As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was already a Taishi specifically responsible for sorting out and recording national events, and the legendary "Spring and Autumn" compiled by Confucius was the first chronicle in China's ancient history. Later, many famous historians appeared, such as Sima Qian, Ban Gu, Sima Guang and others. With the change of dynasties, the revision of history has gradually changed from a private to a major event of the imperial court, and a series of official revision history books have emerged, such as the famous Twenty-Four Histories, most of which are official revision history books.
Although the ancients were good at recording history, there were still countless mysteries hidden in China's thousands of years of ancient history. Moreover, due to the influence of the compilation date and other factors, many ancient history books greatly reduce the reference value of their contents, and the records of some famous people or events are not complete. For example, the two men and one woman who suddenly disappeared in history, their whereabouts are still a mystery, and even some netizens joked that they may have crossed, and even some netizens used this as inspiration material to create a lot of brain-opening network literary works.
People who are more familiar with historical knowledge may find that there are many famous people in history, who inexplicably disappeared into the history books after participating in some major historical events. Especially before the pre-Qin Dynasty, because the historical record system at that time was not perfect, many historical events and character endings were recorded very generally. For example, the two men and one woman mentioned above, that is, Laozi, Xu Fu and Xi Shi, as famous figures in the pre-Qin period, although their life deeds are recorded in the history books, their endings are not recorded, and they suddenly disappear into the history books, which is really confusing.
Lao Tzu was the founder of the Taoist school and left behind the famous Tao Te Ching, a sage comparable to Confucius. Lao Tzu's thought had a profound impact on the philosophical development of our country, and even Confucius once went to him specifically to ask for teachings. As a famous thinker in the pre-Qin period, Lao Tzu's end is little known, and he eventually disappeared into the history books, leaving not even a trace of record.
According to the records in the history books, at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the world was in chaos, and Lao Tzu lamented that the Zhou Li had collapsed, so he planned to abandon the official and go into hiding, riding the green bull cloud to travel around. When he reached Hangu Pass, Lao Tzu took Guan Yinzi as an apprentice, and also wrote the core essence of his thoughts into the Tao Te Ching and taught him, and then rode out of the pass on a long journey with a green bull, and no one saw him again.
Regarding lao tzu's ending, there is no clear record in the history books, and even how long he lived in Hangu and when he came out of Hanguguan are not detailed. It is precisely because Lao Tzu's West Exit Hangu Pass is too mysterious, so there are many legends about him, one of which mentions that Lao Tzu may eventually return to the Hidden Scenery Room Mountain, which is the later Laojun Mountain. But this statement actually does not stand up to scrutiny, if Lao Tzu really settled in a place, with his fame in the early autumn period, how could he hide from everyone's eyes?
Lao Tzu and the philosophical ideas he advocated still have an important influence on people today, and together with his place in myths and legends and his mysterious endings, he has become a popular figure in online literature. Many authors take inspiration from him and introduce it into their own works, giving the impression that he has truly traveled to otherworldly worlds.
In addition to the character of Lao Tzu, there were two other figures in the pre-Qin period who suddenly disappeared from the history books, one was Xu Fu, and the other was the famous Xi Shi.
Xu Fu was a famous alchemist of the Qin Dynasty, and it is said that he was also the apprentice of the mysterious figure Ghost Guzi, who was erudite and talented, not only familiar with astronomical geography, but also proficient in medicine and navigation. At the beginning, Qin Shi Huang was obsessed with immortality, and found Xu Fu to let him go overseas to seek the elixir, which was also the many talents in Xu Fu. However, Xu Fu finally disappointed Qin Shi Huang, who never returned, and eventually disappeared into the depths of the vast sea.
Regarding Xu Fu's ending, there is no record in the Central Plains History Books. However, according to some overseas records and folklore, Xu Fu may have crossed east to a place called "Plain Guangze", which is now Kyushu Island. Other folklore is even more bizarre, suggesting that Xu Fu eventually became the first emperor with high-tech knowledge brought from the Qin Dynasty (as opposed to Kyushu Island at that time). However, the truth or falsity of this statement is still debatable, and it is necessary to wait for further examination by historians.
As for Xi Shi, a generation of strange women, she also completely lost her track from the history books after the fall of the Wu kingdom. The "Nine Techniques of Cutting Wu" set by the original wenshu can be successful, and Xi Shi can be said to be indispensable. But after all, she is only a weak woman, and when the great cause of revenge is completed, xi shi's end may be imaginable. However, xi shi's whereabouts are not recorded in the history books, and it is impossible to know where she went.
Although the ancient Chinese history book system is very perfect, not all historical mysteries can be found in the history books. For example, Xi Shi, although she made a great contribution to the revenge of the Yue kingdom, but she was a woman after all, the historian at that time would only record the heroic talent and bear the burden of humiliation, and certainly would not care about the ending of a weak woman, so it was difficult to find their ending in the history books.
There are many similar examples in history, and many historical celebrities have their final endings in mystery. This has also created a space for modern netizens to play their imagination, and many famous historical figures have been introduced into online literary works. For example, in the past few years, the particularly popular theme of otherworldly crossing, many authors have taken inspiration from the mysterious and romantic experiences of these historical figures, and even gave birth to many magical works with open brains.