Sima Qian (a collection of Chinese sages' stories), by Liu Yinchang
Zhonghua Bookstore wants to produce a set of "Chinese Sage Character Stories", select some characters who have had an important impact on history, and present them to readers in the form of literature. I think it's a matter of immeasurable merit.
The sages have always existed in the classics in a tall image, which makes people feel respectful and distant. In the form of literature and popular language, it is necessary to highlight the words and deeds and images of these characters, so that they can have a more positive and extensive impact on the current society, which is quite necessary in the current reading situation.
I am a Chinese from teaching and research work in tang literature beforehand. Learning Chinese is for a literary dream. However, my studies after graduate school gradually shifted to the research type, and gradually drifted away from literary creation. I've always had a dream about literary creation.
Therefore, when my friend asked me if I would like to take over the writing of "Sima Qian" in the "Collection of Stories of Chinese Sages", I agreed almost without thinking.
The pain began. Literary expression is far from what I thought at first. Because I have been practicing "academic language" for a long time, I feel that the sentences I write have no texture. Coupled with the deviation in the understanding of the readers of this topic at the beginning, it was thought that it was a historical story created for children and teenagers, and the first draft was written as "children's literature".
When I was still feeling good about my easy-to-understand text, the editor sent an opinion on the manuscript: don't write children's literature, have a sense of history, like a trial "ordained" chapter.
The chapter "Ordained" is the text I tried to write after receiving the task. The reason why I wrote this chapter as a sample manuscript first is because during my college years, I read the "Taishi Gong Self-Introduction", and Sima Qian recorded the plot of his father Sima Tan's deathbed, which deeply touched me. So, when I tried to write this chapter, I immersed myself in it, and there was a sense of substitution that I could recognize.
Stills from "China in the Classics"
I am confident that combining my knowledge of Sima Qian and my experience of reading the "Records of History", I can vividly portray Sima Qian, making him jump on the paper and become a living life from history, rather than a written symbol that remains in the classics. However, the more I wrote down, the more difficult it became to find this kind of "portrayal". It may be because of the long-term reading of "normative" academic papers within the system, the kind of boring flat text that wears down my ability to express the world, or it may be that I have become accustomed to using a thousand-person thesis language to express my logical thinking, so that when I try to switch the channel of expression to write my language, I find that it is rarely spontaneous, but more of a pinch, scrutiny or even hard squeeze out.
So, after the editors put forward a lot of revision suggestions for the first draft, I decided to freeze the manuscript for a while and quiet myself, so that I could get out of the anxiety of the language.
Of course, due to the publication cycle requirements, this freezing cannot last long. Based on historical facts, not separated from the historical background, presenting the sense of history and the historical spirit of the characters in the writing, and never carrying the burden of "children's literature", it has become the principle for me to revise the first draft. In the process of revision, I reconsidered some vocabulary to make it more in line with the language habits of the Han Dynasty; rewrote the beginning of the work, trying not to be branchy and rich in historical vision; revised several narratives that did not conform to Sima Qian's chronology; and the last chapter, "Retirement", was almost rewritten.
The purpose of expressing the life deeds of historical figures in literary terms is, of course, to arouse the reader's interest in reading, so that they can understand the historical facts at the same time, but also get the experience of literary aesthetics. This kind of text that blends history and literature is too difficult to create, just like a person dancing in shackles, not only to dance out of rhythm and beauty, but also to be vigilant not to touch the shackles of historical facts. Sometimes, a beautiful dance can be danced in shackles, but the dance seems too sleek, almost a technical exercise - the core of the dance lacks a soul. Therefore, literary works with historical themes must not only be faithful to historical facts, but also be rich in literary color, but also have an inner soul. This soul is the author's understanding of historical figures and the understanding of historical events, which is often the crystallization of the reading experience and the author's own experience.
For the sake of this soul, I infused my own reading experience into it, striving to write my own understanding of Sima Qian. Different from academic papers, literary works are generally more taboo for authors to directly carry private goods to sell their own arguments in the works, but to darken the Chen Cang through the words and deeds of the characters in the works and even the rendering of the environment. Therefore, considering that in Sima Qian's time, many scholars had a strong idea of making meritorious contributions and leaving their names in the future generations, and Sima Qian himself also chanted that "a gentleman's sick man has no world and is not famous", I decided to make a little buffer against this kind of thinking, in order to show the transcendent realm brought about by Sima Qian's revision history in his later years.
In rewriting the chapter "Retirement", I deliberately placed a Taoist hermit in dialogue with Sima Qian, mainly to balance his strong idea of leaving a name for posterity. This arrangement is of course a literary fiction, but it is in line with the historical fact that Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, admired Taoism and even Sima Qian was deeply influenced by Taoist thought. Probably for other reasons, the editor eventually abridged Sima Qian's conversation with the hermit. For example, the following text was deleted:
"Doesn't sir feel that hiding in the mountains is like grass and trees, and although it will last forever, it will eventually disappear?" Sima Qian asked.
The old man glanced at the autumn grass outside the fence and said, "The foot must be born of Confucianism, and he values the name behind him." Old decay does not do such a look. As the Lord, his name is Bin. The name can be cultivated, and the body can enjoy the name. The body does not exist, the name will be attached? As a dry bone, indulging in fame, can dry bones be happy? Is the dry bone your own body? Therefore, it is better to live forever and look at it for a long time, and to nurture the heavens and years. ”
Sima Qian did not discuss the issues of body, life, and reputation with the elderly. But he felt that what the old man said also had a certain truth, but he really couldn't dispel the idea of leaving a name for the future generations.
The view of the value of life, that is, the view of life, is different from person to person. Even the same person, the pursuit of life when young and ignorant, and the view of life after more than half a hundred years, can naturally be very different. Which view of life is correct? There is no single correct standard. Therefore, Sima Qian's idea of leaving his name in the future when he was young knew that it had not changed. The reclusive elderly pursue health and longevity and are indifferent to fame and fortune, and there is also its reasonable space for existence. There is no right or wrong, and all things are self-sufficient. What's more, Sima Qian himself is still a huge contradiction.
All great people contain great contradictions. Whether or not contradictions can be integrated into a general harmony is a watershed between the mediocre and the great. Sima Qian's ambitions were great since childhood, but his fate in his life was uncertain, and the contradictions and entanglements in his heart were sometimes revealed in the writing of the "Records of History". He eventually endured the humiliation and burden, endured the pain of the collapse of his faith, and devoted his life to doing something that emulated Confucius and inherited his father's will- to write the "History of History".
Doing only one thing in his life, he eventually succeeded. Sima Qian wrote the "Records of History", which made Sima Qian an achievement. Books have become a model for canonical history. Man, become a saint of a thousand autumns.
"History" (Chinese Classics Collection)
Due to the needs of publishing and the standards of the editorial profession, there are still some small discrepancies between the text after the publication of Sima Qian and my final draft. Some of the text modifications are somewhat contrary to my original intentions, and even do not conform to the common sense of the "History of History". If it can be republished, I hope to revise these minor issues.
Although I was lucky enough to get a college teaching position, I am not a qualified mental worker. I like to read, I like to think, I like to chat privately with friends and students, I like to give lectures, but I don't like to write very much. A lot of questions, I want to understand, I can convince myself in my heart, even if it is, the most I can think of is to communicate with everyone verbally about the problems I have figured out.
In the future, I will change my past mistakes bitterly, not only eat mulberry leaves without spitting silk, but also absorb the knowledge and thoughts of others, and transform the "results" after thinking by myself, diligently express them in the form of words, and share my thoughts with more people.
"Sima Qian" is just the beginning for me. It made me think about how to pass on the results of academic research in a different way of expression that the public is happy to see. Write books for the general public.
You can't just talk about yourself.
For Sima Qian, you can not agree with the historical facts he describes, you cannot agree with his views, but you cannot but admire his words. Because Sima Qian's "Records of History" is a kind of historical description with temperature. Sima Qian may not provide you with a complete image of Sima Qian, nor can it provide you with a golden key to interpret the History of History, but it may provide you with a way to approach Shi Sheng and the History of History.
(Liu Yinchang, Doctor of Literature, Associate Professor of the College of Literature of Shaanxi Normal University, author of Sima Qian, a collection of stories of Chinese sages.) ）
| Further reading:
He has no worries about his own body, and does his best to | regardless of his own interests Read the story collection of Chinese sages "Shang Martingale"
How to lead young readers to touch the temperature of history | The authors of the "Collection of Stories of Chinese Sages" put it this way
"Chinese Character Stories": Reliable and credible, readable and praiseworthy
What kind of book is the "Chinese Character Stories Collection" that appeared on the news network on July 5
Scan the code to enter the official flagship store of Zhonghua Bookstore
Purchase the Chinese Sages StoryBook (Series 1, 15 Volumes + 20 Volumes)
(Co-ordinator: Lu Quan; Editor: Si Qi)