Sima Qian 司马迁
(Han dynasty, 145 BC - c. 86 BC)
Illustration of Sima Qian. Source: https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_8173686
Also known as “The Grand Historian” (太史公*) or “Saint of History” (“史圣”) for his accomplishment in giving us the “Records of the Grand Historian” or “Shiji” (《史记》).
*Taishi Gong is also the name of the official post that Sima Qian held in court.
Till this day, Sima Qian’s work is one of the most important references for historical records from the very early ages of Chinese civilization up till the early Han dynasty.
This feat is made even more respectable for what Sima Qian endured for its sake. He took upon himself the ultimate humiliation for a noble scholar of his time, in exchange for the completion of his life’s work.
Sima Qian’s father, Sima Tan (司马谈), harboured a great ambition to put together a record of historical events from the beginning of time as they knew it, up until their era. In fact, Sima Tan had already done much preparatory work, but was struck by illness before he could realise his dream. On his deathbed, Sima Tan held his son’s hands in tears and passed this mission onto Sima Qian.
Sima Qian pledged to his father’s cause with full conviction. He had been well versed in the classics in his teens, and had travelled around the realm in his twenties. He could therefore leverage his knowledge and experiences to gather information, survey historical sources, and meticulously vet them for inclusion in his book.
Yet, fate dealt Sima Qian an unexpected and devastating blow. It all started when a military general, Li Ling (李陵), grandson of the famous General Li Guang (李广), was defeated by the nomadic Xiongnu in the north, and was forced to surrender after a valiant retaliation. Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝) was enraged by his surrender, but Sima Qian stood out and spoke on behalf of Li Ling. He asserted Li Ling’s innocence, and that this surrender was just a ploy out of desperation.
The emperor listened to Sima Qian at first, but intelligence came back claiming that Li Ling was training enemy soldiers. This was later proven to be untrue.
Blinded by rage, the Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝) ordered the death of Li Ling’s entire household, and for Sima Qian’s imprisonment. The emperor then gave Sima Qian two choices: death, or castration.
As a scholar descended from a noble family, refined and well-educated, going through as shameful an ordeal as castration was unthinkable. The saying goes, “the nobleman can be killed, but cannot be humiliated”.
However, his life’s work has not been completed. Death at this point would close any possibility of doing so.
Sima Qian therefore made the difficult choice of castration so that he can fulfill his father’s wish to complete this, which he succeeded in every aspect.
Records of the Grand Historian, published 1982 by Zhonghua Book Company.
The way in which Sima Qian recorded history was accessible, engaging, and yet refrains from excessive subjectivity in its presentation of historical events.
Through both the natural attrition from the passing of time and from human interference (most notably the book burnings by Qin Shi Huang), Sima Qian’s organised records proved immensely valuable in understanding the early ages of Chinese civilisation. The learned people across the ages have sung praises for the discipline in the factual records and the precision in language demonstrated in Sima Qian’s work.
All in all, Sima Qian has set a towering precedence for Chinese historians in the ages to come, with "Records of the Grand Historian" ranking first in the series of twenty-four historical records deemed to be official history.
****
On that note, the Youtube channel “Overly Sarcastic Production” has an excellent video briefly introducing the background of ancient China, and mentions Sima Qian’s story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ-yjGDrRM8
For a more in-depth exploration into early Chinese history, the “Fall of Civilizations” channel featuring the Han dynasty is another stellar production, which also references Sima Qian’s work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwEkp4I75OA
Stylised depiction of Sima Qian in the thumbnail for “Echoes of History”, by the Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (WCFHL) production team.
No comments:
Post a Comment