A brief description of Sima Qian s life, commenting on Sima Qian s life choices

Sima Qian (145 BC - about 87 BC), also known as Taishi Gong, a native of Xiayang (now Shaanxi), a famous historian and writer of the Western Han Dynasty, was respected as "Shi Sheng" by later generations.

At the age of 10, Sima Qian followed his father to Chang'an, Beijing, and had to learn from the old doctor Fu Sheng and the great Confucian Kong Anguo; The family history is deep, and he has benefited a lot from the famous teachers, inspired and induced. At this time, when the Han Dynasty was strong, economically prosperous, and culturally prosperous, Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing broke the Xiongnu, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up Yuefu, which was also the time when Sima Qian was rich in knowledge and enthusiasm in the capital.

Sima Qian began to travel when he was about 20 years old, and after returning to Chang'an, he became the emperor's close attendant. He went to Pingliang and Kongtong with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and sent an envoy to Bashu, and the southernmost place he went to was Kunming. Sima Qian's family has been historians for generations, and as a historian, his responsibility is to record the words and deeds of emperors and sages, collect and sort out the world's relics and ancient things, and then provide reference for the rulers of the time through narratives.

His father, Sima Tan, was interested in sorting out the thousands of years of history of the Chinese nation and trying to write a historical work on an unprecedented scale. is to write a history book, since his father has had such an ideal, after his father made the Taishi Ling, he began to collect and read historical materials to prepare for the revision of history. However, Sima Tan felt that he was old, and to independently cultivate a historical work, whether it was time, energy, or talent, it was not enough, so Sima Tan pinned high hopes on his son Sima Qian, hoping that he could participate in the matter as soon as possible and finally realize such a grand wish.

So, on the basis of reading thousands of books, Sima Qian began to travel thousands of miles. Sima Tan asked his son to come on a roaming tour of the country that lasted more than two years. Sima Qian's roaming around the country at the age of 20 was a field trip in preparation for the writing of the "Records of the Historians", and he personally interviewed and obtained many first-hand materials to ensure the authenticity and scientificity of the "Records of the Historians".

His roaming is also a concrete embodiment of the spirit of the "Historical Records". In the journey of roaming, Sima Qian did not let go of anyone who knew history, did not let go of any story that survived in people's word of mouth, and obtained a lot of historical materials that could not be obtained from ancient books, and at the same time, he went deep into the people and had extensive contact with the lives of the people, which made his observation and understanding of society and life gradually deepened. In addition, he traveled through famous mountains and rivers, enjoyed the magnificence of the mountains and rivers of the motherland, cultivated his temperament, and thus improved the expressiveness of his literature.

Therefore, Sima Qian's roaming is a very solid step for Sima Qian to succeed, and it is a very typical so-called reading 10,000 books and traveling 10,000 miles.

Therefore, he compiled the first general history of China, "Historical Records". This document records nearly 3,000 years of history from the time of the Yellow Emperor to the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and is considered a model of Chinese history.

Sima Qian (145 BC or 135 BC—87 BC?) He was a native of Xiayang in the Western Han Dynasty (now Hancheng, Shaanxi, Hejin, Shanxi), a great historian, thinker and writer in ancient China, and was respected as the "Sage of History" by later generations. His greatest contribution was the creation of China's first general history in the form of historical records (formerly known as Taishi Gongshu).

The book records the history of more than 3,000 years from the legendary Yellow Emperor era in ancient China to 101 BC (the fourth year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty), and is considered a model of Chinese history books.

Sima Qian, who has achieved the historical status of "Historical Records", which is known as "the swan song of historians, the rhyme of separation", is afraid that everyone today can know. Naturally, his unimaginable and jaw-dropping encounters and his feat of surviving with a strong will after suffering humiliation and finally writing a book of history have also been talked about for a hundred years. He was ten years old and knew ancient Chinese, and his family had been historians for generations, so after his father Sima Tan made the Taishi Ling, he hoped to write an unprecedented historical work "Historical Records", but because he was old and his energy was limited, he pinned high hopes on his son, and asked Sima Qian to read thousands of books at the same time, Danhe should also travel thousands of miles, therefore, Sima Qian began his two-year travel life at the age of 20, and his roaming was actually an academic trip.

He likes to travel, and he has traveled most of China. In modern times, Xue Fucheng said in the "Preface to the Collection of a Japanese Monk on behalf of Li Bo" that the ancient people used articles to transmit them, and they were helped by the mountains and rivers. Taishi Gong visited the world's famous mountains and rivers around the world, and his literary heroes were hidden and digging.

Travel can nourish qi, can be a strong pen, and carrying socks can become beautiful and heroic. The appearance of Sima Qian and his historical records is like a strong light in the darkness, illuminating the dull and dreary literary world of the Han Dynasty.