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资治通鉴 Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government - The first real history of China
January 6, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
PUBLISHED in 1084, "Zizhi Tongjian," or "Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government," was a game changer in historiography, transforming the format of Chinese history writing from biographical style to chronological style.
Covering 1,362 years from the Warring States Period (476-221 BC) to the Five Dynasties (AD 907-960), the work draws a great number of lessons from the past, using them for reference and guidance to emperors in governance, hence the title, "Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government."
The chief compiler was Sima Guang (1019-86), an outstanding historian, scholar and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).
Sima was born into an official's family in today's Henan Province in central China. He was very bright and diligent and loved to read the classics, especially history such as "Zuo Zhuan," or the "Chronicle of Zuo," the earliest narrative history of China.
According to legend, Sima saved a playmate's life when he was only seven. The boys were playing in a courtyard when one boy fell into a large ceramic vat full of water. Despite his frantic struggles, he couldn't escape and started to drown. His playmates were stunned and paralyzed.
But Sima picked up a rock and threw it with all his might at the vat, breaking the container, so the water rushed out and his pal was saved.
But playing outdoor was rare for young Sima. To excel, he usually spent his time reading and reciting books in his study, while other boys were playing outside.
It was said that when Sima was older, he turned a small round log into a pillow, calling it his "Alert Pillow." Frequently the "Alert Pillow" would roll off the bed while Sima slept, making a loud thud when it hit the floor, waking him up.
Then, he would pick up a book and begin to read again.
Thanks to his exceptional intelligence and diligence, he passed the palace imperial civil examination and received the title of "Presented Scholar" when he was barely 20 years old. This paved the way for his career in officialdom.
In the following years, he worked mainly in the imperial court and served four emperors either as adviser, academician or historian.
However, Sima didn't see eye to eye with Chancellor Wang Anshi (1021-86), a government reformer. One day, Sima argued with Wang in front of the emperor, saying that the rules of ancestors should never be changed. However, Wang insisted on pushing ahead his "New Policies."
Sima lost that argument and, as a result, he began to withdraw from court politics and concentrate on writing about historical events in order to draw lessons from the rise and decline of so many dynasties.
In 1065, the Song emperor ordered Sima to turn what he had already written into a so-called "universal history" of China, providing him with all necessary resources, including funding, four assistants, and all the reference books in the imperial libraries.
Sima and his team spent the following 19 years working on every detail of the ground-breaking history book. When it was completed in 1084, the book contained more than three million Chinese characters in 294 volumes.
To achieve its goal of drawing governance lessons from previous dynasties, the book focused on politics, military affairs and national relations. But it also discussed economy, culture and historical figures.
In addition, the book was known for its beautiful writing style thanks to Sima's exceptional literary attainments. As a pioneering historical masterwork, it exerted a powerful influence on Chinese historical writings in the following centuries.
Covering 1,362 years from the Warring States Period (476-221 BC) to the Five Dynasties (AD 907-960), the work draws a great number of lessons from the past, using them for reference and guidance to emperors in governance, hence the title, "Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government."
The chief compiler was Sima Guang (1019-86), an outstanding historian, scholar and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).
Sima was born into an official's family in today's Henan Province in central China. He was very bright and diligent and loved to read the classics, especially history such as "Zuo Zhuan," or the "Chronicle of Zuo," the earliest narrative history of China.
According to legend, Sima saved a playmate's life when he was only seven. The boys were playing in a courtyard when one boy fell into a large ceramic vat full of water. Despite his frantic struggles, he couldn't escape and started to drown. His playmates were stunned and paralyzed.
But Sima picked up a rock and threw it with all his might at the vat, breaking the container, so the water rushed out and his pal was saved.
But playing outdoor was rare for young Sima. To excel, he usually spent his time reading and reciting books in his study, while other boys were playing outside.
It was said that when Sima was older, he turned a small round log into a pillow, calling it his "Alert Pillow." Frequently the "Alert Pillow" would roll off the bed while Sima slept, making a loud thud when it hit the floor, waking him up.
Then, he would pick up a book and begin to read again.
Thanks to his exceptional intelligence and diligence, he passed the palace imperial civil examination and received the title of "Presented Scholar" when he was barely 20 years old. This paved the way for his career in officialdom.
In the following years, he worked mainly in the imperial court and served four emperors either as adviser, academician or historian.
However, Sima didn't see eye to eye with Chancellor Wang Anshi (1021-86), a government reformer. One day, Sima argued with Wang in front of the emperor, saying that the rules of ancestors should never be changed. However, Wang insisted on pushing ahead his "New Policies."
Sima lost that argument and, as a result, he began to withdraw from court politics and concentrate on writing about historical events in order to draw lessons from the rise and decline of so many dynasties.
In 1065, the Song emperor ordered Sima to turn what he had already written into a so-called "universal history" of China, providing him with all necessary resources, including funding, four assistants, and all the reference books in the imperial libraries.
Sima and his team spent the following 19 years working on every detail of the ground-breaking history book. When it was completed in 1084, the book contained more than three million Chinese characters in 294 volumes.
To achieve its goal of drawing governance lessons from previous dynasties, the book focused on politics, military affairs and national relations. But it also discussed economy, culture and historical figures.
In addition, the book was known for its beautiful writing style thanks to Sima's exceptional literary attainments. As a pioneering historical masterwork, it exerted a powerful influence on Chinese historical writings in the following centuries.
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