For a long time, our understanding of the history and culture of ancient times has mainly relied on the immortal masterpiece "Historical Records".
Although the characters and deeds of the ancient period may still be in the "legend" stage, in Sima Qian's description, this legendary era still left a good impression of "ruling by the arch and ruling the world", especially the story of Yao, Yu and Shun Chan making the sage, which is still praised by the world.
However, with the enrichment of historical knowledge, people also began to question the objectivity of the Historical Records. After all, the "Historical Records" records more than 3,000 years of history, which covers nearly 100 years of history from the beginning of the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty to the first four years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
So, is his historical record before the Western Han Dynasty objective? At this time, a "backbone-level" history book was "picked up". As soon as this ancient book came out, it attracted a lot of people's attention, because its content was simply "far from the same" from the statement of the "Historical Records".
Some people even believe that "historical records have deceived us" and "the concept of history has been subverted". But in fact, it is impossible to completely restore the real history, and we can only get as close to it as possible.
Moreover, we cannot easily dismiss either point of view, because there are not only two sides to history. Today, we are going to introduce this ancient book - "Bamboo Book Chronicle", what is its origin?
Why does its record compete with the "Historical Records"? What are the inconsistencies between its record and the Records of the Historians? It is understood that the "Bamboo Book Chronicle" is a document in an ancient tomb of the Wei State unearthed during the Warring States Period 1700 years ago.
This "Bamboo Book Chronicle" is not unearthed in modern times, but originated in the Western Jin Dynasty 1,700 years ago.
At that time, a tomb robber named Bu was digging ancient tombs from the Warring States period in his hometown of Ji County, thinking that he would find precious treasures, but when he entered the tomb, he only saw mountains of bamboo slips, and there were no imaginary treasures.
Unwilling to return empty-handed, he picked up the scattered wooden tablets as torches and began to search for valuable burial goods in the tomb. When the local people found out that someone had robbed the tomb, they quickly reported it to the government.
When the government learned of this, it immediately sent people to deal with it, and at the same time, a large number of bamboo slips in the tomb were unearthed. According to records, there were dozens of carts of these bamboo slips.
When Emperor Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty learned of this, he sent a large number of scholars to translate these bamboo slips, and finally found that these bamboo slips recorded the historical events of King Xiang of Wei during the Warring States Period, and the script used was the script used by the Wei State before the unification of the Qin State.
This "Bamboo Book Chronicle" originally had a total of 13 articles, and the historical events of the Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn Period, and the Warring States Period were narrated in chronological order.
Although the book did not receive much attention at the time, its preciousness lies in the chronological narrative and the fact that it contains historical events from the Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn periods, and the Warring States period.
The "Bamboo Book Chronicle" we see today is from the Western Jin Dynasty 1700 years ago, and the interpretations made by many first-class scholars such as Xun Xun, He Qiao, Wei Heng, Shu Hui, Zhang Hua, Du Pre, Zhiyu, Wang Jie, etc., have gradually been lost.
You may not know that there are actually two versions of the book we see today, both of which are not the original. One is called "The Chronicle of Ancient Books and Bamboo Books", which is a book that scholars search for the content of the original book in other ancient books, rearrange it, and compile it into a book.
The other is called "This Bamboo Book Chronicle", an earlier Tianyi Pavilion inscription in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and people have always regarded this edition as a recompilation of the original version. However, there is a clear difference between the records of the Bamboo Book Chronicle and the Historical Records.
According to the "Historical Records", Emperor Yao passed the throne to his son-in-law Shun after some investigation because of his son Danzhu's loss of morality.
Shun was pushy at first, but after Yao's death, the princes did not go to see Danzhu, and they all came to see Shun, so Shun thought that this was "providence" and succeeded to the throne.
Yaozi Danzhu is not good, not enough to give the world, so the right to give Shun, then the world will benefit. Yao said'In the end, he will not benefit one person with the preparation of the world', but will give Shun the world.
Yao collapsed, after three years of mourning, Shun let Pi Dan Zhu in the south of the South River. The princes who make pilgrimages do not praise Danzhu but Shun, those who advocate do not praise Danzhu and Shun, and those who sing praises do not praise Danzhu but praise Shun.
Shun said'Heaven also', and then China practiced the position of the Son of Heaven, which was for Emperor Shun. Judging from the above narrative, Emperor Yao was selfless and abdicated to make way for Xian, and Emperor Shun was modest and cautious, passively accepting the throne, and the process of power transfer was full of a peaceful atmosphere.
However, the Bamboo Book Chronicle records a completely different version, saying that Shun imprisoned Yao and seized his throne, while also banishing Yao's son Danzhu.
These accounts subvert the image of the peaceful and noble Yao Shun Chanrang in the "Records of the Historians", revealing the conspiracy and bloodshed of the transfer of power.
There is still controversy about whether Yu is Chan to Yu Yi or whether it is passed on to Qi.
Whether Taijia killed Yi Yin or not is a controversial issue in history. Some historical sources believe that Taijia killed Yi Yin, but others believe that there was no direct conflict or contradiction between them.
The question is still inconclusive.
In order to let Taijia correct his mistakes, Yi Yin placed him in Tonggong, the cemetery of Chengtang, and he and the ministers ** ruled. Three years later, Taijia repented and reformed, and Yi Yin returned to him and continued to assist him.
After Yi Yin died, he was buried in Bodu by the Son of Heaven and enshrined as"Shang Yuansheng"。Emperor Zhongren collapsed after four years on the throne, and Yi Yin then established Tai Ding's son Tai Jia. However, the Bamboo Book Chronicle records a different version.
After Zhongren ascended the throne, he killed Yi Yin, and Yi Yin exiled Taijia to Tonggong and became king himself. After Yi Yin ascended the throne, he exiled Taijia for seven years, and after Taijia escaped from Tong Palace, he killed Yi Yin and set up his two sons.
Taijia eventually killed Yi Yin and personally appointed his son. Why is there such a huge difference between the "Historical Records" and the "Bamboo Book Chronicle"?
This is mainly due to the differences in chronology, background, and perspective recorded in the two books, which have led to different interpretations and descriptions of the same event.
For example, the two also have different records of major events such as whether Wen Ding killed Ji Li, whether Zheng Huan Gong was the son of King Zhou Li or King Xuan of Zhou, and the republican government. These differences reflect the diversity and complexity of historical documents.
I have some ideas, first of all, to classify the history books in chronological order. Personally, I think that the "Records of the Historians" is an important watershed in it, and the historical record after that is clearer.
Prior to this, some history books were relatively complex and obscure. For example, before the advent of writing, ancient ancestors recorded their daily experiences through songs, and the legendary Three Emperors and Five Emperors first appeared in these songs and myths.
In the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties, people began to use oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, and ancient books, such as the Book of Shang, the Book of Changes, and the Book of Songs, to record major events.
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Zhuzi Baijia began to write books and say that the historical materials of the pre-Qin period were very rich, but because Qin Shi Huang's fire burned many documents, not many are left now.
Among them, the "Bamboo Book Chronicle" is a very valuable historical book, its original Jane was buried in the ground, so it survived. Although there may be differences in the views of the Bamboo Book Chronicle and the Historical Records, the authors of both books may have chosen different viewpoints when obtaining historical materials.
By the time of the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian had studied Confucian intellectual culture, while the author of the Bamboo Book Chronicle lived in an era of Confucian exclusion, which may have influenced their views.
In addition, the authors of the two books have different ideological orientations, which can also lead to some deviations. For example, although the Spring and Autumn Period and the Zuo Chuan record the same historical events, the Zuo Chuan enriches the details and background of the events, while the Bamboo Book Chronicle focuses more on the essence of the events.
For the authenticity of the Bamboo Book Chronicle, some bronze inscriptions can be used as a reference, but the final judgment still needs to understand the text and grasp the historical background. February** Dynamic Incentive Program