Chen Shou

Chen Shou

Chen Shou (233-297) was named chengzuo. Brazil County Anhan county (now Nanchong City, Sichuan Province) people. He was a famous historian during the Three Kingdoms period and the Western Jin Dynasty.

Chen Shou was eager to learn when he was young. He studied with Qiao Zhou, a scholar in the same county. In the Shuhan Dynasty, he served as the commander of general Wei, the Secretary of Dongguan, the official of Guange, and the Minister of Sanqi Huangmen. At that time, the eunuch Huang Hao monopolized the power, and the ministers all attached themselves to it. Chen Shou was often dismissed because he refused to submit to Huang Hao. After Shu came to Jin Dynasty, he successively held the posts of Zhuolang, Changguang Taishou, Zhishu Daiyu, Prince Zhongshu and so on. In his later years, he was demoted many times and criticized many times. Yuankang died in 297 at the age of 65.

In the first year of Taikang (280), after the end of the split between Jin and Wu, Chen Shou finally completed the great historical work of the Three Kingdoms. This book gives a complete account of China's history from division to unification from the end of Han Dynasty to the beginning of Jin Dynasty. Together with Shiji, Hanshu and Houhanshu, it is called "the first four histories".

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Life of the characters

Not attached to Huang Hao

Chen Shou's native place is Xi'an Han (now Nanchong, Sichuan). As a child, he was diligent and eager to learn. He was a teacher of Qiao Zhou, a native of Tongjun county. He studied Shangshu and sanzhuan, and was proficient in Shiji and Hanshu. Chen Shou was smart and resourceful, and his articles were famous for their richness.

At the beginning, he was employed by the state, and successively served as the commander of Wei general, Dongguan, Secretary Lang, Sanqi, Huangmen Shilang, Guange Lingshi and so on. At that time, the eunuch Huang Hao was dictatorial, and most of the officials of the Shu Han Dynasty tried their best to ingratiate Huang Hao, but Chen Shou didn't want to depend on him, so he was relegated many times. It happened that Chen Shou's father died. During his funeral, he was sick and asked his maid to wait on him to take medicine. When he was seen by visitors, the local party criticized him.

A good history

In the sixth year of Jingyao (263), the Shu Han Dynasty perished, so Chen Shou was not recommended for many years. Zhang Hua appreciated his talent and thought that although he was suspected of improper behavior, he should not be demoted according to reason. Therefore, he was elected as Xiaolian, the official assistant and the magistrate of Yangping county. Chen Shou wrote Zhuge Liang Ji and reported it to the imperial court. He was also the author of the prefecture of Brazil.

Since Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Boyi and Zhao Yanxin (Zhao Qian) from Shu County, Chen Shenbo and Zhu Yuanling from Hanzhong, and Wang Wenbiao (Wang Shang) from Guanghan were all knowledgeable and wrote the biography of the old in Ba and Shu. Chen Shou thought that these books were not worth spreading to later generations, so he merged Bajun and Hanzhong areas and wrote ten biographies of Yibu Qi Jiu Zhuan. Wen Li, a regular official on horseback, presented this book to the imperial court and was praised by Emperor Wu.

Repeatedly denounced

Zhang Hua was ready to recommend Chen Shou as zhongshulang. Xun Xu, the supervisor of zhongshulang, hated Chen Shou because he hated Zhang Hua, so he signaled the Ministry of officials to appoint Chen Shou as the chief minister of Changguang (on the one hand, Xun Xu appreciated Chen Shou at first, but later released him because he was not satisfied with the content of Wei Shu). Chen Shou refused to take office on the ground of supporting his mother.

In the fourth year of Xianning (278), before the Zhennan general Du Yu left Beijing to guard Jingzhou, he recommended Chen Shou to the imperial court and suggested that he should be granted the post of yellow gate servant or free riding servant. Therefore, Chen Shou was appointed to be the imperial censor. Because her mother died and left, her mother buried her in Luoyang in her dying words. Chen Shougong carried out her mother's will, but was criticized and demoted. At the beginning, Qiao Zhou once said to Chen Shou, "you are sure to be famous all over the world by your talent and learning, but you are often slandered and hurt, which is not necessarily unfortunate. Be careful. " At this point, Chen Shou once again incurred the humiliation of being demoted, just as Qiao Zhou said.

In the first year of Taikang (280), Jin destroyed Wu and unified the world. Chen Shou wrote 65 chapters of the annals of the Three Kingdoms. At that time, people praised Chen Shou for his ability of narrating historical events and good history. Xia Hou Zhan was also writing the book of Wei at that time. Seeing Chen Shou's Three Kingdoms, he destroyed his book of Wei. Zhang Hua praised Chen Shou and said to him, "I should entrust you to write the book of Jin." Chen Shou is so valued by the people at that time.

Frustrated stroke

A few years later, Chen Shou was worshipped as the common son of the crown prince.

In 297, Chen Shou died at the age of 65. After his death, Dazhong Zheng, Shangshu Lang, fan Kai and others in Liangzhou wrote: "in the past, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued an edict saying:" Sima Xiangru is critically ill. You can send someone to retrieve his works. " The messenger got the book left by Sima Xiangru, in which he talked about the emperor's worship of heaven and earth, which surprised Emperor Wu. Chen and other officials believe that the book "the annals of the Three Kingdoms" written by Chen Shou, the late imperial censor of Zhishu, contains many admonitions, explaining the merits and demerits of the predecessors, which is of great benefit to today's education. Although the words are not as good as Sima Xiangru's, they are simple in quality. I sincerely ask your majesty to collect his book. " Emperor Hui ordered Henan Yin and Luoyang to send people to Chen Shou's house to copy his books.

Main impact

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Chen Shou's main work is the annals of the Three Kingdoms. The annals of the Three Kingdoms is a chronicle of the period of Wei, Shu and Wu. Among them, there are 30 volumes of Wei Shu, 15 volumes of Shu Shu and 20 volumes of Wu Shu, totally 65 volumes. It records a history of 60 years from 220 A.D. (the first year of Emperor Wen of Wei Dynasty) to 280 A.D. (the first year of Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty).

Chen Shou was a minister of Jin Dynasty. Jin Dynasty inherited Wei Dynasty and had the world. Therefore, the records of the Three Kingdoms respected Wei Dynasty as orthodoxy. In the book of Wei, the chronicle of Cao Cao was written, while the book of Shu and the book of Wu had no chronicle but biography. Liu Bei is recorded as the biography of Xianzhu, while Sun Quan is recorded as the biography of Wu Zhu. This is an example of compiling history books to serve politics, and it is also a feature of the annals of the Three Kingdoms. Although Chen Shou regarded Wei as the orthodox in name, in fact, he wrote a book about Wei, Shu and Wu respectively, which recorded the situation of the three kingdoms' confrontation truthfully, and showed that they were independent, not subordinate to each other, and had the same status.

Like the first three histories, the history of the Three Kingdoms written by Chen Shou is also a private compilation of history. After the completion of the Three Kingdoms, it was well received by people at that time. Chen Shou's narration is brief, the three books are rarely repeated, and his notes are full and accurate. They are also very cautious in the choice of materials, which is valued by historians of all dynasties. In the field of historiography, Shiji, Hanshu, Houhanshu and the annals of the three kingdoms are collectively called the first four histories, which are regarded as the famous works of historiography.

However, the history of the three kingdoms also has its shortcomings, which should not be ignored. In addition to the contradictions in some people's biographies, the biggest shortcoming of the narrative is that it has many words of praise for Cao Wei and Sima, which have been criticized by historians of all ages. In addition, there are only records and biographies in the whole book, but no records and tables. This is a big deficiency.

Historical evaluation

Qiao Zhou: Qing must be famous for his talent and learning. It's not unfortunate to be damaged. He should be careful.

Time person: good at narration and good history.

Sima Zhong: it's not long enough to be true.

Fan Kai: so Chen Shou, the imperial censor of Zhishu, wrote the annals of the Three Kingdoms. His words were mostly admonishment, which was clear about the gains and losses and beneficial to the weathering. Although the literature was not as beautiful as it was, the quality of it was better than it. I would like to record it.

Chang Yu: 1. There are many scholars in the king of Wen. They have different abilities. Confucius is seventy, but they are not one premier. A hundred lines are different. They are more valuable than the same. Ruoshi's scholars either support the quality of Zhang, or use the tools of Hu Lian, or delay the career of Confucianism and Mohism, or use the strategy of Tao Wang's assistant. When they dive, the mud will be flat, when they leap, the dragon will fly, and when they fly, they will shine. Zhenyan is the real western land, and many scholars are the saint Jin. ② In the archaeology of the common people, they were both moved and fixed.

Pei Songzhi: the book of longevity has a good account, and there are many trials and corrections. The garden of sincere tour, the Jiashi of modern times.

Cui Hao: first, it has the style of ancient good history. Its works, with correct literary meaning, are all popular in Wang Ting's words. ② Chengzuo's comments on Liang have the reputation of being more righteous than beautiful. His deeds are not negative, not hateful.

Liu Xie: as for the biography of Hou Han, it originated from Dong Guan. Yuan Zhang's works are not only refuted but also believable. If Sima Biao is detailed and Huaqiao is accurate, he will be the best. And the three heroes of the Wei Dynasty. Yangqiu, weilue, Jiangbiao, Wulu and so on. It's hard to resist the symptoms, or it's sparse. Only Chen Shou's "three annals" had a consistent quality, and Xun Zhang's comparison with Qian Gu was not a false reputation.

Fang Xuanling: first, the ancient king, Xianjian, Shichen, Zhaofa, Lixun, is close to this. Ruo Fu is a man of the same nature. His words are subtle and clear, and his meaning is bright and clear. Then he can be a person of Cheng Ya's world. Qiu Ming died, ban Ma Diexing, fenhong wrote in Xijing, Chengzhi wrote in Dongguan. Since then, Chen Shou has been able to inherit the tradition of Ming Dynasty! ② Chen shouhan Zhang and Yan Yan stand alone. Biao Pu Li Jie, Fu CI comprehensive theory.

Liu Zhiji's Shi Tong Qubi: This is another record of the traitor and the murderer who wrote the story. Although he ran through all the cities and dynasties, he could be a tiger or a jackal.

Su Xun's Jiayou collection: it's been a long time since the beginning of history. In Wei, Jin, song, Qi, Liang and Sui dynasties, it is also true to observe their writings. It can be said that in the three hundred years of Tang Dynasty, the article was not invincible in the three dynasties and the two Han Dynasties. The talent of history should be like Qiu Ming, Qian and Gu, and no one could compare with Fan Ye and Chen Shou.

Ye Shi: Chen Shoubi forced Sima Qian. Fang's Ban Gu, however, has few literary meanings, so it is necessary to win over Gu in the end.

You's genealogy in Guang'an: the prosperity of Guang'an's characters is second to none in northern Sichuan. For example, Ji Xin's words are Chu cunhan, Ji Tong's shovels are Lu Anliu, Zhang Yi's and Wang Ping's military strategy, Qiao Zhou's and Chen Shou's articles, Zhang Tingjian's words, an Zhongding's suppression of the rebellion, Yan Zuan's and Pang Xiong's great festival, Li Xiang's and shigu's Neo Confucianism.

Li Ciming: when he was an official in the Jin Dynasty, he was solitary and dangerous. At that time, he was in the prime of Tang Dynasty, and Wang Shen was in the prime. His books were in vogue, but he didn't pay attention to them. So it was a good history.

Zhao Yi: Chen Shou's Three Kingdoms

Chinese PinYin : Chen Shou