Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty lived from 145 - 90 BC, by best estimates. He was the first major historian of Chinese history, and his obsession with getting all the history extant recorded in one place was such that when he offended the Emperor, he submitted to the strong dishonor of castration rather than committing honorable suicide, so he could complete his works.

The original impetus for the work he penned was undertaken by his father, Sima Tan (d. 110 BC). It was to come to be called the Shi Ji, translated variously as The Records of the Grand Historian or (more likely, and simply) Historical Records. Sima Tan may have initiated the first writings for this work. He held the office of Grand Historian in the court of Emperor Wu, Han Dynasty. Most of Sima Tan's duties involved astronomy, astrology, and calendars. According to the records, Sima Qian took on the role of completing this record at his father's dying behest.

Sima Qian dove into his research and writings as a man obsessed.

Seven years after his father's death, Sima Qian ran afoul of court affairs.

At this time in history, the nomadic Xiongnu north of China were raiding China proper. Emperor Wu sent massive military outpourings out against the raiders. One of these missions was led by one Li Ling, who made a strong headway against the enemy, but who finally surrendered out of necessity. The emperor, outraged that he did not die in battle, made his point plain. Of all his court, only Sima Qian spoke up about Li Ling's bravery and strength of character. For this, he was considered near-treasonous, tortured, and finally condemned to castration. Those condemned were given the chance to take the honorable way out, and kill themselves; Sima Qian again flaunted expectations, and for the sake of his Shi Ji, he did not. The result, besides lack of manhood, and the pain of castration without benefit of anesthesia, was to be humiliated and known as a man with a lack of honor, in a society where the virtue of honor was paramount.

In a letter he wrote to a friend, he spoke of the humiliation, the lack of honor, the disappearance of friends even before his sentence was carried out, the fact that his father's astronomical activities were considered on par, perhaps, with that of the court musicians and jesters - something of entertainment, and of no deep matter. He writes:

"A man has only one death. That death may be as weighty as Mount Tai, or it may be as light as a goose feather. It all depends upon the way he uses it. Above all, a man must bring no shame to his forebearers. Next he must not shame his person, or be shameful in his countenance, or in his words. Below such a one is he who suffers the shame of being bound... Below again is the shame of mutilated flesh and severed limbs. Lowest of all is the dire penalty of castration, the 'punishment of rottenness'.,,, But the reason I have continued to live, dwelling in vileness and disgrace without taking leave, is that I grieve that I have things in my heart I have not been able to express fully, and I am shamed to think that after I am gone my writings will not be known to posterity... When I have truly completed this work I will deposit it in the Famous Mountain archives. If it may be handed down to those who will appreciate it, then though I should suffer a thousand mutilations, what regret would I have? Such matters as these may be discussed with a wise man, but it is difficult to explain them to ordinary people" ⁽¹⁾

The History covers 2000 years of events, and in many instances provides the only direct source for things we know about early Chinese history. It also discusses regions outside of China, but known to the Chinese.

It starts with the "Basic Annals" - the Dynasties of China. The Han Dynasty is separated out into chapters on distinct rulers. Chapters on "Hereditary Houses" discuss feudal rulers. "Treatises" discuss astronomy, music, religion, and so forth. The "Biographies" disuss important people in China.

While some of the earliest history has yet to be confirmed, and there is much that might well be mythological, Sima Qian's own sources appear to be accurate from at least the late Shang onward. Much information prior to the Qin Dynasty is forever lost, as the First Emperor (Qin Shi Huangdi) through his agent Li Si caused it to be burnt (213 BC), unless it related to specialized skills, not history. Divination, medicine and agriculture were all except from the destruction. So much as discussing such works as the Odes or Documents could result in execution. Works of philosophy were also essentially expunged from existence. The Emperor let it be known that there was, and should be, only one authority, and it was is in his hands alone. However, he did decree that one copy of each book should be placed in his own Qin Library. By 195 BC, the edict was rescinded, but the Qin Library, with its one remaining copy of many of the forbidden books, was destroyed in an attack from an outlying district during civil war that destroyed the city housing the library.

By the time the Han Dynasty was in power and was interested in reconstruction, this lost knowledge had become valuable. Elderly scholars were in demand for what they might remember. Some of these had memorized passages by heart, and their information was thus transcribed.

Sometimes, old concealed manuscripts were found in the walls of houses before their owners fled during Qin times. Some of these were revealed as forgeries, for money was exchanged for their retrievals. Or, scholars could live a lifetime on the teachings found in recovered manuscripts, usually adding their own commentary to the earlier works, or to the forgeries. The Han historical legacy of material from its own past is filled with genuine material, reconstructive guesses, snippets of forgery, and the accretion of commentary.

While the role of the Historian during Han times, even during the reign of Emperor Wu, was a reasonably highly regarded position, it did not provide Sima Qian with enough wealth to acquire him his freedom from his sentence. Granted, it may be that the amount oof wealth required would be considerable - he had, after all, offended the Emperor himself. It was a structured world, where the level of wealth and physical health meant something. Those men who'd lost limbs or had other deformities were deemed less than whole men. It was also a world where the pursuit of knowledge, to understand the past, perhaps to shed light on the Han present, was of serious value.

The Shi Ji, despite the author's shame, was immediately recognized by other scholars as the truly great work it was, and future Han historians drew upon it in their own discourses and records.

References for this article:

Qian, Sima: Records of the Grand Historian: Qin Dynasty. Current Translation, 1993, by Burton Watson. Columbia University Press, New York. ISBN 0-231-08169-3.

Gascoigne, Barbara: The Dynasties of China, 2003.Carroll & Graf, New York. ISBN 0-7867-1219-8.

Shang, Genji, Historian Sima Qian.

Sima Qian

Quotes:

(1) From text of letter to Ren An; see Qian: Records of the Grand Historian, above.

<-prev | home | next->