In the long river of Chinese history, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang's struggle for world domination is regarded as one of the ancient classics, however, this title points out a mysterious figure hidden behind history, he is considered Xiang Yu's greatest enemy, which makes Liu Bang deeply jealous, and even Sima Qian does not dare to write about it.
Who is this mysterious figure?What impact did his appearance have on the historical trend of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang?Why is Liu Bang jealous of him, and why doesn't Sima Qian dare to involve his deeds?
In this mysterious fog of history, we will pursue this great enemy hidden behind history, uncover his true identity and his gripping story in ancient history.
In 206 BC, after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu led their respective forces and launched a fierce competition. For more than four years, the two sides won and lost several times, and finally formed Xiang Yu to occupy the Central Plains and claim to be the overlord of Western ChuLiu Bang retreated to a corner of Bashu and returned to the situation of Hanzhong.
However, the heavens did not grant the wish. In the winter of 202 BC, Liu Bang led an army to raid Guanzhong, defeating Xiang Yu's general Sima Xin in one fell swoop and gaining the strategic initiative. The following year, Liu Bangqin led a large army to the east and quickly occupied the counties of Hebei. In June of the same year, the two armies fought a full-scale decisive battle at Julu.
At the beginning of the battle, Liu Bangduo won many victories, and Xiang Yu fell into a situation of rout on all fronts. However, at this time, the Han army suddenly suffered from a shortage of rations, and its morale was slightly low. Xiang Yu seized the opportunity and joined forces with Tian Rong, the king of Qi, and Peng Yue, the king of Liang, to raid the Han army and won a complete victory. Liu Bang himself was almost captured, so he had to lead the remnants to withdraw in embarrassment and retreat to Guanzhong.
For a time, the world was full of voices waiting and seeing, believing that the Chu army would win a great victory in this battle, and the Han would definitely not be supported. However, after suffering a heavy blow this time, Liu Bang did not get discouraged and flinched in the slightest. Instead, he went to the front line, rectified the army's appearance, inspired the army's morale, and swore to the Central Plains.
At the same time, there was a person who was also paying close attention to the battle situation between Chu and Han. This person is the historian Sima Qian.
Born into a family of historians, Sima Qian grew up well-read and dabbled in historiography and history. His father, Sima Tan, was a well-known scholar at the time, covering astronomy, geography, yin and yang, and many other studies. After Qin Shi Huang burned books and pit Confucianism, Sima Tan teamed up with other scholars to teach in seclusion in the south of the Yangtze River, nourishing his mind and calming his mind, and brewing the hearts of the remnants. Sima Qian also grew up in this environment, and he was very knowledgeable.
Sima Qian has been enlightened since childhood, erudite and talented. In his early years, he served as a historian. He has been reading for many years, has seen a lot, and has accumulated a wealth of historical and humanistic knowledge. On the other hand, he also paid attention to current affairs and participated in the work of Taishi Ling Yangxiong in compiling and revising history books. But after many years of running for the official career, he found that he was controlled by others, unable to give full play to his talents, and felt very difficult.
In the past few years of the struggle between Chu and Han, Sima Qian's heart has set off waves. He was fascinated by the great Xing'an Mountains, the volunteer soldiers who destroyed the Qin Dynasty, and even more courageous in the ups and downs and dangerous contests between the two heroes. He seemed to see that this battle would determine the fate of the princes' melee and open up a new world. This coincided with his germinating historiographical ambitions.
So, in July of the fifth year of the Han Dynasty (202 BC), that is, just after the end of the Battle of Julu, Sima Qian made a choice - to leave the officialdom and devote himself to his historical writings. This is the "Historical Records" praised by later generations.
As a pioneering work, "Historical Records" established Sima Qian's position in history. However, it is not only the academic value of history, but what is more worthy of thought is that Sima Qian's "Historical Records" directly influenced the process of the Chu and Han dynasties for hegemony and rewrote the outcome of history.
As a wise and sagacious historian, Sima Qian judged the current situation accurately and forethoughtfully. Perhaps he himself saw a glimmer of hope for a turnaround in his heart.
He foresaw that Xiang Yu was ambitious and would definitely be the emperor;This kind of rule by careerists can only bring civil strife and disaster in the end. In contrast, although Liu Bang also has the will to play, he knows how to conform to the will of the people, and he must abandon the Qin system and implement a policy of relaxation in order to establish a foundation for long-term peace and stability.
For this reason, Sima Qian did not hesitate to risk the world's condemnation and expressed his position between the lines of the "Historical Records". He did not directly point out Xiang Yu's various faults, but used the technique of text metaphor to let readers understand and make judgments on their own through the form of objective narrative.
For example, when describing the battle of Julu, Sima Qian highlighted Xiang Yu's recklessness and conceit of repeatedly underestimating the enemy and finally defeating him. This undoubtedly reveals the inadequacy of Xiang Yu's commander's talent, and it is difficult to control the overall situation.
When portraying Liu Bang, Sima Qian focused on showing his unswerving will and quality even if he lost, as well as his steady control of the army's heart. This invisibly creates a strong contrast, which indirectly shows Liu Bang's superiority.
This kind of narrative technique of subtle words and righteousness is exactly what Sima Qian is good at using words and ideologies. He knows very well that expressing too bluntly will not have the opposite effect. On the contrary, it is the obscure and tortuous penmanship, which can stimulate the reader's thinking and enlighten the mind.
Sure enough, after the "Historical Records" came out, it quickly had an impact between Chu and Han. The commanders of both sides were impressed by Sima Qian and his history books, and they were not angry and arrogant.
After Liu Bang learned about the record, he was amazed from the bottom of his heart. He realized that Sima Qian's brushwork, although obscure, was better than thought-provoking. Such a subtle text is more shocking than a straightforward summary, and people can't help but feel awe.
At the same time, Liu Bang also understood that Sima Qianzheng tried to influence ** through text rendering, stimulate readers to compare himself with Xiang Yu, and make everyone in the world realize that he is the real monarch candidate.
In this regard, Liu Bang is also very clear in his heart. After he vaguely noticed the bias in Sima Qian's pen, he was immediately impressed by this person, and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. For a while, he was also thinking about whether to try to control Sima Qian, or let him write a proper history for himself.
On the other side, Xiang Yu was furious after reading the relevant content of "Historical Records". He was keenly aware of what was being pointed between the lines, and felt deeply ridiculed and toyed with. Especially the description of some of his words and deeds, which made him see his blood surging.
However, Xiang Yu also understood that this was just a metaphor in words, and there was no substantive sin, and Sima Qian was conceited with his talents, his prestige was transcendent, and he had nothing to do. As a result, he had to endure and let it exert influence, but he also secretly strengthened his surveillance to prevent further transgressions.
It can be said that Sima Qian, with his unique words and sentences, as well as rich historical materials, successfully affected the rhythm of the struggle between Chu and Han and manipulated the antagonistic emotions of Chu and Han.
This also indirectly affected the course of the entire battle situation. Under the encouragement of Sima Qian's words, Liu Bang became more and more disdainful of the condescending Xiang Yu, and at the same time became more confident and determined. This just made up for the blow brought to him by the defeat in the Battle of Julu, so that after solving the problem of food and forage for the follow-up soldiers, he re-attacked with high morale, and finally succeeded in turning the tide.
And after Xiang Yu lost his foothold in Guanzhong, he also fell into an increasingly passive situation. When Dingtao in Anhui Province was besieged by the Han army, he remembered Sima Qian's understatement and ridicule of himself in the text, and he couldn't help but be angry again, and cut off his left arm and died in anger, and finally achieved the eternal stability of the Han king.
To sum up, it can be said that Sima Qian is the key to the death of the deer between Chu and Han in the Warring States period. With his profound knowledge and exquisite writing skills, he directly changed the course of history and gave the world to Liu Bang and the Han Dynasty.
Sima Qian used his pen to record history, and he used his pen to create historyAs a historian, he has both, and his achievements are great. His "Historical Records" laid the foundation of historiography, which has been passed down through the ages, and he himself has also been famous in history and forever in the empire, as Sima Guang later commented: "The extreme of historical writing has Sima Qian."
In the 2,000 years since, countless historians, politicians, and scholars have drawn nourishment from Sima Qian's works. Perhaps, it is the narrative mode laid down by his "Historical Records" that enlightens the profound connotation of China's later culture. He used words to touch the mind and educate the public, and this spirit ran through the development of Chinese civilization.
Today, standing in the long river of history and looking back, we must continue to think: Is it the words that make history, or the history that makes the words?The duty of a historian is to record or participate?And what path should we take to carry the spirit of this nation?