The charm of history lies in the story of man

《Hanxing》

By Lee Kai-won

Life, Reading, and New Knowledge Triptych Bookstore July 2021

Recently, the final chapter of the historical narrative trilogy, the book "Hanxing", was published by the Life, Reading and Xinzhi Triptych Bookstore. In "Han Xing", the author Li Kaiyuan focuses on the political process after the establishment of the Han Empire, focusing on the contradictions between the imperial family, foreign relatives and the beneficiary group of military merit in the early Han Dynasty, and through the reinterpretation of the documents handed down from generation to generation and excavated documents, it is fascinating to comment on the major events of the three dynasties of Gaozu, Lü Hou (and Emperor Hui), and Emperor Wen. The author pays attention to the expression of historical documents in today's words, brings readers to the scene of history, and integrates his own research into popular writing.

The title of the preface to the book is "History is the Story of Man", and the author believes that if there is no human story in history, what is the interest and meaning of history? In "HanXing", we can see many stories of emperors and generals, because they are the protagonists on the historical stage, the protagonists in the history books. At the same time, we can also see some stories of ordinary people, such as the love tragedy of the folk woman Tian Nan, which is the story excavated by the author from the excavated historical materials, and wants to show the helpless fate of the low-level civilians at that time; the story of the doctor Chun Yuyi is not only related to the ancient doctor-patient relationship, but also involves the origin of Chinese medicine and Huang Laozhi and so on. In addition to focusing on the personal fate of historical figures, the author also makes group descriptions of some important families, social classes, and interest groups, such as the Lü Yan family of Gao Hou, the Confucian groups at the time of Qin Chu and Han, and the beneficiary classes of military merit in the early Han Dynasty.

The description of these historical figures or groups of characters in this book makes us truly feel the charm of historical narratives and the charm of history.