When was sima qian born

Many Chinese scholars have and still do view how Confucius ordered his chronology as the ideal example of how history should be written, especially with regards to what he chose to include and to exclude; and his choice of words as indicating moral judgements Seen in this light, the Spring and Autumn Annals are a moral guide to the proper way of living. Sima took this view himself as he explained:.

It [ Spring and Autumn Annals ] distinguishes what is suspicious and doubtful, clarifies right and wrong, and settles points which are uncertain. It calls good good and bad bad, honours the worthy, and condemns the unworthy. It preserves states which are lost and restores the perishing family. It brings to light what was neglected and restores what was abandoned. Sima saw the Shiji as being in the same tradition as he explained in his introduction to chapter 61 of the Shiji where he wrote:.

They clung to righteousness and were pure in their deeds…yet they starved to death…Robber Chih day after day killed innocent men, making mincemeat of their flesh…But in the end he lived to a great old age.

For what virtue did he deserve this? Is this so-called 'Way of Heaven' right or wrong? To resolve this theodical problem, Sima argued that while the wicked may succeed and the good may suffer in their own life-times, it is the historian who ensures that in the end good triumphs.

Along these lines, Sima wrote:. Their policies laid great stress upon stratagems and shifts of power. Such a moralizing approach to history with the historian high-guiding the good and evil to provide lessons for the present could be dangerous for the historian as it could bring down the wrath of the state onto to the historian as happened to Sima himself.

As such, the historian had to tread carefully and often expressed his judgements in a circuitous way designed to fool the censor. Sima himself in the conclusion to chapter of the Shiji declared that he was a writing in this tradition where he stated:. Because in the latter case he was writing about his own times, he did not express his judgements frankly, but used subtle and guarded language.

Bearing this in mind, not everything that Sima wrote should be understood as conveying didactical moral lessons. In writing Shiji , Sima initiated a new writing style by presenting history in a series of biographies. His work extends over chapters — not in historical sequence, but divided into particular subjects, including annals, chronicles, and treatises — on music, ceremonies, calendars, religion, economics, and extended biographies.

Sima's work influenced the writing style of other histories outside of China as well, such as the Goryeo Korean history the Samguk Sagi. Sima adopted a new method in sorting out the historical data and a new approach to writing historical records. Reflecting these rigorous analytic methods, Sima declared that he would not write about periods of history where they was insufficient documentation.

When Sima encountered a story that could not be cross-checked with the Confucian classics, he systemically compared the information with other documents.

Sima mentioned at least 75 books he used for cross-checking. Furthermore, Sima often questioned people about historical events they had experienced. How different it was from the stories one hears! During one of this trips, Sima mentioned that he was overcome with emotion when he saw the carriage of Confucius together with his clothes and various other personal items that had belonged to Confucius.

Despite his very large debts to Confucian tradition, Sima was an innovator in four ways. In this regard, Sima was significant as the first Chinese historian to treat the peoples living to the north of the Great Wall like the Xiongnu as human beings who were implicitly the equals of the Middle Kingdom, instead of the traditional approach which had portrayed the Xiongnu as savages who had the appearance of humans, but the minds of animals.

Since , the English Wikipedia page of Sima Qian has received more than , page views. His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Sima Qian is the 4th most popular historian up from 7th in , the 10th most popular biography from China up from 14th in and the most popular Chinese Historian.

Among historians, Sima Qian ranks 4 out of For all these reasons, we will close this course with the reign of Wu-di, and later close these readings with an account of Sima Qian himself. Ban Gu Pan Ku, A. But he was an intelligent and eclectic man, and he had his son study widely. Among the teachers to whom he sent Sima Qian was Dong Zhongshu, who would have been at the height of his influence at that time. From the most ancient times they were eminent and renowned when in the days of Yu and the Xia they were in charge of astronomical affairs.

In later ages our family declined. Will this tradition end with me? If you in turn become grand historian, you must continue the work of your ancestors. Filiality begins with the serving of your parents; next you must serve your sovereign; finally, you must make something of yourself so that your name may go down through the ages to the glory of your father and mother.

This is the most important aspect of filiality. The house of Han has arisen and all the world is united under one rule. I have been grand historian, and yet I have failed to make a record of all the enlightened rulers and wise lords, the faithful ministers and gentlemen who were prepared to die for what was right.

I am fearful that the historical materials will be neglected and lost. You must remember and think of this! Sima Qian records his own tearful response, in which he pledged that he would do as his father wished.

From the time that Sima Tan died in until his own death about the year 90 B. Li Ling was associated with certain factions at court, and their enemies seized the occasion of his failure to excoriate him in the hope of discrediting others. Consequently, he ordered that Sima Qian be sentenced to castration. There existed two possible alternatives to undergoing the punishment of castration, which was the most shameful of all punishments short of execution. The first was to redeem his sentence through a cash payment such as was noted in our examination of Qin law.

The second was to follow the code of the gentleman and commit suicide. Unfortunately, the redemption price for his sentence was simply beyond his means. And to commit suicide, while honorable before the world, meant that Sima Qian would be forswearing his deathbed promise to his father, and act whose unfiliality was past measure.

In the end, Sima Qian chose to suffer disgrace, aware that he would be regarded as a coward not only for having failed to take his life honorably, but also for having behaved in this way as a consequence of defending a man who had likewise chosen dishonor over suicide.

It is 99 B. On China's northern frontier, imperial forces have surrendered to barbarians. At court, the news is greeted with shock. The emperor is raging. But an upstart official defies court etiquette by speaking up for the defeated general. I felt sick at heart to see it," writes Sima Qian in a letter to a friend afterwards. The general had committed treason by surrendering.

And Sima Qian had committed treason by defending him. Sima Qian tells his friend his body is not made of wood or stone. To his contemporaries, death was the only honourable option but Sima Qian had a bigger audience in mind than the Chinese court of the 1st Century B. He was writing a history of humanity for posterity.

Sima Qian's father had been court historian before him and had started the project. On his sickbed, with both of them in tears, the father extracted from the son a promise to complete the epic work. So he chose castration. That death may be as weighty as Mount Tai or it may be as light as a goose feather. It all depends on the way he uses it. He talks instead of going down to the "silkworm chamber". It was already well known that a castrated man could easily die from blood loss or infection so after mutilation the victims were kept like silkworms in a warm, draught-free room.

Sima Qian never recovered from the humiliation. Every time I think of this shame I find myself drenched in sweat. Our duties kept us busy in different offices and we had never so much as sipped a cup of wine together or enjoyed the slightest pleasure of friendship.

But I observed that he conducted himself with extraordinary self-possession. He was filial towards his parents, trustworthy with his colleagues, scrupulously honest in matters of finance, upright in exchanges with others, deferential in matters of precedence, respectful, modest, and humble.

His thoughts were always animated by selfless devotion to the needs of his country — this was his way, and I saw in him the very image of a statesman. Sima Qian ca. His definitive work laid the foundation for later Chinese historiography. Early life and education Sima Qian was born and grew up in Longmen , near present-day Hancheng, Shaanxi. He was raised in a family of historiographers. His main responsibilities were managing the imperial library and calendar watching for national day.

Under the influence of his father, at the age of ten, Sima Qian was already well versed in old writings. At the age of twenty, with the support of his father, Sima Qian started a journey throughout the country, collecting useful first-hand historical records for his main work, "Shiji".

The purpose of his journey was to verify the ancient rumors and legends and to visit ancient monuments, including the renowned graves of the ancient sage kings Yu and Shun. After his travels, he was chosen to be a Palace Attendant in the government whose duties were to inspect different parts of the country with Emperor Han Wudi. In BC, at the age of thirty-five, Sima Qian was sent westward on a military expedition against some "barbarian" tribes.

That year, his father fell ill and could not attend the Imperial Feng Sacrifice. Suspecting his time was running out, he summoned his son back to complete the historical work he had begun. Sima Tan wanted to follow the " Annals of Spring and Autumn " - the first chronicle in the history of Chinese literature. In BC, Sima was among the scholars chosen to reform the calendar.

As a senior imperial official, Sima was also in the position to offer counsel to the emperor on general affairs of state. Emperor Han Wudi attributed the defeat to Li Ling, and all the officials in the government condemned Li Ling for the defeat.

Sima was the only person to defend Li Ling, who had never been his friend but whom he respected. At that time, execution could be commuted either by money or castration. Since Sima did not have enough money to atone his "crime", he chose the latter and was then thrown into prison, where he endured three years.

He described his pain thus: "When you see the jailer you abjectly touch the ground with your forehead.