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Zi Zhi Tong Jian
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Zīzhì Tōngjiàn (Chinese: 資治通鑑/资治通鉴, "Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance") is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084. Compiled by a team led by Sima Guang, Tongjian took 19 years to be completed, and records Chinese history from 403 BCnote The first historical event recorded is how 3 clans who held great power in the state of Jin (Han, Zhao and Wei) managed to defeat another great clan (Zhi) whose might was greater than the trio combined. After defeating the Zhi clan in 453 BC, the three clans then eventually carved up the state of Jin between them, creating 3 of the 7 major powers during the Warring States Era. The Zhou King acknowledged this partition in 403 BC by conferring Marquessates to the heads of the 3 clans. In 386 BC, the 3 states finally deposed the last duke of Jin and divided the last remaining Jin territory between themselves, which marked the final end of the Jin state. to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning across almost 1,400 years.note As a comparison, Tongjian covered parts of Shiji (written by Sima Qian, who is not related to Sima Guang), and entire eras covered by the next 18 of the official 24 Histories (of China; no. 24 covered the Ming Dynasty). It contains 294 volumes (卷/巻, juǎn) and about 3 million Chinese characters.Tongjian was first ordered by Emperor Yingzong of Song as an compilation of a universal history of China. While Sima Guang's team compiled with the order, Sima Guang intended for the text to become an aid in guiding future emperors in governance. The book's title was given by Emperor Shenzong, Yingzong's son and successor.As a "textbook" for emperors, historical events which are culturally significant or otherwise do not involve governance issues were generally ignored. For example, many of China's great poets, from Qu Yuan to Li Bai and Du Fu were not mentioned in the text. Much like The Art of War, the advice encapsulated in the work is largely common sense, but may not always be easy to follow.Besides Tongjian, Sima Guang also authored Zizhi Tongjian Kaoyi (资质通鉴考异; "Fact checking for the Zizhi Tongjian"). In this work, Sima Guang explained his reasons for including (or not) in the Tongjian historical information which he had gathered from his sources.Wang Fuzhi, a Chinese essayist, historian, and philosopher of the late Ming to early Qing dynasties, wrote a commentary on the work, titled "Comments after reading the Tongjian" (讀通鑑論/读通鉴论, Dú Tōngjiàn Lùn). Before that, students of famed Southern Song philosopher Zhu Xi compiled one of his works: "The String and Mesh of Zizhi Tongjian" (資治通鑑綱目/资治通鉴纲目, Zīzhì Tōngjiàn Gāngmù). One crucial idea promoted in the work was that Shu-Han was the legitimate successor to the Han dynasty, instead of Cao-Wei or the Western Jin.The work has never been fully translated into English, although the years 157 to 220 CE have been translated into English and annotated by Rafe de Crespigny as part of his works on the Three Kingdoms.Compare and contrast The Book of Lord Shang, which is more theoretical and written more than a millennium earlier. The work can also be seen as a continuation of the 1st-century BCE Records of the Grand Historian (also just called the Shiji 史記, literally "Scribal Records"), the oldest surviving Chinese history, recording events from the legendary Yellow Emperor down to the author's day. This comparison is one of which Sima Guang was particularly proud, as the "Grand Historian" in question was Sima Qian, whom Sima Guang believed was an ancestor or at least distant relative of his, and whom he greatly admired personally. | |
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Control Freak | |
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Control Freak: Criticized by the author, who postulates that the emperor's role is not to micromanage, but to appoint competent officials to handle various matters, while the emperor sets the correct vision and direction for the empire. | |
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Big, Screwed-Up Family | |
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Big, Screwed-Up Family: The author emphasizes the need for the emperor to keep the relatives of his mother, empress and concubines (waiqi or "consort-kin") under firm control, lest they garner too much influence or otherwise set bad examples for the empire. The work itself provides many examples of waiqi families who either brought ruin to themselves or the empire through their reckless actions and extravagance. | |
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War Is Glorious | |
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War Is Glorious: Not according to the author, who frowns upon excessive military expeditions, as supplying such expeditions places a heavy burden upon the people. | |
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Crippling Overspecialization | |
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Crippling Overspecialization: As mentioned, Tongjian does not talk about cultural events and personalities, making it useless for anyone who is interested in China's cultural history. | |
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Yes-Man | |
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Yes-Man: Frowned upon, as a) they give bad advice to the emperor and b) they set bad examples for others to follow, particularly if the emperor rewards them without them having earned any merit to justify the rewards. | |
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Written by the Winners | |
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Written by the Winners: Averted. Sima Guang had little motive or interest in intentionally defaming dynasties which fell centuries before his time. As he clearly stated in the preface, the objective of Tongjian was to teach emperors on governance. Of particular interest is his dispassionate treatment of the Jin Dynasty of the 3rd-5th centuries CE, whose imperial house were Sima Guang's own kinsmen (he claimed descent from Sima Fu, a brother of Sima Yi, whose grandson was Emperor Wu of Jin, the founder of that dynasty).note It probably helped that Fu was famously loyal to the previous Cao Wei dynasty, to the extent that even after his grandnephew Sima Yan became emperor of the new Jin dynasty, Fu continued to deem himself an official of Cao Wei. Since his granduncle was then already well into his 80s, Yan decided not to pursue the matter. | |
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The Good King | |
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The Good King: Following the advice given in the work should make it easier for any Chinese emperor to have a stable and prosperous reign. | |
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Conspicuous Consumption | |
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Conspicuous Consumption: Frowned upon by the author, who criticized this as wholly destructive. | |
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
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Chinese Literature / int_113195bf |
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