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"Wuyue Spring and Autumn": The history of Wuyue hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Era
"Secretary Twenty One": A rare book of ancient books compiled by Wang Shihan in the Qing Dynasty
Today we continue to talk about the rare ancient books compiled by Wang Shihan in the Qing Dynasty - "Secretary Twenty One".
This is a miscellaneous collection of twenty-one famous works from the pre-Qin, Han and Wei dynasties, Tang and Song dynasties, including:
"The Book of Kizuka Zhou", "Wuyue Spring and Autumn", "Gleaning Notes", "White Tiger Tong", "Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Natural History", "Gui Hai Yu Hengzhi", "Continuation of the Museum", "Bo Yi Ji", "The Legend of Coats", "The Legend of the Swordsman", "Chu Shi Zhu Qi", "Jin Shi Cheng", "Bamboo Book Chronicle", "Chinese Ancient and Modern Notes", "Ancient and Modern Notes", "Three Tombs", "General Meaning of Customs", "Legend of Liexian", "Ji Yi Ji" and "Continuation of Zhai Huanji".
These books are rare books at that time, so they are called secretaries, which are important materials for us to understand ancient Chinese culture, and they are also precious treasures for us to appreciate ancient Chinese literature.
"Wuyue Spring and Autumn": The history of Wuyue hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Era
The first in this series is the "Wuyue Spring and Autumn" that we will focus on today, a work written by Zhao Ye and edited by the Tang Dynasty emperor, with a total of ten volumes.
The book mainly recounts the war and diplomacy between the Wu and Yue kingdoms in the Spring and Autumn period, as well as the story of the heroes and heroes of the two monarchs. This book not only summarizes the records about Wu Yue in ancient formal histories such as "Chinese", "Zuo Chuan" and "Shiji", but also adds many anecdotes and legends and the author's imagination, making this book both historical and literary. It can be used not only as an important material for studying the history of the Wuyue region in the Spring and Autumn Period, but also as an excellent work for appreciating the interpretation of ancient Chinese history.
The book can be divided into two parts, the first half mainly tells the history of the Wu state, from the establishment of the Taibo state to the death of Fucha, the focus of which is the history of the accession to the throne of the king to the defeat of Fucha.
The second half mainly tells the history of the country of Yue, from the process of Dayu ruling the water to the loss of the country after Goujian to the hegemony of the eighth dynasty, with the focus on Goujian's victory over Wu's hegemony.
The whole book is mainly chronicle, according to the historical order to record the rise and fall of Wu and Vietnam, but also adopts the column and special biography, in each "biography" inserts a short biography dedicated to a certain character or event, so that the character image is more distinct and the storyline is more complete. The whole book is rich in words, quite like a novelist's words, and has a strong literary color.
The value of this book is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
- "First, it provides rich historical information." This book is a work dedicated to the history of the Wuyue region, and has important reference value for understanding the political, military, economic, cultural and other aspects of Wuyue in the Spring and Autumn Period. This book records many historical facts that are not available or ominous in books such as the "Shiji", such as Wu Bing's breaking of Chu and entering Ying, Sun Wu being the general of the Wu army, Wu Zixu's assassination of Wang Feng, Xi Shi's entry into Wu, etc., and there are also some historical facts that are similar and different from other books, such as the death of Lu Lu, the death of Fucha, and the death of Gou Jian, which can play a reference role. This book also records many customs, geographical features, myths and legends of Wuyue and other contents, providing us with valuable information for understanding the folk culture of the Wuyue region in the Spring and Autumn Period.
- "The second is to reflect historical wisdom." This book not only records historical facts, but also thinks and evaluates history, showing the author's care and reflection on the history of Wuyue's struggle for hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period. This book has a wealth of historical wisdom that can provide lessons for future generations. Proceeding from the objective situation of great powers competing for hegemony, the author pays attention to the way of rich countries and strong troops and the method of defeating the enemy. He believes that the way to govern the country lies in the rule of peace, the practice of benevolence and righteousness, the love of the people, the cultivation of oneself, and the selection of meritocracy and ability; The law of the Warring States lies in knowing oneself and knowing the other, planning and then moving, guiding by the situation, and defeating the strong with weakness. He has reverence for Wu Zixu, who has clear grievances and eventually sacrifices his life for the country, the fisherman who is anxious for people's difficulties, values righteousness over life, and is not greedy for money, the beating girl who is helpful and sacrifices his whole life, the little daughter of King Wu who died for dignity, and Chen Yin, who has the skill of wearing Yang at a hundred steps, all of which reflect his pursuit of morality in life.
- "The third is to show the charm of literature." Although this book is a history book, it has a strong literary color. It has both the rigor and authority of a formal history and the vividness and interest of a novel. It has both the clarity and coherence of the chronicle and the integrity and distinctness of the lineage and the specialized. It is both factual and true, as well as imaginative and fictional. It is both historic and educational, artistic and entertaining. It depicts the heroic tragedies or affair of the heroes and heroes of Wu and Vietnam with beautiful and smooth, gorgeous rhetoric, vivid images and full of emotion, which brings readers a strong visual impact and psychological shock. It had a profound impact on later literature, such as "Wu Zixu Changed Text" in Tang Dynasty popular speeches, "Wu Yue Spring and Autumn Lianxian Commentary" in the Song and Yuan dialect book, and many plays after the Ming and Qing dynasties were adapted from this book. This book can be said to be an abuse of ancient Chinese history, and it is also a treasure of ancient Chinese literature.
Bibliography of Wu Yue Spring and Autumn
Volume 1 Biography of Wu Taibo
Volume 2 The Dream of King Wu
Book 3 The prince sent the prince to pass on the light
Volume IV The Inner Biography of Lulu
Volume 5 Fuchai Neibian
Volume VI The Legend of the King of Yue
Book VII Hook into the Outer Biography of the Ministers
Volume VIII: Returning to Foreign Biography
Volume IX: Conspiracy Gaiden
Volume 10 Goujian Wu Gaiden
#古籍里的历史#