East Asian: The Records of the Great Historian and The History of the Former Han Dynasty - Essay Example

The Records of the Grand Historian was written from 109 B.C. to 91 B.C. It can be considered as the pinnacle of the writings of Sima Qian. The work records the history of China from the times of the mythical Yellow Emperor until his period. It is considered as the first systematically written historical Chinese text and it greatly influenced succeeding Chinese historiography. Many compare Sima Qian's work to that of Herodotus' Historiai. The Records of the Historian gave Qian the opportunity to record history as he saw and interpreted it. It was his father, Sima Tan, who began the project requested him to write it after the old man's death. Qian had the prerogative to choose who, what, why and how things happened in his history. Qian chose to quote his sources as much as possible. An example is the account of the attempt made by Jing Ke on the life of the first Chinese emperor, which was an eyewitness account by the great-grandfather of his father's friend, who served as a low-ranked bureaucrat at court of Qin and happened to be attending the diplomatic ceremony for Jing Ke. Qian also created highly probable and consistent events even when there were none available. His work eventually consisted of 130 chapters about Dynastic houses, the biographies of the Han emperors, dates of events, descriptions of rites and rituals, music, and various other topics of interest. Also included were the histories of the states which existed during pre-Qin China and the biographies of other important personages in history. Before The Records of the Grand Historian, historical texts tended to downplay the role and events from other dynasties and played up their own. This tendency was also present in Sima Qian's historiography. Qian portrayed the Han dynasty as having the Mandate of Heaven and gave lesser importance to the dynasties that preceded it. Among the features that Qian emphasized in his work was the ascendant character of the Han Dynasty. Consequently, he depicted the preceding Qin dynasty, which was Legalist, as evil and as such deserved to be replaced by the Han which prescribed to Confucianism. This theme is recurrent in his biographies which often contained moral lessons and anecdotes. Qian also took every opportunity to point out that Legalist ideals which were abundant and commonplace in the Qin Dynasty did not benefit anyone unlike Confucian ideals which redounded to benefits for the people. Examples of these biographies which justified the ascendant moral plane of the Han were the Chen She, Han Xin and the Empress Lu. This bias of Qian's against the Qin dynasty is fairly evident throughout The Records of the Grand Historian. Qian's favorable disposition towards Confucianism is explained by his belief that it is a more preventive means by which to keep peace among the peasants. He believes that fair, just and moral rulers will beget fair, just and moral peasants for them to rule. This common nature when achieved among both rulers and peasants would result in peace, according to Qian's beliefs. In contrast, he believes that the Legalist approach is able to preserve peace through the rule of a tyrannical government. He contends that a tyrannical government places all its constituents, peasants, nobles and ministers alike, under threat of mistreatment and enslavement. Qian also pointed out that there are major differences in how the Qin and Han perform their rites and treat their ancestors. In Confucianism, rituals and ancestors were central in their beliefs. This was exemplified in the biographies of Han Xin and Chen She. Qian pointed out that the latter's grave was cared for by thirty families which saw it as an honor to perform such duty. Qian also related how Han Xin buried his mother "on a high broad expanse of earth with room enough around to set up 10,000 households," similar to the treatment received by an honored ruler. Both personages were practitioners of Confucianism in their lifetime and were correspondingly rewarded with power and influence. In contrast, Qian's biography of the Empress Lu who staunchly believed in Legalism was depicted as someone who dishonored her husband and threatened her ministers with punishment if they did not break their oath to her husband. She then rewarded those who went by her wishes and promptly punished those who went against her will. uPower was also an important feat The wielding of power was also an important feature of the biographies in The Records of the Grand Historian. This is consistent with what Qian considers as a two ethic code wherein the rewards are reaped by Confucian ideals and Legalist views receive punishment. This code also dictates that a ruler who commits an immoral act would lose his Mandate of Heaven. Since Qian is a strong follower of Confucianism, it also follows that he does not attribute the right to rule to any particular gender or social class. The basis for becoming a ruler is morality and fairness. Chen She and Han Xin were both of commoner stock. Although Empress Lu may contradict this tenet, Qian gave her a favorable review because her rule resulted in peace. Their ascent to power was the result of fair and moral methods. Their fall from power also came when they became corrupted and greedy. In The Records of the Grand Historian, Qian emphasizes that the only way to remain in power is to maintain peace. This establishes the strong link between power and morality. He further argues that to maintain power through any other means or by adopting Legalist views would certainly result in the down fall of a ruler. The right of a ruler to stay in power can only be secured through the adoption of Confucian ideals. Compared to other subsequent histories, Qian's work is considered as liberal. In comparison, the others are considered as mouth pieces for the divine rights of emperors. The Hanshu or The History of the Former Han Dynasty covers the period from 206 B.C. to 8 A.D. Written by Ban Gu, it is a biographic history of the dynasty of the Western Han. This work has a total of 100 chapters. Ban Gu based his writings from Houzhuan, the work of his father Ban Biao. However, Ban Gu died before he could finish the book which prompted his sister Ban Zhao to continue it. It was Ma Xu who followed Ban Zhao who was able to complete the book. Hanshu follows the same style as The Records of the Great Historian, with both of them being biographic histories. The difference between the two is that the The Records of the Great Historian is a general history of China while Hanshu is a dynastic history. It was Hanshu that set the trend in terms of dynastic history writing. Focusing on the dynastic history of the Western Han, the Hanshu provides a wide array of information. Its biographies about many important personalities also collaborate with many historical facts. Aside from its being a rare and ancient book, the Hanshu was also the first to establish The Table of Ancient and Modern People and The Table of All Kinds of Officials. The book introduced and gave comments on each contained in these two tables. The Hanshu was well received by the people. However, despite its popularity, it was difficult to understand because it made use of many ancient characters. To remedy tis, scholars began to annotate the book by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 A.D. - 220 A.D. The Records of the Great Historian and The History of the Former Han Dynasty are both great works of historiography. Likewise, they are both great literary works in their own right. In the same grain that the former set the style followed by subsequent Chinese historians in writing general history, the latter also served as the standard for dynastic history writing. Both works contained various information but common among them is the use of biographies to illustrate and support ideas and events. Qian balanced his leanings towards Confucianism with the use of direct quotes from sources whenever possible. The authors of The History of the Former Han Dynasty made use of tables to provide authority to the book. Both books deserve to be held in high praise by all, since they give invaluable insight regarding the early days of Chinese history. They also remain as brilliant standards and examples of Chinese literature. References: Sima Qian (1993), Records of the Grand Historian of China. Chin Dynasty. Translated by Burton Watson (New York, Columbia University Press). ISBN 0-231-08168-5 (hbk); ISBN 0-231-08169-3 (pbk) Sima Qian (1993), Records of the Grand Historian of China. Han Dynasty II. (Revised Edition). Translated by Burton Watson (New York, Columbia University Press). ISBN 0-231-08168-5 (hbk); ISBN 0-231-08167-7 (pbk) Ssu-ma Ch'ien (1961), Records of the grand historian of China, Translated from the Shih chi of Ssu-ma Ch'ien by Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press). ISBN 0-231-08165-0 Ssu ma Ch'ien (1994), The Grand Scribe's Records I: the basic annals of pre-Han China (editor-Nienhauser W.H. Jr.) (Bloomington: Indiana University Press). Read More