Cheng Nianqi
"General Theory of the History of Lü Simian's Country", by Lü Simian and edited by Zhang Genghua, Zhonghua Bookstore, July 2021 edition, 32.00 yuan
Two years after the compilation of "Lü Simian Speaks of Chinese History", Mr. Zhang Genghua also selected Mr. Lü's commentary on Chinese history under the title of "General Theory of the History of the State of Lü Simian" (hereinafter referred to as "General Theory of national history"), which was still published by the Zhonghua Bookstore.
To a large extent, readers who have carefully read "Lu Simian on Chinese History" can acquire a richer "problem awareness" of Chinese history through reading the "General Theory of National History." The first thing worth mentioning here is that the articles prepared by The Cultivator Hua in the General Theory of National History are all accurate and eye-catching; according to these articles, readers can quickly find the problems they are interested in, and breathe with Mr. Lü to discuss, from which they feel the simplicity, sharpness, profundity and loftiness of a great historian, and inspire themselves to think deeper and grasp the history of China.
Lu Simian's reading notes about the "female lineage"
The author is no stranger to Mr. Lü's comments on ancient history. And when I first read this "General Theory of National History", I still feel that it is fresh everywhere. Many things that I have not noticed before can be said to be overwhelming and dizzying. As a result, I deeply admire Mr. Lü's unusual sensitivity to the rich historical information contained in those seemingly ordinary historical materials, and I am glad that I have such a volume of "General Theory of National History" in hand, and I can get the benefit of opening the volume at any time. Here are a few of the enumerations.
I. On the matriarchal society of ancient China, the author has only noticed in the past that Mr. Lü's so-called "matriarchy is not matriarchal power" and the existence of "uncle power", as well as the relationship between the "son-in-law" system and the matrilineal society, etc., and for Mr. Lü's so-called Taigong Wang in the "Warring States Policy and Qin Ce" is "Qi Zhi Zhi Zhi Fu (赘婿)", "The So-called Qi Xiang Gong is adulterous in the "Hanshu Geographical Chronicle", and the sister does not marry, so he ordered the country: the daughter of the people's family is not allowed to marry, the name is Wu'er, the family master's ancestral hall, and the marriage is unfavorable to his family. The people still think that it is customary", as well as "in the second year of the Huan Gong of the Ram, there are the wives and concubines of the King of Chu" and other historical facts as evidence, indicating the social life of the peasants and fishermen in the coastal areas of southeast China, revealing that China "from the southeast to the northeast, the soil is fertile, the water conservancy is fertile, the agriculture and fishing industry flourishes, the internal marriage system and the matrilineal clan are all characteristics that have been maintained for a long time", and the conclusion that "the reasons for these customs are attributed to the orders of the people and the king, and their lack of trust" have almost all been ignored. Fortunately, in this article of "female lineage is not equal to feminism", Genghua sorted out and selected Mr. Lü's relevant theories in "History of Social Change in China", "A Small History of the Chinese Clan System", and "Lü's General History of China", which provided great convenience for me to pay attention to and understand these problems. However, the articles listed in the book also have such characteristics, which are extremely beneficial to the reader.
Lü Simian's inscription for the Guanghua Annual Magazine titled "Guan Qihui Tong"
Second, Mr. Lui writes history, especially the fortunes of the world. This point is also extremely evident in the "General Theory of National History". Take the article "A great change in the fortunes of the world at the time of the yellow weather" as an example. Regarding the struggle between the Yan and Huang ethnic groups, Mr. Lü quoted the "Book of Shangjun Painting Strategies" as saying, "In the world of Shennong, men cultivate and eat, women weave and cloth; criminal administration is not used to rule, and armor and soldiers are not up and king." Shennong is martyred, and the strong prevail over the weak, and the multitude is violent. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor as the righteousness of the emperor and the subordinates, the courtesy of father and son and brother, the matching of husband and wife, the internal sword and saw, and the external use of armor soldiers", and the saying "this number of words, can be the Yan Emperor's clan is still peaceful, the Yellow Emperor's clan is good at fighting." It is speculated that in ancient times, it seems that the land of Henan is suitable for farming; the land of Hebei is suitable for animal husbandry. Therefore, the Yan and Huang tribes, depending on the geographical advantages, will have different things; in the event of a conflict, the peace-loving farmers will not be the enemies of the nomadic people who are happy to fight; and in the battles of Hanquan and Zhuolu, the Yan people will be weakened by the Huang people."
In the ancient times of Gai China, whether it was nomadic, agricultural, or each of them, they annexed each other by force or freely united, which was a frequent occurrence. The more and later such historical movements become, the larger the scale, and the more intense the mergers by force. The formation of the Yan and Huang groups is precisely the result of such a historical movement. However, the victory of the Yellow Emperor clan over the Yan emperor clan is a universal establishment of a relationship between conquest and subjugation. From this point of view, to understand what Mr. Lü called the "rise and fall of the fortunes of the world", we can clearly see that the great changes in this society are characterized by the exploitation of the conquered by the conquerors; and "the good ones are only the rule of the well-off." And if it cannot be maintained, it will enter into a chaotic world."
The differences and reasons for the living conditions of the Yan and Huang ethnic groups, the characteristics of the "small communist society of farming" in social life and organization, and the "conquest by the nomadic people, the occurrence of classes" and the consequent "fortunes" of the Yandi people are clearly and concisely explained. This kind of argument, which is both specific and general, can be seen everywhere in the General Theory of National History.
In 1935, all the teachers and students of the Chinese Literature Society, an academic extracurricular academic research organization of Guanghua University, took a group photo at the Guanghua University School on Daxi Road in Shanghai. Front row, fourth from right: Lu Simian; fifth from right: Zhang Shouyong; sixth from right: Jiang Weiqiao; seventh from right: Qian Jibo
III. The "Argument for Wei Wu" in the General Treatise on the History of the State excellently reflects Mr. Lü's unique style of knowing people and discussing the world. He said that the whole world said that Cao Cao was a traitor, that is, it was influenced by the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"; and the predecessor of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was storytelling, and the storyteller "always catered to the psychology of society; and an opinion, not in line with the psychology of the majority of the people, will never be popular to such a point", so it also reflects that the "degree of society at that time was low, not enough to know heroes". The main basis for Cao Cao's statement that Cao Cao was a hero (not a traitor) was the information revealed in the "Order of The Self-Hai": "His (first) is that he is afraid of having too many soldiers and does not dare to recruit more troops, which is the opposite of the warlords of later generations who seek to expand their armies and increase their own power." The scourge of the strife in the era of division is caused by this. Second, he honestly said that he could not leave the military power now, for fear of suffering from it, he had to make plans for his descendants. He also honestly admitted that he wanted to make his three sons canonized, thinking that he was a foreign aid. This is a hero of all time, never so frank. He who is bright in the world can speak frankly; he who conceals himself and embellishes himself without illness will not be faithful in his words. Modern big people, do more autobiography, we should use this kind of vision to judge him. ”
In society, there has always been a habit of looking down on the "theory of the student". However, the true theory of books cannot be underestimated. A historian like Mr. Li, who has a bright and pure heart, will have a sensitivity to the heart of the historical figures he is studying. It was precisely out of this sensitivity that Mr. Cao had no doubt that Cao Cao wanted to wait for the world to be at peace and then hand things over to Guo Jia, whom he valued and trusted. Therefore, for Guo Jia's illness and death, Cao Cao lamented that his life was not long, and Mr. Cao really had a kind of "sympathy for understanding". The gentleman said, "Where is the hero of the world, and his will is only for his own children and grandchildren?" The person who said this kind of thing saw that he himself was a villain, so the bird bird did not know the ambition of the bird. The feudal era had its dark side and its light side. Where is its bright side? The civil servants of the gongzhong and the samurai who sacrificed their lives and forgot their lives are its representatives. In Mr. Cao's view, Cao Cao is exactly this kind of "all-rounder of literature and martial arts" who is "loyal to the country" and "sacrifices his life and forgets his life". At this time, Mr. Cao and Cao Cao were "alone and loyal, and it was difficult to self-explanatory", standing on the same realm, and there was a profound innocence. His knowledge of the world is entirely out of sincerity. Geng Huali 's "Apology for Wei Wu", the selection is exquisite, and the insight and taste are also good.
In 1936, Lü Simian took a group photo with the Chinese Society (fourth from the left, 5th from the left)
The benefits of the "General Theory of National History" are not the above enumerations, which can be roughly estimated. However, after reading this book, I deeply feel that Mr. Lü has a very conspicuous feature in his discussion of history, that is, when commenting on historical events and figures, he can always proceed from the general trend of an era and make a comprehensive analysis of the occurrence of specific events and the characteristics of the times; at the same time, he can observe the characteristics of the times in a meticulous and meticulous way from the comprehensive analysis of events; and observe things according to the situation and look at the situation with facts.
For example, Sir on the "feudal spirit". It is said that in his time, "the spirit of the ruling class has two most important qualities: one is martial courage, and the other is not profitable." Only if it is not good, the rich and the noble cannot be adulterous, and the poor and the lowly cannot be moved; only if they can be brave, they cannot be mighty. This is the reason why it is able to ascend to the top of the population and maintain the status of its ruling class." For another example, on the "study of chinese culture and rural studies" before the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, it is said that "one is entered by the nobility and the other is entered by the commoners", "when you enter the township school, you have the opportunity to enter the national study; when you enter the national study, the way to enter the country is also here", and the "advantages of the education of the common people (the village study) are cut to the life of the people." The disadvantage is that the traditional views (Ming Renrenren) are imparted to future generations without imparting higher intellect", and only in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty can "the intelligent people in the various organs combine the wisdom gained from their (i) experience and the religious philosophy passed down from (ii) Taixue into one, and scholarship can open a new era." On the other hand, when he commented that "Song Ru is not suitable for political undertakings," he said: "They still regard society as composed of individuals; they still regard the reform of the individual as the basis for improving society; they still pay attention to the heart" to reform the individual, "it is fundamentally reasonable to recognize the organization of society, only because people cannot be in this organization, each in his position, each doing his due responsibilities, so that it is not good", and "they do not know that the morality, ethics, and political system they advocate are contrary to this kind of regulation (authoritarian politics)," so Song Xue is not suitable for competition, but since the eleventh century, Chinese culture has been guided by it, so it is no wonder that it has to be insulted by outsiders." Of course, he also has a great affirmation of Song Ru, that is, after they advocated, "the integrity of the scholars is indeed far better than that of the previous generation", "If you say that you want to do some autonomous work in society, Song Ru seems to be very suitable."
The General Treatise on the History of the Nation consists of 347 articles, each of which has similar content and is under the relevant chapters and sections. Before each chapter and section, Mr. Lui's discussion is selected as an outline, which is the best written guide. Mr. Gu Jiegang once said that in the general history of China written by Mr. Lü, there are always many theories that break through the earth. Mr. Zhang Genghua's compilation of this "General Theory of the History of The Lu Simian Kingdom" can help us to appreciate its "stone breaking the sky".
Editor-in-Charge: Huang Xiaofeng
Proofreader: Ding Xiao