The opinions in the book 1 lack originality.
"The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are really interesting" uses biographical writing techniques to connect a period of history with a person's story. It seems interesting, but it is actually a kind of "takenism". The author only "narrates" historical events in vernacular Chinese, but lacks views and opinions on things, or the views given are too general and not new.
Some people say that history books should be objective. In my opinion, history books should be objective, but China's history books have been written until now, and there is no shortage of objective history books. As a book that needs to be accepted by readers in the new era, it should have some personality, otherwise it will become a kind of "takenism" without any characteristics. I have read all the stories in the book in other books, and the opinions and comments in the book have a feeling of deja vu. This made me sigh: "There are many articles in the world. See if you can copy them? " .
In addition, China people have never jumped out of a strange circle when writing history, that is, they can interpret a certain bridge in history vividly, but they lack the evaluation and analysis of historical development. For example, China can imagine the tone, subtext and even facial expression of the dialogue between ministers and emperors. Compared with foreign historical books, these factors will be weakened, and foreign authors pay more attention to the causal relationship of historical development.
Before reading The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, I also read a book called The History of Harvard China. I have to admit that sometimes, if you look at history from another angle, you will have a feeling of looking at "new" history.
History of Harvard and China discusses the causal relationship and inevitable connection between the establishment and demise of Chinese dynasties, which is quite different from the traditional history books of China. Next, let's discuss a simple question: Why did the Qin Dynasty unify China? Traditional history books will point out that the Qin Dynasty was able to unify the whole country, which depended on Shang Yang's reform and reform, Ying Zheng's great talent, Lisi's legalist thought and so on. Then Shang Yang, Ying Zheng and Li Si are the protagonists, and they wrote a deduction. At first glance, there seems to be nothing wrong with the author's statement, but when you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to find that the answers given by the author seem to be attributed to "luck." Then let's change our thinking. Without Shang Yang, could the Qin Dynasty be unified? Can the Qin Dynasty be unified without Ying Zheng? Without Reese, can the Qin Dynasty be unified? Faced with such a question, many authors seem unable to give a clear answer. But the history of Harvard China gives the answer.
You know, the historical trend is inevitable, just as without Sun Yat-sen, the Qing Dynasty would be overthrown. Similarly, if there were no Ying Zheng, Shang Yang and Li Si, the Qin Dynasty would definitely be unified. Why? Harvard's history of China points out that the Qin Dynasty was located in northern Shaanxi, with harsh climate, many mountains and rivers, little farming, tough folk customs and brave fighting skills. Therefore, in the era of cold weapons, such a group of people have a strong force and a folk custom of fighting hard, which is the premise of unifying the world. Not to mention the right or wrong of this view, in short, I saw this view, which really made my eyes shine.
This is the depth of thought and history. However, "The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are really interesting" lacks these depths, and the author Long Zhen seems to be more willing to tell the story of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
2. Lack of characterization.
There are three ways to describe history, namely biographical, chronological and chronological background. Biographical style mainly describes characters, represented by Historical Records, chronological style mainly describes by time axis, represented by Spring and Autumn Annals, chronological style mainly describes events, represented by Zi Tong Zhi Jian.
At present, most historical writers in China are influenced by historical records and are used to using the lives of historical figures to run through history. I can only say that the history books written in this way will be more interesting. But the problem is coming again. Describing characters is definitely not describing their appearance, but giving them souls, so that readers can find resonance from these characters. This is a good book.
In recent years, with the fire of The Ming Dynasty in the Bright Moon, similar history books have emerged one after another. Among them, Longzhen's Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period is really interesting, and Wang Jueren's Three Hundred Years of the Rise and Fall of the Tang Dynasty, don't laugh, this is the official history of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China so fierce. However, these books are not only on sale. Some people may say that you don't know history or writing. You know, Wang Jueren and Wu Manlan Jiangdu are professors and scholars, and their books are more profound. Then I want to say, do scholars and professors have to be best-selling authors?
History has repeatedly proved that "vulgarity is elegance". What you write can't be understood by anyone, or it can't resonate. Just be good? I once chatted with a well-known reporter. He said that he had recently interviewed a veteran and was going to write an article entitled "Veterans don't forget your initiative". I said: this title is a bit vulgar. The reporter told me that vulgarity is elegance. The media is used to face the masses. If your writing is too profound for everyone to understand and resonate, then your article is meaningless. How alarming.
Yue Ming was less than 30 years old when he wrote these things in the Ming Dynasty, and he was also a civil servant. Because he has no training, he is not bound by traditional dogma. His "History of the Ming Dynasty" is lively and interesting, and it is easy for readers to create images of Zhu Yuanzhang, the brave and ruthless Judy, and the diligent and dedicated Zhu Zhanji. I especially like what Yue Ming wrote in those days: Zhu Zhanji is a good comrade. Let me immediately freeze the image of Zhu Zhanji, and remind me of my honest primary school teacher across the hall. Primary school teachers may not look exactly like Zhu Zhanji, but their temperament should be the same. This is the power of resonance.
Personally, I think that an important reason for the great success of Ming History is that all historical figures are vividly written, which resonates with readers, arouses readers' interest and makes people linger. In contrast, books such as "The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are really interesting" are almost boring.
The core of history is comedy.
With the development of Internet, information began to explode. When I was a child, a Spring Festival Evening sketch could make people laugh for a year. Now? The jokes that can be seen everywhere keep pace with the times and tease people's smiling nerves. It must be said that in the era of information explosion, people are more and more anxious and need happiness more and more.
Once upon a time, comedy movies and joke apps occupied the mainstream market, which can fully show that human beings need to relax and be happy more and more. Therefore, the study of comedy began to rise to the philosophical level. Some people say that the core of comedy is tragedy, while others say that the core of comedy is satire. But none of this seems to matter, because the topic we are discussing today is not the core of comedy, but the core of history.
Short and fast reading and information reception are the mainstream modes at present, and more and more people can't read books seriously. Through a short video, you can know the current popular development trend. Therefore, higher requirements are put forward for contemporary authors. What you write should not only have connotation, but also arouse people's interest in reading. If you can add some humorous elements to the book, your book will sell well.
History is a very interesting thing. Yi Zhongtian is not a professor of history, but because of humorous historical explanations, he once stood at the forefront of the trend. Yue Ming was not a comedian, but her humorous language made those things in the Ming Dynasty last forever.
Now I think of the scene of watching those things in the Ming Dynasty when I was a child. I read this book almost without sleep. The more you look at it, the more you want to laugh, and the more interesting it is. Now that I think about it, it may be because of Mingyue's humorous style that I can finish reading Those Things in the Ming Dynasty in a short time.
After laughing now, I can't help but "shudder" when I recall the jokes in those things in the Ming Dynasty. Why? Because, I found that Mingyue captured almost everyone's humor cells, and the skill he mastered was actually not difficult, that is, to look at the behavior of the ancients with modern eyes. It's that simple.
I think this should be the comedy core of history, that is to say, the comedy core of history is not irony or tragedy, but the collision between modern thinking and ancient thinking.
In contrast, there are many historical books that follow the footsteps of the Ming Dynasty, just for humor and humor, but their praise and sales have never reached the height of those things in the Ming Dynasty. I think that's the reason. Of course, Longzhen's "The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are really interesting", although the title is "Interesting", did not make me smile. So personally, I think "The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are really interesting" is slightly inferior to "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty".
Looking at history from the perspective of modern people seems simple, but it is a thought-provoking topic. Why did the ancients do this? In addition to satire, it is also alluding to the present society, inspiring psychology, sociology, behavior and other thinking. You can't dwell on it. The more I think about it, the more interesting it becomes.