Sima Guang helped improve historiography in ancient China; the concepts that he espoused in co-authoring the Zizhi Tongjian have formed the basis for recording historical events and the same concepts have continued to be in use, even for the modern day historian (Buckley, 45).
Introduction
Sima Guang was a pioneer in the structured recording of historical events in ancient China. He compiled the Zizhi Tongjian, which offers a historical timeline of key events in China from 403 BCE to 959 BCE. Zizhi Tongjian is often referred to as the “comprehensive mirror for aid in government” (De Crespigny, 73). Historians have hailed the book for creating a precedent in the chronological archiving of historical events not just in China but also across the world. His ability to offer an impassionate account of Chinese historical events was not only aided by his superior intellect but also his central role in the court of Emperor Ying Zong. De Crespigny has described Sima Guang as "perhaps the greatest of all Chinese historians" (73).
Sima Guang’s Background
Also known as Ssu-ma Kuang, Sima Guang was born on the seventeenth of November 1019 in Guangzhou, China (Strange, 76). He was born into a wealthy family as he was a descendant of the Jin dynasty. His wealthy background enabled him to concentrate on education, which eventually led to him becoming a prominent scholar. He performed excellently in the imperial civil service exams at the young age of twenty, which was an illustration of his intellectual prowess. He was also an accomplished poem writer. He undertook Confucius studies and became a strict adherent to its principle (Nienhauser, 114). The conservative approach to Confucian classics led him to argue that a good government is determined by the morality of its leadership rather than by show of coercive force.
His adherence to the Confucian principles later propelled him to the upper echelons of power in the Imperial Court after he led opposition on reforms initiated by Wang Anshi. The reforms were aimed at addressing income inequality as well improving education with the ultimate goal of bridging the gap between workers in formal and informal jobs among other objectives.
Guang’s successes both academically and in leadership later led to his rise to eventually become chancellor of the Imperial Court. Guang also became the source of many legendary tales in China, especially after his heroic act of saving a drowning child in a pot. He smashed the pot for water to drain out in a bid to save the child. He was only a child at the time and for that reason, his remarkable attributes in leadership became quite evident even from a young age. He passed away in 1086 (Strange, 77).
Professional Life
His stature as a prolific historian came to the fore through his co-authorship of the Zizhi Tongjian. Its influence has only been comparable to that of Shiji. Shiji was the first comprehensive account of the history of China and the entire world as known by China at the time (Xu, 241). The Shiji is often referred to as the records of the grand historian. It covers the ancient history of China and the world up to 94 B.C.
The Shiji was commissioned by the Han dynasty emperors and the task given to Sima Qian. It covered over two thousand five hundred years. The Shiji had the effect of raising the statures of Confucius and the first emperor of Qin as the founding fathers of imperial China (Pulleyblank, 24). It accomplished this by offering a positive biographical perspective of the two. As such, Sima Guang’s “Zizhi Tongjian” had its work cut out as the Shiji had already set a threshold for the recording of historical events in China.
“Zizhi Tongjian” contains two hundred and ninety-four scrolls and is written in over three million Chinese characters. The period covered between 403 BCE to 959 BCE is divided into periods covered by over sixteen dynasties. It covers the period of the rule of King Weilie of the Eastern Zhou dynasty that lasted between 425 to 402 BCE and that of Emperor Shizong that lasted between 954-959 BCE (Bo, 145).
As a result of the hostilities between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, he was forced to move to semi-retirement in Luoyang. It provided him and his co-authors, Liu Bin, Liu Shu and Fen Zuyu the opportunity to complete the “comprehensive mirror of aid in government” (Warren, 209). Sima Guang had always been passionate about history. However, there was no well-organized structure for historiography.
For that reason, obtaining historical information was cumbersome. The situation was not any better even in official imperial archives as most of the historians at the time had kept accounts of history in a biographical manner as opposed to a better structure of recording historical events in a chronological manner. It is for this reason that that Sima Guang took it upon himself to develop a well historiography.
Sima’s journey of detailing China’s historical events begun with a draft called Tongzhi, which can be loosely translated to mean “comprehensive records” (Bo, 89). The draft covered the period under the Qing dynasty. It is this draft that served as the motivation to offer a full account of historical events after it was excitedly approved by Emperor Ying Zong, who re-titled the draft to the now famous “Zizhi Tongjian.” To crown Sima’s efforts, the emperor had the book kept at the Institute for the Veneration of Literature of the Imperial Archives.
Sima together with the other historians later completed the book in 1084 (Bo, 198). It has been inaccurately pointed out that Sima Guang was the sole author of the book though that was not the case. It is perhaps this collaborative effort with the other historians in writing the book that gives it credence as a reliable source of historical events and timelines. The other authors included Fen Zuyu, Liu Bin, and Liu Shu. Each of the historians had expertise in a specific period covered under the Zizhi Tongjian.
Of importance to modern historians was the process of creating historiography that has a lot of relevance even in the modern world both in China and all over the globe. Sima Guang and his co-authors made the “Zizhi Tongjian” in three steps (Warren, 55). The first step involved collecting all available materials from all the periods covered. That was followed by evaluating the materials to determine those that are of a similar period and on specific events then arranging them in a chronological manner.
The second step involved precise sorting of the materials to ensure there were no repetitions and redundancies such that those with similar accounts and periods were merged. Finally, the third step involved abbreviating the book, which was personally undertaken by Sima Guang himself. That incident has often been used to enforce the false impression that he had single-handedly authored the book.
These three steps used by Guang and his co-authors have had the effect of creating a well-structured methodology of creating a chronological account of historical events. These three steps are widely used not just by China’s and Asia’s historians but also by the entire demography of historians from around the globe.
The major accomplishment by Sima Guang and the other co-authors of the “Zizhi Tongjian” was the change in how historical events in China were recorded. Prior to the “Zizhi Tongjian,” historical events were being recorded in a biographical manner. “Zizhi Tongjian” was recorded in a chronological manner. It is, however, important to understand the place of history in China. State-appointed historians were tasked with writing the history of past and present dynasties.
It was important for the emperors and their courts as it offered them the chance to learn from the mistakes and strengths of previous dynasties. It also afforded the emperors the chance to justify the need for their rule. For that reason, the accounts offered by the state-appointed were not impartial. In fact, they were more focused on discrediting previous unfriendly dynasties while propping up the image of friendly dynasties or those that had similar policies as those of the sitting court.
The accounts were also hugely in favor of the sitting emperors who were always intent on improving their political support base (Pulleybank, 100). To the credit of Guang and the other co-authors’ of “Zizhi Tongjian,” they organized the historical events in a chronological matter. The authors were also not keen on the biographies of the emperors and courts of the periods covered by “Zizhi Tongjian” but directed their efforts to the actual historical events. Furthermore, the “Zizhi Tongjian” did not merely give a caption of the historical events, but also gave a short introduction and summary of the event. It was not the case in the previous works of history.
However, there have been numerous criticisms directed towards Sima Guang in regard to the “Zizhi Tongjian.” Some historians have argued that the book focused more on the political history of China and ignored other aspects of Chinese history (Pulleybank, 99). The other aspects include literature, cultural and economic history of China. The book has also been heavily criticized due to its heavy inclination towards Confucian principles.
It is important to note that Sima Guang was himself a strict adherent of Confucian principles. The inclination created the perception of bias as people who embraced other schools of thought did not feel that their historical perspective had been put into account by the “Zizhi Tongjian.” The book was made an official record and as such its authority on historical issues is perpetual; therefore, people that do not adhere to Confucius principles will perpetually be disadvantaged in regard to history (Yap, 125).
Perhaps the criticisms against Sima Guang reflect on his personal weakness, more so his rigidity in the interpretation of the Confucius principles (Ji, 19). His rigidity had the effect of dividing the ruling class of the nation at the time. He vehemently opposed Wang Anshi’s reform initiatives to the extent that he led a splinter faction of the Imperial Court. He took every opportunity to attack Anshi’s reforms to the extent that he was too much invested in the politics of the country. The wrangles eventually led to the resignation of Wang Anshi in 1076. That resignation led to the ascendance of Sima Guang as Chancellor of the Court. However, in the long run, the initiatives of Wang were vindicated and for that reason, the lack of flexibility in Guang’s principles would have remained to haunt him (Watson, 13).
His excessive involvement in the politics of China would definitely have had the effect of affecting his work as a historian as it would bring about issues of biasness. While unanimous support is not possible, it is important that a historian has an impartial look at events and accounts concerning a nation’s history. This is especially the case given that history is an abstract art, which ought not to be swayed by personal persuasions.
However, Sima Guang seemed alive to the discrepancies and perceptions of bias that his historical works had elicited. He later compiled the Kaoyi, which can be loosely translated to mean scrutiny. It sought to address the discrepancies and the reasoning behind some of the perceived bias (Wilkinson, 76). The fact that he had the courage to admit mistakes made in recording some of the historical events made his stature grow high because not very many historians are capable of doing that.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is imperative to note that Sima Guang played an important role in revolutionizing the process of recording historical accounts and events. The move from a biographical based to a chronological one is mainly accredited to his efforts and those of his co-authors in the book. A chronological account offers a much accurate historical perspective devoid of bias as opposed to a biographical one. The three steps used in the authorship of the Zizhi Tongjian formed the basis for proper recording of historical events even for modern day historians throughout the world. It also provided the basic attributes of historical work such as advocating for proper recording and distribution. His influential works could certainly not have been tenable were it not for his superior intellect and collaborative efforts that even modern historians ought to follow. Coming up with a balanced historical account was not an easy thing, especially for state-commissioned historians. Much of the time, such historians favored the powers that appointed them. Guang and his team were able to avoid that by coming up with a chronological account, which was a departure from the bibliographic system used in the past. However, Guang could have made more efforts to be more liberal in his approach to the authorship of the “Zizhi Tongjian.” Ultimately, Sima Guang continues to have a positive effect on the study of history.
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