The Chinese people have a tradition of "cultivating history from generation to generation", and all the twenty-four histories except for this "History" were written by later generations, and I speculate that the general reason should not be the following, or both.
The first is the issue of positions.
The author of the history books is definitely a literati, and he is a relatively excellent literati, and in ancient times, such a person is most likely an official, and officials as upper-level people, even if they inevitably have some different opinions, but their position is at least generally on the side of the dynasty, so it seriously affects its objectivity.
In the "Records of History", although the record of Han Gaozu does not shy away from his rogue villainous side, he supports the illusory Mandate of Heaven, and what "dreams and gods meet" and "behead the white snake" and the like are recorded one by one, which is undoubtedly related to his reverence for the founding prince as a courtier of the Han Dynasty and the position that the dynasty adheres to the Mandate of Heaven.
The second is the issue of grievances.
The era is not long enough, and the writer is likely to have more or less related to the characters recorded in the book, and the pen will be biased.
There was once a saying that the reason why the story of the "Hongmen Banquet" was recorded in such detail - how the seats of several protagonists and how to speak, is because one of the protagonists, Fan Duo's descendants, and Tai Shi Gong are friends, which is certainly a good thing, but in the story, General Fan Duo showed too much heroism, I am afraid that it is not necessarily consistent with historical facts, and most of the friends of Tai Shi Gong beautified the ancestors.
Huo went to the stone horse before the sick tomb
In addition, the fact that heroes such as Wei Qing and Huo Fuyi were actually written into the "Biography of Delusional Luck" should also be related to the fact that their actions were different from Tai Shigong's political philosophy.
The third is the issue of evaluation.
There is a so-called "conclusive theory" in the evaluation of historical figures, but whether this "theory" is appropriate or not, it will go through the test of time, and without going through some years, some seemingly fair evaluations may be overturned - after all, there is a situation of "only being in this mountain".
Zhang Juzheng of the Ming Dynasty is an example of Ming, who was first given a title after his death, then reversed and was raided, and finally rehabilitated, which shows that there is no time for tempering, and it is really unreliable to rush to conclusions.
Zhang Juzheng died of illness, and Emperor Shenzong resigned from the dynasty for it, and gave him the title of Pillar State and was given the title of "Wen Zhong". On the fourth day after Zhang Juzheng's death, seven officials, including Yu Shilei frame, impeached Pan Sheng, and Emperor Shenzong ordered Pan Zhishi. Pan Sheng was recommended by Zhang Juzheng before his death, and his downfall showed Zhang Juzheng's fall of favor. Yan Guan also pointed the spearhead at Zhang Juzheng. Emperor Shenzong then ordered the raid on his home, and stripped him of his palace rank, forcing him to seize the seal book and the four generations of commandments he had given before his death, and to show the world his sins. Moreover, Zhang Juzheng was also on the verge of being whipped in a coffin. Family members either starved to death or were exiled, and Wanli ended further persecution under the pressure of public opinion. When Zhang Ju was alive, some of the officials he used were stripped of their posts or abandoned the city. In the second year of the Apocalypse (1622), the Emperor of the Apocalypse restored the official Yin for Zhang Juzheng.
The last point is the most deadly, that is, one's own safety.
If the above points only affect the quality of the history books, this affects the safety of the writer, and the other Taishi and his brother in the "Left Biography" are not lying in a pool of blood for this reason?
As a seminal general history, this tradition had not yet been formed at the time of creation, so it was written until the time when Sima Qian lived, and it is conceivable that it will be interfered with by these factors.
It is said that the "Xiaowu Benji" was originally called "Imagami Benji", which should have been recorded truthfully at the beginning, and it is said that Emperor Wu of Han was very angry after seeing it.
Emperor Wu of Han heard of his history and took the filial piety and his own chronicles, so he was furious and cut it. There are no records in the two epochs. (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
It is not known whether this record is true or false, but it is true that the Han Wu Benji was not passed down in the end.
Now I see that almost all of this article is recorded in the deeds of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who sealed Zen, sought immortals, and other superstitious deeds that were engaged in special activities. Looking back, it is only a paragraph about Emperor Wu of Han in the Book of Feng Zen that adds a beginning of about six crosses to pretend.
Emperor
There is a saying that although Emperor Wu of Han was historically juxtaposed with Qin Shi Huang, Tang Taizong, and Song Taizu (Qin Emperor Han Wu, Tang Zong Song Zu), in this record, his IQ was not high, and he was deceived by various gods and alchemists, which was completely inconsistent with his consistent image of wise divine martial arts.
To be fair, Emperor Wu of Han had made great achievements in his life, and even if Sima had recorded it, it would have been more meritorious than excessive. However, Emperor Wu of Han's self-esteem was too strong to tolerate any accusations, and he would rather have a bad reputation without a belly and remove his own article, but he did not know that he was replaced by such a thing, and he did not know what to do and feel: How can the image of a generation of male lords who have both merit and deeds be better than the image of a mediocre person who is single-minded and immortal, and everything is blinded by others.