When the world rushes to the precipice
There needs to be some force to hold it
Text: Qianzijun, Liquan Editor: Prophet Bookstore Manager
It has been said that the answer to any thorny problem that humanity encounters can be found in the book of a wise man.
So, when the helm of a superpower is faced with the survival of the country, and even the most important question of mankind - "survival or destruction", whose book will he read?
In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out, and the two camps of the United States and the Soviet Union were at loggerheads, and a nuclear war that was enough to destroy the earth hundreds of times was on the verge of breaking out. The world held its breath and focused its attention on US President John F. Kennedy, whose choices would determine the course of his country and the fate of all mankind.
At that time, Kennedy's desk, in addition to the nuclear lockbox, also had the work of a contemporary historian. Kennedy read repeatedly, lost in thought, and constantly warned himself with the historical lessons revealed in the book:
Politics is made up of the smartest people, but always makes the stupidest decisions. The leaders of every world war, almost all of whom knew the art of statecraft and power games, fell into astonishing collective stupidity and confused self-confidence, and these brilliant professional politicians personally dragged human civilization into a catastrophe.
Kennedy vowed never to repeat the mistakes of the past, "I will definitely make a better choice." So he calmed down at the last minute and pressed step by step, achieving his political intentions and avoiding plunging the world into a doomsday nuclear war.
Afterwards, Kennedy sent the female writer's book as a national gift to the British prime minister, hoping that the other party would remember the special friendship between Britain and the United States, and "maintain the deepest reflection and vigilance against modern civilization and its enemies."
Ten years later, in 1972, both China and the United States were under the shadow of Soviet nuclear deterrence, and the United States was mired in the Vietnam War. In order to maintain national security, the world was stunned by the sudden visit of then US President Nixon to China - an "ice-breaking journey" in Sino-US relations after 1949. Like Kennedy, Nixon presented the historian's book to China's leaders at the time, and the Chinese returned it with Lu Xun's work.
This historian, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is known as "the first person to write nonfiction" and "the contemporary Thucydides" Barbara M. W. Tuchman.
What is the magic of Tuchman that can win this award?
▌Her compassion and insight became the yardstick of "social temperature"
History is not only about truth and facts, but also about morality and faith. Tuchman's deep universal spirit and humanistic care make her stand out among many historical masters.
As a "deeply religious pre-war generation," she firmly believed that "justice and reason will ultimately triumph." She passionately praised the American Revolutionary Revolution and Israel's Great Patriotic War, but her research and writing always aimed at reducing wars.
Israel's battle is the battle of lions, the greatest battle in the region, saving the United States in a moment of crisis, but also exposing Russia ... Male lions also shed tears, they shed tears not only for their compatriots, but also for the enemies who were killed ... After the dazzling victory, instead of parading and celebrating, they mourned and commemorated the dead. (Tuchman, The Bible and the Sword)
Tuchman's sharp insights impressed the world's most powerful people.
While many people are keen to reminisce about the "golden age" before the war, or imagine a better future for utopia, Tuchman points out mercilessly that there will be no "golden age" for the vast majority of people without privilege.
Tuchman is not obsessed with political chronology, scientific and technological progress, she does not even care about economic competition, she cares about the "social temperature" - how the belligerence of countries boils over?
Through the "temperature measurement" before the world war, she concluded that civilization will not die of decline, but only of tossing: "When the "temperature" of society becomes higher and higher, the people become more radical, and the power becomes more arrogant; People yearn for revenge and expansion while seeking a redistribution of power and wealth. (Tudchman, Tower of Pride)
Historical insight and humanistic care can certainly correct the stupidity of some politicians. But obviously, in the 20th century, when philosophers and historians were star-studded and masters were born, this alone could not support such honors as "Thucydides of our time" and "the first person to write nonfiction." So, how did Tuchman manage to "write a history with deep historical insight, where everyone knows the outcome, so that people can't put it down and can't stop it"?
▌Cracking the "impossible triangle" of writing skills
In post-World War II Germany, there was a joke that in a Nazi member, intelligence, honesty, and belief in fascism could not be true at the same time. This "impossible triangle" also exists in the knowledge market: few works can be profound, wonderful, and real at the same time, that is, the "impossible triangle of writing skills".
In fact, there are indeed many masters in history who have far-reaching and profound ideas, and because of their poor written expression, their imperial masterpieces have been shelved by future readers. As a result, this knowledge becomes "fossilized" over time, or even lost forever.
The reason for this regret, in addition to the writer's lack of ability to use words, is what Tuchman mentioned in his book The Art of History, and there is a widespread prejudice in the academic community - "overestimating research and underestimating writing". So, how did Tuchman's own historical works become wonderful and real beyond the profound, and then break the "impossible triangle of writing skills"?
◎ Narrative without facts, poor and unconvincing: fictional fabrication vs original documents
In the field of historiography, whether popular writing or historical research, there has long been an "unspeakable secret": many works with correct historical views, full of historical insights, and vivid and cheerful words have the phenomenon of taking words out of context, screening historical facts from a standpoint, and even deliberately fabricating them, replacing historical facts with imagination and reasoning.
Throughout his life, Tuchman defended virtue and civilization. She admits that she never believed there were "absolutely objective historians" in the world, because "that is only possible by clocks." But when she writes every word, she warns herself that she cannot be a "value pioneer".
In order to find out the historical truth, she always "did not hesitate to pounce on the original documents as quickly as possible": unpublished personal letters, work diaries, handwritten reports, notes in official documents...
In "August Artillery", when it is written about the afternoon of the British landing in France, "a summer thunder exploded in mid-air, followed by a bloody sun". This literary description was found by her after rummaging through a large number of archives from the diary of a British military officer. In order to examine the "efficiency of the commander's orders", she even went on field trips to the mountains of France.
"The choice of materials determines the quality of the final work, which is why I only use original documents." Tuchman said.
Even so, for a history writer, primary sources are still very limited, even in places where the archives are relatively open. As a result, secondary sources became the opium of historians - sucked up, the effect was immediate; Without it, the writing life can be interrupted at any time.
Tuchman's attitude to this is that "they are useful, but they are also harmful." Because second-hand data, even if it is a fact, is a fact that has been screened. Choosing second-hand literature means giving up the opportunity to screen yourself.
Ignorant critics questioned her, but leading historians supported her.
Fairbank Qing, the "number one China expert" in Western academia, after reading Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-1945, said in amazement: "She unearthed all the records... Not even the smallest piece of paper was spared."
In his later years, Fairbank said sarcastically: "Some critics refer to Barbara's books as 'popular history,' which is not so much a criticism of these books as of themselves." (Preface to Stilwell and the American Experience in China)
Every word she wrote was real history. But her books are so brilliant that people often question whether these mesmerizing images and drama were fabricated by Barbara to "make history more moving".
To this, Tuchman said categorically: "I never make up anything, including the weather. ”
◎ It is the author's dereliction of duty to leave all the homework to the reader: pile up nouns vs refine and purify
There are many researchers who have a correct view of history and respect historical facts, but only a few have the responsibility and ability of scholars - spending twice as much time researching and screening historical materials.
Tuchman despises "essay-style writing" in the public sphere—stacked with facts, in detail, seemingly "knowledgeable and objective," but in fact, readers simply cannot understand so many words. Dropping the bag in this way is a highly irresponsible laziness – throwing all the homework at the reader.
Her books are hugely informative, but never packed with nouns. Faced with a vast sea of research data, she "scooped up gold from the sediment and refined it."
She likens her writing to "zooming in on the size of a map"—faithful to the "original image," but also a trade-off. In order to highlight the most relevant historical facts and the most important historical facts over a long period of time, she had to endure the pain of cutting away some of the most wonderful narratives.
For example, in Stilwell and the American Experience in China, the plot of "Henry Wallace's visit to China to meet Chiang Kai-shek" is brushed off by Tuchman. To this end, she even dropped a wonderful comment: "For the ideal, Henry can cut off his right hand, as well as your right hand." ”
The reason is that as the plot of this line unfolds, the number of words describing it suddenly skyrockets. "So I immediately had a bad feeling that something must be wrong" – until someone asked Tuchman one day how important this was.
"I heard the inner answer is: it doesn't matter at all, it really doesn't have any effect on things." (Tuchman, The Art of History: Tuchman on History). Most writers can't give up the wonderful stories they have already written—they are always attracted by side doors and side matters—but the art of writing—the trial of the artist—lies in whether they can endure the pain and go straight to the point.
◎ The author has great power, and no one can supervise it except his own conscience: God's perspective vs the invisible storyteller
Some historians have a correct view of history, respect documents, and also have the ability and perseverance to organize documents, but only a very few of them can resist the impulse to "demand the ancients" and "sandwich discussions".
Tuchman argues that a good historian must be an "invisible storyteller"—the highest level of storytelling, one that makes listeners forget that a storyteller exists.
The historian must not use emotional narration to induce the reader, even if he has first-hand real historical materials, let alone intersperse his own value criticism in the narrative. If the author has doubts about the material, they should solve it themselves behind the scenes. Even if you want to do a motivation analysis, it should be included in the appendix. "Don't theorize in front of the reader" - avoid "hindsight", and avoid "expressing your feelings on behalf of the reader".
In order to present the reader with a complete and high-level perspective, she even forced herself to abandon some highly representative accounts.
For example, when writing about Stilwell's defeat in Burma, there is a shocking truth: one of Chiang Kai-shek's subordinates left without permission while covering the retreat in order to get a Rolls-Royce car home. Stilwell said angrily: "To fight on the battlefield in China, the commander (of the Kuomintang) will never step down in poverty."
Tuchman would have liked to quote the original sentence from this document - only from the point of view of loyalty to historical sources and historical facts, there is no problem. But she worries that future generations will be prejudiced against other Kuomintang generals when they read this history. In the end, she not only deleted the sentence, but also directly abandoned the story.
Tuchman's reasoning for this is that as part of the narrative, although a small thing seems representative and can leave a deep impression on the reader, this impression may not properly represent the whole. At this time, the author's power is enormous, and no one can supervise it except his own conscience.
◎ The best writers are the best history writers: qualified scholars vs language artists
If a history writer has done all three of the above, is it considered good? No, he can only be considered "qualified". In order to be "excellent", it is also necessary to master "the art of mastering the magic of words".
"Insight, knowledge and experience are not enough to make a great writer, he also needs an extraordinary mastery of language as a tool for his voice. Great ideas also need to be expressed with the help of a perfect grasp of vocabulary. ”
"The so-called excellent historical works are those in which the reader knows the ending early and still can't stop the suspenseful text."
——With such strict requirements for writing, it is conceivable that there are only a few "great writers" who can enter her eyes. Tuchman not only does it himself, but never returns empty-handed: like a painter's brush and a sculptor's clay, her words restore the epic sense of history.
In Tuchman's view, writing is no less difficult and important than research. Therefore, a good writer must be an artist... Let the words have the magic of escaping the writer's control. "When I write books, I often feel like an artist."
Robert Massie, an American historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote in the preface to August Cannon Fire: "Tuchman spent eight hours of refinement that summer for a passage. That passage later became the most famous classic of all her books, which is the opening line of "August Cannon Fire". ”
"One morning in May 1910, King Edward VII of England came out of the funeral, and nine emperors rode through the procession. The crowd dressed in mourning clothes and waiting solemnly could not help but marvel.
These monarchs, dressed in colorful clothes, red and purple, royal blue and emerald green, three horses came out of the palace gates, and under the sunlight, feather helmets, gold silk inlays, crimson ribbons, medallions embedded with jewels shining..."
The most similar thing about writing and business is that once someone starts a successful new category, it is imitated by countless smart people. Here are the opening remarks of the masterpieces of three famous writers, like a parody of the opening lines of "August Cannon Fire":
"In that destitute summer of 1932, Washington, D.C. lived like the capital of a small European country under siege..."
"In 1587 AD, in China, it was the fifteenth year of the Wanli Ming Dynasty, and the Ganzhi was Dinghai, which belonged to the pig. On that day, the four seas rose to peace, and there were no major events to describe throughout the year..."
"Countless black horses galloped back and forth in the distance. Above the long river in the distance, a round bloody sunset; In the lonely city, wolf smoke pierced straight into the dusky sky. Tianbao 3rd year, January 14th, Sumeng. Chang'an, Chang'an County, West City. Spring is cold and sunny. At this time, the sky over Chang'an City was cloudless, and today should be a good weather. ”
The above three works are Manchester's "Glory and Dreams", Huang Renyu's "Fifteen Years of Wanli", and Ma Boyong's "Chang'an Twelve Hours".
Words full of magic and insight can be easily brought to hand in Tuchman's work:
"A certain atmosphere in 1914 made the people who felt it tremble the fate of mankind."
"To make it higher than ordinary triviality is an essential element of great tragedy. In August 1914, something was approaching, inescapable, all-encompassing, enveloping everyone. The terrible contradictions between perfect plans and fallible people are chilling..."
"You cannot separate good from evil, and wisdom, courage, and goodness are accompanied by scoundrels, greed, and foolishness; Courage and perseverance also go hand in hand with vanity, cruelty, and corruption. ”
"Humanity living in the 20th century is not to be envied. They used to believe that they were God's creation. Now they have lost their pride and are beginning to think about their recent deeds and the difficulties in front of them. They can no longer honor themselves as 'second only to angels' as hymn poets do. ”
Tuchman's pioneering behavior in the field of "non-fiction" even influenced fiction literature in turn. Ma Boyong, known as the "genius," said, "Tuchman is the god of nonfiction writing. "Reed, the screenwriter of the movies "Farewell My Concubine" and "Alive", has said many times that the one who has the greatest influence on him is Tuchman, and there is no one.
◎ Writers who hate fellow human beings have taken over the literary world: traffic stars vs unpopular classics
To achieve the above four points, he is naturally an excellent historical writer, but he is probably one thing away from genius: write hot and turn decay into magic. In today's words, it is so capricious that it does not need to rub hot traffic, but creates traffic by itself.
Born into a merchant family, Tuchman studied history and literature at Cambridge in his early years and became a war correspondent in his twenties. After more than ten years of marriage, she has been at home with her husband and children. At the age of 44, many people have fallen into a "midlife crisis" of losing their dreams and becoming increasingly decadent. But for Tuchman, the "youth" of writing has just begun.
When the middle-aged housewife walked out of the kitchen and resumed public writing, it was a huge and long-lasting event: After winning two Pulitzer Prizes for "August Cannon Fire" and "Stilwell and the American Experience in China," Tuchman was invited to serve as an honorary professor at several universities, and the lecture room was full.
People are waiting to see: Will Tuchman continue to tell stories? What will be the topic of the next updated work?
A writer usually returns to the public eye in three ways: best-selling authors like to chase the hot topics of the times and can't wait to appear in front of the public eye every moment; Qualified specialists usually "dig deeper" in their ivory towers to provide professional advice to the public; Excellent scholars prefer grand narratives, talk about everything, and leave huge works in the category of "general history"...
Tuchman lived in an era in which "writers who loathing fellow human beings took over the literary world" - whether it was the drama on the stage, or the various popular works, desperately trying to catch up with the trend, no one cared about the central proposition of the era - what would happen next. But these are not Tuchman, she is a caring humanist and a genius writer who dares to challenge "small flow".
After achieving fame, she rushed into the most cold historical field with a "willful and adventurous" attitude, lifted the dusty curtain, and brought the characters on the stage to life: from the Great Plague in the Middle Ages to the world political situation at the founding of the United States, from the Trojan horse slaughter to the Vietnam War, from the Mosaic Covenant to the Balfour Declaration...
Tuchman's eight works, the most influential in China, are undoubtedly Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-1945, but the best representative of his writing and his own favorite work is The Tower of Pride, an unpopular period of history that few historical writers pay attention to, as evidenced by the book's subtitle, "Portraits of the Prewar World: 1890-1914."
Tuchman not only successfully challenged unpopular topics, but also wrote these topics into classics that people rushed to buy and quote. Behind the seemingly willful nature, in fact, it comes from her keen historical insight to dig treasures in the desert of history. Tuchman said:
"The history that captivates readers makes them as addicted to the subject as I am. But the premise is that the story must first appeal to myself so that there is a sense of mission to share. With whom to share it? —Readers, of course, people who have always kept it in my heart. (Tuchman, The Art of History)
▌ When the world falls into mediocrity and danger, it needs a force to hold it: A Guide to Using Talchman's Work
What does Tuchman's "document-based epic writing" mean to us today?
Kennedy in the darkest hour placed Tuchman's work on the desk as a basis for decision-making;
The president of the United States made it a national gift, and Tudchman's book is a messenger of great power diplomacy;
Writers such as Manchester, Huang Jenyu, Ma Boyong and others used Tuchman's book as an object of "imitation"...
For the public, reading Tuchman's works, while experiencing the beauty of reading, also completes a journey of wisdom.