Sima Qian's pursuit of heaven and man is not to admit the mysterious power of heaven, but to pay attention to the evolution of the relationship between heaven and man, so as to understand the key of "the change of ancient and modern times", explore the level of historical dynamic development and change, and finally complete the "one family statement" His motivation for writing is mainly in the following three aspects:
First, Sima Qian completed his ambition of compiling Historical Records in order to inherit his father Sima Tan's legacy.
Sima's generation is ancient history. In order to inherit the spirit of Confucius' compilation of Chunqiu, the history of the previous generation was sorted out and discussed. Sui Shu's Classic Biography said: "The speech is based on Zuo's Spring and Autumn Annals, Mandarin, Shiben, Warring States Policy and Chu and Han Chunqiu, and then it becomes a family statement." It can be seen that Sima Tan intends to continue compiling.
In the first year of Yuanfeng, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty held a meditation ceremony. As an important official of the imperial court, Sima Tan missed the opportunity to participate in contemporary events, which led to his lifelong regret and grief. Before he died, he told his son Sima Qian: "Today I want to inherit the unity of Chitose and seal Mount Tai, but I can't. This is my life! When I die, you will become an official, and I will never forget what I want to write ... "Sima Qian replied," My boy is not sensitive, please learn about the old news of my ancestors. " It can be seen that Sima Qian completed his historical works according to his father's wishes. Closed Zen Sutra is one of his eight books in Historical Records, which shows that he has understood his father's meaning.
Second, Sima Qian should inherit the spirit of Spring and Autumn Annals.
Sima Qian said in Preface to Taishi Gong: "The ancestors said that after the death of Duke Zhou, there was Confucius at the age of 500. After the death of Confucius, as for being 500 years old today, I have the opportunity to show the Ming Dynasty. What was the original meaning of Yi Zhuan, Chun Qiu, Shu, Li and Yue at that time? How dare this boy give way? " This just implies that it has the mission of understanding morality and showing people with lofty ideals.
The lower limit of Spring and Autumn Annals is the year of forest harvest, and there is no complete historical record since then. Sima Qian followed the Spring and Autumn Annals and wrote history books with the first year of Emperor Yuanshou and the first year of Taichu as the lower limit.
However, Sima Qian's inheritance of Chunqiu not only formally inherited the orthodoxy since the Duke of Zhou, but also attached importance to the nature of Chunqiu. In the preface to Taishi Gong, he said: "In the Spring and Autumn Period, Ming History, Wang Zhidao, we should distinguish between personnel and discipline, not be suspicious, distinguish between right and wrong, hesitate, distinguish between good and evil, distinguish between good and evil, and live and die."
Third, Sima Qian should shoulder the responsibility of historian.
Sima Tan had planned to sort out the history of the previous generation, but unfortunately, he died in anger. Before he died, he told Sima Qian, "Historical Records have been abandoned since they called themselves forests. In the heyday of the Han Dynasty, there are many virtuous and loyal people. " Sima Qian, as a Taishi Gong, has the task of writing the history of the previous generation.
Sima Qian also pointed out his duty as a Taishi Gong in Preface to Taishi Gong, saying that "it is a great sin to want to dominate his official, abolish the virtue of saints, destroy the words of heroes, families and famous doctors." Therefore, Sima Qian made up his mind to write Historical Records wholeheartedly.
An Shu, the guarantor, also reveals the purpose of writing history books. He said, "All 130 articles should also learn from the changes of ancient and modern times and become a unified statement for studying the relationship between heaven and man." It can be seen that he should not only do his duty as an official, but also as a historian.
Creative attitude
A rigorous record
Sima Qian wrote Historical Records with a serious attitude and the spirit of record. Every historical figure or event he wrote has undergone a lot of investigation and research, and historical facts have been checked repeatedly.
Ban Gu, a historian of the Han Dynasty, said that Sima Qian was "honest in writing, honest in fact, beautiful in beauty, and did not hide evil, so it was called a record". In other words, his article is fair, historical facts are reliable, full of good words, and there is nothing to hide. This spoke highly of Sima Qian's scientific attitude and detailed historical records.
The most exciting ideas express the progressive national outlook.
Progressive economic thought
Strong democracy and criticism.
The heroic outlook on life, life and death and values run through the book.
Objective and fair
Xiang Yu
Sima Qian insisted on the spirit of "record", and when writing biographies, he was not bound by the conventions of traditional historical books, but recorded his own thoughts and feelings about historical facts. From the supreme emperor to the nobility, to the ministers, to the local governors, Sima Qian certainly won't erase their magical and glorious side, but he highlighted their decadence, ugliness, exploitation and oppression of the people, especially the evil of the ruling class in the Han Dynasty.
Although Sima Qian was a courtier of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he did not hide the fault of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty at all. He profoundly exposed and criticized the falsehood of ancestor worship and immortalization activities at that time. In the book "Fengchan", he vividly described the absurd and boring behavior of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who was superstitious about immortals and tried his best to pray for elixir.
Clear assessment
Sima Qian wanted to provide historical reference for feudal rulers, which reflected the real history and was very valuable. In the spirit of record, Sima Qian chose people not on the basis of official position or social status, but on the basis of actual behavior. For example, he wrote many biographies of rangers, businessmen, doctors and people who advocate Excellence. In Sima Qian's mind, these people all have merits.
Sima Qian pioneered the writing method of describing a person's life story. It is Sima Qian's writing method to focus on his "being a man" and its complexity. When he was doing a biography, he put his views in an objective factual narrative and expressed his love-hate attitude towards the characters.
For example, the character Xiang Yu, Sima Qian sympathized with him and enthusiastically wrote about the failed hero. He praised Xiang Yu for his bravery and criticized him for his lack of ambition and cruelty. However, in Biography of Xiang Yu, Sima Qian did not comment on it, but his love and hate for Xiang Yu were fully revealed in the narrative. This is the greatest feature of Sima Qian's biography, that is, the unity of authenticity and tendency.