

researching astronomical calendars. Sima Tan planned to write a general history, but he died before his wish was realized. When he was dying,

he asked Sima Qian to complete his unfinished business.

Sima Qian worked very hard when he was young. He began to study ancient Chinese at the age of ten, and later studied "Gongyang Chunqiu" and "Guwen Shangshu" with Dong Zhongshu and Kong Anguo

In the third year of Yuanshuo, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian was twenty years old. Full of desire for knowledge, he traveled all over the famous mountains and rivers of the motherland, inspecting historical sites and collecting legends. Through on-the-spot investigations of historical relics and historical facts before and after the founding of the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian broadened his horizons, increased his knowledge, and made good preparations for later writing "Historical Records". After Sima Tan's death, Sima Qian inherited his father's position and became the Taishi Ling. He had access to a large number of books, documents and national archives, which was an indispensable condition for Sima Qian to compile "Historical Records".

In the first year of Taichu reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian began to compile "Historical Records". In the second year of Tianhan, Li Ling led his troops to follow Li Guangli to attack the Xiongnu, but they were defeated and surrendered. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked Sima Qian what he thought of Li Ling, so Sima Qian said that Li Ling surrendered because he was outnumbered and had no reinforcements, so the responsibility did not entirely fall on Li Ling. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that Sima Qian deliberately defended Li Ling and criticized Li Guangli, the brother of Mrs. Li, the concubine of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. So, Sima Qian was thrown into prison and sentenced to corruption. Three years later, he was pardoned and released from prison, and he worked harder to write "Historical Records". Around the second year of Zhenghe, the compilation work was basically completed. Many years after Sima Qian's death, his grandson Yang Yun made this immortal masterpiece of more than 520,000 words available to the world.

"Historical Records" is a general history that runs through ancient and modern times, starting from the legendary Yellow Emperor and ending in the first year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty

It narrates about three thousand years of our country's history. According to Sima Qian, the book has twelve chapters on chronicles, ten on tables, eight on books, thirty on famous families, seventy on biographies, and one hundred and thirty chapters on historical records. Ban Gu mentioned in "Hanshu Biography of Sima Qian" that "Historical Records" lacked ten chapters. Zhang Yan of the Three Kingdoms Wei Dynasty pointed out that these ten articles are "The Chronicles of Emperor Jing", "The Chronicles of Emperor Wu",

"Book of Rites", "Book of Music", "Book of Laws", "Chronology of Generals since the rise of Han Dynasty", "The Biography of the Japanese", "The Three Kings

Family", "The Biography of Guice", "The Biography of Fu Jin". Most later generations disagree with Zhang Yan's statement, but there is no doubt that "Historical Records

" is incomplete. The current "Historical Records" also has 130 chapters, and a few chapters are obviously not written by Sima Qian. Chu Shaosun, a doctor during the reign of Emperor Yuan and Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, wrote additional "Historical Records". In the current "Historical Records", " Mr. Chu

said, “It is his supplementary work.

"Historical Records" draws on a wide range of materials. At that time, works such as "Shiben", "Guoyu", "National Policy",

"Qin Ji", "Chu Han Chun Qiu", various scholars and other works circulated in the society, as well as national documents and archives, as well as field documents The materials obtained through the investigation are all important sources for Sima Qian in writing "Historical Records". What is particularly valuable is that Sima Qian carefully analyzed and selected the collected materials and eliminated some nonsense. For some issues that cannot be clarified,

either adopt a skeptical attitude, or record various different opinions. Due to the wide range of materials and the serious and serious attitude in compiling history, "Historical Records" has detailed records and rich content.