Sima Qian EC Preceptorial

  A fter teaching the Xia emperor Shun -N 32b-33 how cultivating himself in virtue will benefit the state , on N p.33b, K ao Yao tells him to not give governing position to “depraved, plotting, or the unfi t”, because it disrupts the “Affairs of Heaven". Later, SQ writes that Ch’eng T’ang sets up a similar moral code for ruling the Yin (Shang) dynasty. On 44b he invokes Kao Yao and Yu as models. On 45t he requires the feudal lords and assembled chiefs to “strive to follow the words of the former kings”, warning that he “doesn’t follow the Way” will receive no high positions. On 44b T’ang warns them that “if you do not do good deeds for people and are not diligent in your tasks, I am going to heavily punish you.” On 42m, T’ang points to the importance that the feudal lords work for the benefit of the people, saying that by observing the common people one can see if the country is well regulated (the feudal lords did a good job ). On 43m, T’ang shows wisdom when seeing ...

      Sima Qian compelled me to reflect a great deal on what history means and how it is made. His oscillations between expounding series of impersonal, unembellished dry facts and weaving compelling character-based narratives, urged me to continuously shift my position as a reader. He has a way of detailing the same story so differently that it asks for a double take in order to fully realize that it is indeed the same said story. For Sima, history seems to be an amalgam of different views on a single given situation reminiscent of that experience of gazing out the window on a moving train and switching back and forth between considering the train as mover or the ground as mover. For me, reading Sima often felt like this—over and over I changed my mind concerning who served as the prime catalyst of a given story, who was its apex, due to Sima’s shifting perspectives. For Sima, history consists of a practice : he lays out manifold options and asks us readers to connect t...

    1. What caused the feudal lords to believe that the Lord of the West received the mandate? (58mb) After the Lord of the West was released by Chow, he continued secretly carrying out good deeds (58mt). Since he was imprisoned by Chow, in the first place, because the latter believed his accumulating virtue to be a threat (57b-58t), his discretion made sense. But regardless, the feudal lords took notice and came to him for unbiased insights (58mt). When the Yu and Jui journeyed to Chou for help, they gained insight regarding their legal dispute without even needing to see the Lord of the West (58m). As they witnessed the farmers yielding on the boundary path, the people yielding to their elders, they felt something: ashamed (58m). The issue they were coming forth with was itself considered shameful by the Chou people, and as they had no interest in humiliating themselves, they turned back (58mb). This shame they felt led them to their solution: they followed the example of t...

Nienhauser: Why can’t King Wu sleep? King Wu can’t sleep (63m) because he hasn’t “secured Heaven’s protection.” (63mb) At least according to Sima, it seems that he has done nothing but good works to the benefit of many. There is a hint on 62m that the area had been “pacified and the situation was not yet settled,” and so he sets to settling. He “cleared the roads and repaired…altars”, (62t) had his RectifierScribe read Chow’s crimes to Heaven (62mt), and claims he has been charged to, among other things, “receive the great mandate of heaven”. (62m) There are many more things he does on 62b-63t: He feeds the poor, honors the dead, makes records on behalf of the government, and rewarded the meritorious. These deeds are not enough, as nearing his own death, Sima relates that “the world was not yet settled.” (64m) Yin had failed as “heaven didn’t enjoy the Yin offerings” (63m): this left them vulnerable and led to King Wu’s “success.” (ibid.) Is Heaven hard to please, or is Wu missing so...

Tuesday, 10/10  In re-reading The Five Emperors this week, I was struck by the closing remarks, where Sima Qian describes the uncertainty surrounding the history of The Huang-Ti, stating that other scholars’ “words are not appropriate” and that “even civil officials or old masters would have trouble explaining” the history of The Huang-Ti (N17 2nd p.). His resulting account includes the “words which are the most appropriate” (N17 2nd p,b). What might Sima Qian mean by “appropriate”?  Perhaps an “appropriate” account is one that emphasizes virtue. Sima Qian’s account of The Five Emperors provides clear examples of the actions and characteristics of virtuous rulers. Sima Qian also remarks that his intent is that The Five Emperors be the first chapter of his “basic annals” (N17b). By making virtue the starting point, Sima Qian is showing us that virtuous government is in our nature, we only need to retrieve the virtuous nature shown in The Five Emperors. Sima Qian’s virtuous begi...

  [N 73t-m].   In its immediate context, Bo Yang’s (BY) prediction of Chou’s demise is presented as an interpretation of an earthquake that took place in the Western Chou capital and in the basin of three rivers. But if BY’s statement were an interpretation of a portent (Change your ways, King Yu!), I wonder why BY begins with a prediction of Chou’s demise which does not suggest any way to avoid the event predicted (“Chou is going to perish,” 73t). What is more, the length of time between the prediction (780 BCE, 72b) and the event predicted (249 BCE, 83b) might indicate that there is ample time to reorder the “energy flowing between Heaven and Earth” (73t, 1 st full para., l. 1). This distinction between interpretation and prediction becomes significant when I consider the question, “even though Chou’s demise is subsequently chronicled, could something have been done at the time?” After all, according to some, “portent cannot outweigh virtue” (N46m, 3 rd full para., l. 6). ...