Sima Guang
| Names | | Xìng ": | Sīmǎ 司馬 |
| Míng 名: | Guāng 光 |
| Zì 字: | Jūnshí 君實 |
| Hào 號: | Yús'u 迂叟¹ |
| aka: | Sùshuǐ Xiānsheng
涑水先"² |
| Shì 謚: | Wénzhèng 文正³ |
| title: | W"nguógōng 溫國公⁴ |
1. late in his life| 2. after his hometown Sùshuǐ 涑水 | 3. hence referred to as Sīmǎ
Wénzhènggōng 司馬文正公 | 4. hence referred to as Sīmǎ W"ngōng
司馬溫公 | - For instance, his collection of works
is entitled 溫國文正司馬公文集 | |
Sīmǎ Guāng (,
1019-
1086) was a
Chinese historian, scholar and statesman of the
Song Dynasty.
He was born in
1019 in present day
Yuncheng, Shanxi to a wealthy family, and obtained early success as a scholar and officer. He passed the examination for the quasi-doctoral degree, highest in the state, when he was barely twenty, and he spent the next several years in official positions.
In
1064, he presented to the emperor
Yingzong a book of five volumes, the
Chronicle Chart, a summary of events of
China from
403 BC to
959, which may be regarded as a first advertisement and request for sponsorship of his major project. The starting point was chosen from the year that the king of
Eastern Zhou acknowledged the division of the ancient hereditary
State of Jin (now
Shanxi) from the
Warring States between three great families, a recognition of usurpers which marked the beginning of the desperate and decisive wars that brought the end of Eastern Zhou and the establishment of the new-style empire of
Qin Dynasty. In
1066, he presented a further and more detailed work, the
Comprehensive Records, comprising eight volumes chronicling the period from
403 BC to
207 BC, and at this time an edict was issued for the work to be continued. He was granted full access to the imperial libraries, while the emperor undertook to cover all the costs of paper, writing brushes and other equipment required for the compilation. He also allocated funds for research assistants, including the experienced historians
Liu Shu and
Zhao Junxi. Early in the following year,
1067, Yingzong died, and in November, he attended a seminar at the palace to introduce the work in progress to
Shenzong. The new emperor not only confirmed the interest his father had shown, but proclaimed the favour by a preface which changed the title of his work from
Comprehensive Records to the more ornamental and impressive
Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government, which would be completed in
1084. As several modern scholars have observed, the title
Mirror may be understood in this context as indicating a work of reference and guidance; so the emperor accepted he as his mentor in the science of history and its application to government, and for decades of his reign he maintained his support for the work.
Such loyalty is notable, and he soon became a leader of the conservative faction at court, resolutely opposed to the reforming policies of emperor's minister
Wang Anshi. He presented increasingly bitter memorials of criticism, and in
1070, he refused further appointment and withdrew from the court. In
1071, he took up residence in
Luoyang, where he remained with an official sinecure, ample leisure and sufficient resources to continue the work. Indeed, though he and his imperial master were in complete disagreement on policies for the present day, the enforced retirement proved essential for the historian to complete the project in full and final form.
He is still remembered for his work
Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government and his rivalry with contemporary statesman Wang Anshi.
*
Zizhi Tongjian*
Twenty-Four Histories*
Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling - Extract from the Zizhi Tongjian Rafe de Crespigny, Internet edition, 1991.
