The swan song of the historian, the rhymeless lissao.
Sima Qian, courtesy name Zichang, was born in Hancheng, Shaanxi today. It is said that he was born in 145 or 135 BC, and his death year is unknown. He is a rare historian, writer, and thinker in Chinese history.
With the historical courage to "study the relationship between heaven and man, understand the changes of ancient and modern times, and form a family's opinion" ("Report to Ren An"), he created and compiled my country's first biographical general history "Shi Ji" (originally known as "Tai Shi Ji") "Gongshu"), is recognized as a model of Chinese history books.
The book records a history of more than 3,000 years from the Huangdi period in ancient legends to the first year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is the first of the "Twenty-Five Histories" and was praised by Mr. Lu Xun as " "A masterpiece of historians, a rhymeless Li Sao" and "Zizhi Tongjian", a masterpiece of history written by Sima Guang, are both called the "double gems" of Chinese history.
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The style characteristics of "Historical Records":
The profound narrative and the description of vivid characters are skillfully combined to make "Historical Records" "Historical Records" forms a unique style that is majestic, profound and elegant. "Historical Records" has also successfully created a large number of tragic characters, giving the whole book a rich tragic atmosphere and a legendary color.
The narrative writing in "Historical Records" all revolves around the purpose of "studying the relationship between heaven and man, and understanding the changes in ancient and modern times." Although Sima Qian also started from trivial life details, most of the biographies In the end, everything unfolds in a magnificent picture, with a series of major events in history interspersed.
Sima Qian does not generally describe the historical process and the lives of characters, but deeply thinks about the laws of history and the fate of characters, discovers the essence through appearances, and grasps inevitable laws through contingency. This makes the biographies in "Historical Records" have both magnificent pictures and profound connotations, forming a majestic, profound and elegant style.
People's Daily Online - Sima Qian's Economic Achievements: On Commodities in "Historical Records·Biographies of the Commodities"