Han Xin was a prominent figure on the historical stage of the late Qin and early Han dynasties, and When Xiao Ren was called "the unparalleled warrior of the country", Liu Bang was even more known as the "Three Masters of Xinghan" when summarizing the reasons for the victory over Xiang Yu. Han Xin plotted for Liu Bang in Hanzhong a feasible strategy to set up the Three Qins and compete with Xiang Yu to fight for power in the world. Subsequently, he captured the Wei king Leopard, replaced, destroyed Zhao, Beiping Yan, and Eastern Dingqi, and destroyed Xiang Yu, the king of Western Chu, in one fell swoop, achieving his great military achievements. In the face of Han Xin's ups and downs and legendary life experience, the huge contradiction between his "success and failure, loyalty and betrayal, wisdom and stupidity entangled" has aroused the feelings and remembrance of literati and scholars of all generations.
The image of Han Xin first appeared in Sima Qian's "Records of History", and the "Biography of marquis of Huaiyin" is the first complete and concentrated writing of Han Xin's life experience, in addition to being scattered in the "Xiang Yu Benji", "Gao Zu Benji", "Lü Hou Benji", and "Wei Bao Peng Yue Lie Biography". With vivid and delicate brushstrokes, the biography of Marquis of Huaiyin combines literary and historical characteristics to vividly shape the image of Han Xin.
In the ninety-two volumes of the "Records of History", nearly 8,000 words of the "Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin" were written in great ink. In order to grasp the first-hand information as much as possible, Sima Qian also deliberately went to Han Xin's hometown of Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, to visit the field and talk with the local people. In this regard, Sima Qian, at the end of the "Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin", clearly stated that "I am like Huaiyin, and the Huaiyin people are Yu Yan" and "Yu regards his mother's family as a good one".
The spirit of forbearance possessed by Han Xin was similar to the heart of Sima Qian after being tortured by the palace. There are also many coincidences between Han Xin's life with legendary experience, Han Xin's relationship with Liu Bang, the founding son of the Han Dynasty, and the relationship between Sima Qian and Liu Che, the Han Wudi Emperor. Therefore, when Sima Qian wrote about the character of Han Xin, he was full of more sympathy and understanding, and the sighs expressed in his words could be seen everywhere. For thousands of years, the reason why the image of Han Xin has been deeply rooted in people's hearts is that in addition to the legend of Han Xin's own experience, it is even more due to Sima Qian's huge rafters.
Following Sima Qian's "Records of History", Bangu and others of the Eastern Han Dynasty created the first chronicle of Chinese history, the Book of Han. The Book of Han is divided into 120 volumes, recording the history of the Western Han Dynasty, beginning in the first year of Han Gaozu (206 BC) and ending in the fourth year of Emperor Wang Mangdi (23 AD). This intersects with the time of writing in the "History" for 229 years, although Han Xin's birth year is not clearly recorded, but his killing time is gaozu's eleventh year (196 BC), so the character of Han Xin is also included in the Book of Han. In the Book of Han, Han Xin's life deeds are mainly included in the "Biography of Han Pengying Lu Wu", "The Chronicle of Emperor Gao", and "The Biography of Ku Wu Jiang Shifu".
Ban Gu's records of the events of Han Gaozu to Emperor Wu of han are many in Sima Qian's "Records of History". However, due to the differences in their time background, personal experience, and historical interests, the two have different faces.
Through the records of Han Xin in the "Records of History" and the "Book of Han", it is not difficult to find that in the writing of the "Book of Han", Han Xin's important role in the Chu-Han War was weakened, Han Xin's sincerity towards the Han court was reduced, and the evidence that Han Xin did not rebel was gradually hidden.
Important reasons for the difference in the image of Han Xin in the "Records of History" and "Book of Han":
First, Sima Qian's main activities were during the period of Emperor Wu, and although there was a decree to "strike down the Hundred Families and Respect Confucianism alone", it was not far from the Warring States, and his thinking was relatively free, in fact, he still had a broad vision and the arrogance of adopting a hundred families. Therefore, "the Chronicle of History can be more objectively evaluated by various schools and various figures in history." The era in which Ban Gu lived coincided with Wang Mang's chaotic government and the chaos in the world, and his thinking at that time was to maintain the legitimacy and rationality of the ruling position of the Han Dynasty. "The purpose of Ban Gu's Book of Han is to prove that the Han Dynasty inherited Yao Zuo and followed the fire and virtue, 'sprinkling away the masses of filth, destroying dangers and vines, unifying the Emperor, restoring the Emperor Gang, Keelung in Xi Nong, Nong, and Regulating Huang and Tang.". Therefore, for the Han Xin rebellion, Ban Gu held a different view from Sima Qian.
Second, Sima Qian and Ban Gu presented different styles when recounting history, "The Qianshu body used the gods, and more of the relics of the Book of Shang, and the more the ban body used wisdom, and more of the meaning of the "Official Ceremony" was also obtained." Therefore, when Sima Qian wrote about Han Xin's life and deeds, he vividly displayed various events, while Ban Gu focused on a concise overview of Han Xin's historical events.