<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > This issue talks about why the Zizhi Tongjian was written from the twenty-third year of King Zhou Weilie (403 BC) </h1>
Generally speaking, whether it is the main history or the wild history, or the general history of the chronicle or the national style, most of the people who write books write in chronological order. The "Records of History" was written from the Yellow Emperor to the Han Wu Emperor, while the "Zizhi Tongjian" was written from king Zhou Weilie to the fifth generation of Zhou Shizong Xiande for six years. Why did Sima Qian not start writing from the Yellow Emperor or the first King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, but from King Weilie of Zhou? What kind of consideration was Sima Guang at that time?
The Zizhi Tongjian begins with the description of the "Three Houses and Jins" in the "Zhou Ji", and writes such a passage: "The Zhou Chamber is weak, and the Three Jins are strong, although they want to allow it, can they get it?" Yes or no. Although Fu Sanjin was strong, if he committed a righteous and abusive act in disregard of the world's curse, he would not be invited to the Son of Heaven and would stand on his own. To stand on one's own feet without being invited to the Son of Heaven is a disobedient subject. The king of the world, the king of literature, will be honored with courtesy and righteousness. Now please be to the Son of Heaven and the Son of Heaven to promise it, it is by the order of the Son of Heaven to be for the princes, and whoever gets it! Therefore, the three jin are listed among the princes, not the bad gifts of the three jin, but the son of heaven is also bad. ”
"Three Families Divided into Jin" refers to the event that in the late Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin state was divided by the three forces of its own country, "Han, Zhao, and Wei", so Han, Zhao, and Wei were also known as the "Three Jins". In this passage, the most crucial thing is the last sentence: "Therefore, the three jin are listed among the princes, not the bad etiquette of the three jin, but the son of heaven is also bad." After the "three families were divided into Jin", Zhou Tianzi crowned these three families that had oversteped their power as princes and gave them legitimacy. Sima Guang believed that the "three families were divided into Jin" and recognized by Zhou Tianzi were the key to the decline of the Zhou Dynasty.
Sima Guang began to write from this year, and it had the effect of alerting the king. Chairman Mao's secretary, Meng Jinyun, once asked Chairman Mao: Why did the Zizhi Tongjian not begin to be written from the beginning of history, but began with the twenty-third year of King Zhou Weilie?
Chairman Mao replied: "The reason why Sima Guang wrote from the twenty-third year of King Zhou Weilie is because a major event occurred in Chinese history in this year, or Sima Guang believes that a major event occurred. In this year, Zhou Tianzi appointed the three families of Han, Zhao, and Wei as princes, and this recognition did not matter, so that the originally illegal division of the three families became legitimate, and Sima Guang believed that this was the key to the decline of the Zhou Dynasty. 'It is not the bad rites of the Three Jins, but the Son of Heaven who is self-destructive'. This matter of choosing this year is the first part of the Tongjian, which is the opening and clear meaning, and it is completely relevant to the title of the Zizhi Tongjian. The following is not legal, and the above also admits that it seems that this Zhou Tianzi has no principles and no right and wrong. Nothing is nothing, of course it must be chaotic. This is called the upper beam is not right and the lower beam is crooked. Any country is the same, you dare to come above, why are you honest below, this is called things must come, and it is reasonable. ”
Chairman Mao read the Zizhi Tongjian seventeen times, and he continued to read it until his death. Gu Yanwu called it a must-have book in the world, zeng guofan in the qing dynasty: "Stealing the book of the ancestors and astonishing the world, Mo is good at Sima Wenzhenggong's "Zizhi Tongjian", and its ancient theories are eclectic and open-minded." Chairman Mao commented: "Seventeen times." Every reading is very rewarding. A rare good book... There are two great books in China, one is the "Records of History" and the other is the "Zizhi Tongjian", both of which are written by talented people in the context of political disillusionment... The "Tongjian" writes about war, which is really written with vigor and vigor, very expressive, and full of dialectics. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > updated every day, please pay attention to, this issue is here, the next issue of combing and talking about "three branches of Jin". </h1>