As the saying goes, "Reading history can be wise, and only by knowing the past can we learn from the present." "History is a true record of the birth, development and rise and fall of a nation and a country. Chinese civilization has a long history, and historical classics are full of sweat and cattle. Represented by the "Twenty-Four Histories", more than 10,000 kinds of surviving fangzhi and tens of thousands of genealogies collected by public and private collections, it is the historical memory of the history of the Chinese nation, local history and family history.
However, among these classics, there is a history book with an extremely special status, that is, the Zizhi Tongjian.
Why is the Zizhi Tongjian different from ordinary history books? Because its biggest feature is that with a profound historical vision and sophisticated political experience, it comprehensively summarizes the laws and experiences of the rise and fall of dynasties. As Liang Qichao said, the reason for the success of the Zizhi Tongjian is that the purpose of this book is very clear - it is written for the emperor!
Written in the Northern Song Dynasty, the Zizhi Tongjian is the most famous "imperial textbook" in Chinese history. In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was listed as a forbidden book by the imperial family, only the emperor and the prince could read it, and others dared to peek at it, which was suspected of rebellion and even provoked the disaster of killing. Emperors such as Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty had read the Tongjian and had imperial approvals passed down to the world.
It can be seen from this that in the book "Zizhi Tongjian", it contains a very profound way of dealing with the world, which is of great benefit to our life and growth. As the scholar Hu Sansheng of the late Song and early Yuan dynasties said:
"If you do not know the Tongjian as a king, you want to rule but do not know the source of autonomy, and if you do not know the art of preventing chaos, if you are a subject and do not know the Tongjian, you will not be able to do anything from above and from below; if you do not know the Tongjian as a son of man, you will be humiliated first, and you will not be able to do things enough to hang behind."
However, for ordinary people, although the "Zizhi Tongjian" is vividly written, the whole book is too long, and it adopts the genre of "chronicle and record", and the records are complicated, making it difficult for readers to grasp the origin and end of a matter, so it is more difficult to read through. Even Sima Guang himself said:
"Since I am the "Zizhi Tongjian", many people want to see. Reading a piece of paper, I have not been able to sleep. Whoever can read the final chapter is the ear of the king. ”
Therefore, although the "Zizhi Tongjian" is a classic and good book, if you can't read it, it is easy to read a good scripture crookedly, not only can you not learn the power and wisdom in it, but it is easy to draw a tiger and not become an anti-dog, leading yourself astray.
So, for such a far-reaching historical classic as the Zizhi Tongjian, how should we interpret it and understand it?
Xiong Yi, known as the "hermit of thought", has many unique views on the "Zizhi Tongjian", he is not limited to history itself, but from it to generate a multi-dimensional, three-dimensional analysis of society, culture and so on, and strive to interpret the great historical view of the emergence of generations.
In his new work "Zizhi Tongjian Xiong Yi Edition", Xiong Yi takes 250 questions as a starting point to guide us step by step into the world of Zizhi Tongjian, to explore and excavate the historical truth hidden behind every event and every detail, such as:
Which is more useful, carrots or sticks? What is the difference between the Eastern and Western inheritance schemes? Is integrity the foundation of a nation or a means of scheming? What to do while the tyrant reigns? Should flesh and blood be sacrificed for the sake of the monarch? Why are barefoot people not afraid to wear shoes? Wait a minute.
Just from the inconspicuous detail of "Why did the Zizhi Tongjian start from the twenty-third year of King Zhou Weilie", Xiong Yi felt many different tastes. In his book, he solemnly states:
This is because the Zizhi Tongjian is not a history book of historians, but a history book of politicians! The year in which the whole book begins is a very serious question, and this is not a simple historical problem, but an ancient ideological problem with the merits of the opening!
Why? Then we must start with a major event that happened in the twenty-third year of King Zhou Weilie.
In Xiong Yi's view, "Zizhi Tongjian", as a chronicle written by politicians with the intention of "Zizhi", begins with the sword pointing to the core demand of a country: stability!
As early as the twenty-seventh year of the Duke of Lu'ai, that is, in 468 BC, the prince zhixiangzi of the Jin state was destroyed by the three major families of Han, Zhao and Wei in the Jin state because of his insatiable greed and self-sufficiency. The situation of "three families divided into promotions" has become a reality,
In the twenty-third year of King Zhou Weilie, that is, in 403 BC, the patriarchs of the three major families of Han, Zhao, and Wei were crowned princes by King Zhou Weilie. Since then, the three great powers of Han, Zhao and Wei among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States have been born.
In the view of historians, the "three families divided into Jin" is indeed a very important historical event, marking the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States Era. However, in the eyes of Sima Guang, who was a politician, the significance of "three families dividing the Jin" was far less important than that of King Weilie of Zhou.
Why? Xiong Yi pointed out in the book that the separation of the three families of King Zhou Weilie seems to be a bland and unfazed thing on the surface, but in fact, it has great significance and far-reaching influence, and no matter how overestimated it is.
The so-called "three families divided into Jin" is only that the three major families "in fact" divided the Jin state and formed three independent regimes, while the king of Zhou Weilie's sealing of the three families as princes means that the three major families of Han, Zhao and Wei, as the three emerging independent regimes, have since possessed legal names, which are "nominally" enough to compete with the monarchs of the Jin state.
To put it bluntly, the Three Families of Han, Zhao, and Wei should have been unscrupulous thieves who were condemned by everyone, but now they had obtained the official approval of the Zhou royal family and successfully whitewashed themselves.
However, in the Confucian traditional value system, the nominal problem is a bottom-line problem, and even if the fait accompli cannot be overturned, the name cannot be compromised in name! As Confucius said: "If the name is not correct, the speech is not smooth, and if the words are not smooth, things will not be accomplished." ”
Therefore, Sima Guang would take the small event of "improper name" as the "unjustified" small event of "the patriarch of the three major families of Han, Zhao, and Wei" as the beginning of the "Zizhi Tongjian", and interpret this superficial small event as the biggest lesson in Chinese history.
You see, if there is no Xiong Yi's analysis and interpretation, when we read the Zizhi Tongjian, we are likely to turn this page over with our bare hands, how can we chew out the taste of it?
Such clever political wisdom can be seen everywhere in this "Zizhi Tongjian Xiong Yi Edition", Xiong Yi is not trapped in the trivial details of Chinese history to tell history, but with a big historical vision, hand-picked up the cultural and historical materials of various countries, or analogies, or comparisons, to help you deepen your understanding of human commonality and enhance your understanding of cultural differences - this is the biggest harvest that "Zizhi Tongjian Xiong Yi Edition" can give us.
All in all, reading "Zizhi Tongjian" is a huge project, we need to spend a lifetime to read and speculate repeatedly, each time we read, we will feel a new taste, a new understanding, and this "Zizhi Tongjian Xiong Yi Edition", is a crutch for us to study the "Zizhi Tongjian", with it, we can take a lot of detours, faster grasp the core value of "Zizhi Tongjian".
Oh, my God! Zizhi Tongjian can also read this for ¥299 purchase