Sima Guang
Sima Guang 司馬光 | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | 17 November 1019 Guangshan County, Guāng Prefecture, Song dynasty |
Died | October 11, 1086 Kaifeng, Song Empire | (aged 66)
Spouse | Lady Zhang |
Children | Sima Kang |
Parent |
|
Occupation | Historian, politician, writer |
Courtesy name | Junshi (君實) |
Art name | Yusou (迂叟) |
Posthumous name | Wenzheng (文正) |
Other names | Sushui Xiansheng (涑水先生) |
Sima Guang | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Sīmǎ Guāng |
Wade–Giles | Ssŭ1-ma3 Kuang1 |
IPA | [sɹ̩́.mà kwáŋ] |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Sī-máh Gwōng |
IPA | [siː˥maː˩˧ kʷɔːŋ˥] |
Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the Zizhi Tongjian, a monumental work of history. Sima was a political conservative, who opposed the reforms of Wang Anshi.
Early life and career
Sima Guang was named after Guang Prefecture, his birthplace, and where his father Sima Chi (司馬池) served as a county magistrate. The Sima family were originally from Xia County in Shǎn Prefecture, and claimed descent from the 3rd century Cao Wei official Sima Fu. A famous anecdote relates the young Sima Guang saving a playmate who had fallen into an enormous vat full of water. As other children scattered in panic, Sima calmly picked up a rock and smashed a hole in the base of the pot. Water leaked out, and his friend was saved.[1]
At the age of 6, Sima heard a lecture concerning the Zuo Zhuan, a work of history dating to the 4th century BC. Fascinated, he was able to retell the stories to his family when he returned home. He became an avid reader, "to the point of not recognizing hunger, thirst, coldness or heat".[1]
Sima obtained early success as a scholar and officer. When he was barely twenty, he passed the Imperial examination with the highest rank of jìnshì (進士; 'metropolitan graduate'), and spent the next several years in official positions.
Political ideology
Sima believed that civilization was created when the sage kings transformed humans from their original animal state using hierarchical order, property rights, moral instruction, and penal law. He believed that the problem with government was not in its structure, but rather in the people that ran it. He wrote multiple memorials detailing how to make the government more effective and argued that his views were in accord with history (in contrast with Wang Anshi's emphasis on the Classics) and Heaven-and-Earth. A static and well-maintained country would, according to him, last forever.[2] Accordingly, he disliked commercial growth (which he believed encouraged social change) and preferred a recommendation-based imperial examination system.[3]
Rulers were supposed to only determine official assignments, reward achievement, punish failure, care about their servants, have good morals, and be immune to outside influence. On a wider level, a society with clear inferior-superior roles would be stable.
Under Emperor Renzong
After the failure of the Qingli Reforms under an unenthusiastic Emperor Renzong, the future reformist Wang Anshi submitted a 10,000-word memorial in 1058 detailing a system of comprehensive reform. Sima Guang did the same thing in 1061, but his proposals were more conservative.[7]
Under Emperor Yingzong
In 1064, Sima, then just a policy critic, raised the issue between performing rituals for Zhao Yurang, Emperor Yingzong's biological father, and Emperor Renzong. This issue would dominate Yingzong's reign and cause political gridlock. Sima himself believed that priority should be given to Renzong since he was the emperor's ritual father. Yingzong overruled this belief and, partly due to personal affection for his biological father, gave Zhao Yurang high ritual honors in 1066.[8] In the same year, Sima sponsored Su Zhe for a special decree examination.[9]
Under Emperor Shenzong
By 1070, Sima was part of the
Sima had multiple objections to the New Policies. He believed that:
- The economy was a zero-sum game, so any increase in state revenue naturally meant taking away from the commoners.
- Wealth gaps were beneficial to both the rich and the poor due to the stability that such inequalities provided.
- The economy functioned best with minimal governmental intervention.[18]
- Money was not distributed evenly across the empire, so peasants would struggle to pay cash fees for the New Policies.[19]
Retirement
Sima retired in
Under Emperor Zhezong
For 40 years following the death of Shenzong, the reformist and conservative factions alternated control over the Song government. Both factions engaged in "ethical factionalism" as they engaged in ruthless purges against each other.[12] An attempted coup by the reformist faction (including Cai Que, Zhang Dun, Xing Shu, and Cai Jing) intended to dethrone Emperor Zhezong failed and aggravated the conservative faction.[23] Sima was an old and tired man in Luoyang and was reluctant to return to the capital, but Cheng Hao convinced him to do so. When Sima arrived in Kaifeng, a large crowd swarmed to touch his horse, and palace guardsmen saluted him as "Prime Minister Sima". He encouraged people to openly express their grievances about the New Policies.[24]
Sima was soon made
Abolishing the Baojia system
The compulsory Baojia village defense system trained and enrolled nearly 7 million men across the dynasty. Sima criticized the system's detracting from agricultural productivity and its potential for creating bandits. Wang Yansou criticized the unnecessary brutality of the system In mid-1085, an imperial edict abolished the system in the capital and its surrounding areas, with more restrictions imposed on this system in the following months. Reformist opposition to the system's abolition was weak and primarily logistical rather than ideological. Zhang Dun's call for moderate abolition was reasonable considering the shock that followed the rapid abolishment of the Baojia system.[30]
Abolishing the equal tax law and market exchange law
The equal tax law was a system of land evaluation and taxation that was probably the most successful of the New Policies. The law was removed with little opposition in late 1085.
The market exchange law established government monopolies that were intended to buy cheap products and sell dear products. However, the established agencies cornered the market in staple goods and became focused on generating revenue. Throughout 1085, executive orders forgave debt owed to the agencies and abolished loan bureaus before abolishing the law altogether. This signaled the turning point for the reformist-conservative conflict.[31]
Abolishing the labor recruitment law and the fall of Cai Que and Zhang Dun
The labor recruitment law replaced corvée labor with professional laborers funded by service exemption fees paid by the richest rural households. Similar to the market exchange law, this law primarily became a method for revenue extraction. Sima argued that the law was simply another tax imposed on the commoners. Cai Que's refusal to remove the labor recruitment law led to his character assassination by the conservatives Liu Chi and Su Che; this pushed him to resign as chancellor of the right and he was reappointed as the administrator of Chenzhou. Zhang Dun continued to resist and pointed out Sima's hypocrisy regarding the law: in early 1086, Sima said that rich households were harmed by the law, while just 14 days later he said that rich households benefitted from their preferential treatment under the law. Zhang also criticized Sima's demand to abolish the law country-wide in a mere 5 days.[32] Indeed, Sima was impressed when Cai Jing, the mayor of Kaifeng, was the only one who abolished the law in under 5 days.[33] 21 days after Cai Que resigned, Zhang Dun was demoted to a prefectural-level post after offending Empress Gao during a debate. In spring 1086, Wang Anshi died. The conservative restoration was complete.[32]
Nonetheless, the debate over how to remove the labor recruitment law revealed cracks in the conservative coalition. For example, Su Che (and many other conservatives who were typically closely aligned with Sima) argued that "an entire system could not be abolished overnight without serious repercussions" and that a framework for the replacement system should be formulated first. Su Shi, Su Che's older brother, formed a third faction and proposed that the funds from the labor recruitment law should be used to buy up public lands to grant to volunteer laborers in addition to their wages. Sima did not accept dissent from either group.[34]
Abolishing the green sprouts law and peace with the Western Xia
The green sprouts law was intended to give low-interest loans to farmers but, like many of the aforementioned policies, became a method of revenue extraction. Conservative opposition to this policy was unified and Fan Chunren, the son of Fan Zhongyan, was the only dissenter. His argument that the law could boost the dynasty's base revenue annoyed Sima Guang and he was only saved by Wang Yansou's intervention. This incident revealed the deepening divisions within Sima's coalition that would exacerbate after his death.[35]
Following the protracted, expensive, and ultimately disappointing
Historical work
Sima Guang is best remembered for his masterwork, Zizhi Tongjian, and the Australian sinologist Rafe de Crespigny describes him as "perhaps the greatest of all Chinese historians" (de Crespigny 1973:65).
In 1064, Sima presented to
In 1066, he presented a more detailed eight-volume Tongzhi (通志; 'Comprehensive Records'), which chronicled Chinese history from 403 BCE to 207 BCE (the end of the Qin dynasty). The emperor issued an edict for the compilation of a groundbreaking universal history of China, granting full access to imperial libraries, and allocating funds for the costs of compilation, including research assistance by experienced historians such as Liu Ban (劉攽, 1022–88), Liu Shu (劉恕, 1032–78), and Fan Zuyu (范祖禹, 1041–98). After Yingzong died in 1067, Sima was invited to the palace to introduce his work-in-progress to Emperor Shenzong of Song. The new emperor not only confirmed the interest his father had shown, but showed his favor by bestowing an imperial preface in which he changed the title from Tongzhi ("Comprehensive Records") to Zizhi Tongjian ("Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government"). Scholars interpret the "Mirror" of the title to denote a work of reference and guidance, indicating that Shenzong accepted Sima as his guide in the study of history and its application to government. The emperor maintained his support for the compilation of this comprehensive history until its completion in 1084.
From the late 1060s, Sima came to assume a role as leader of what has been identified as a conservative faction at court, resolutely opposed to the
Historiography
Sima rejected the roles of the dynastic cycle and Five Phases in legitimizing dynastic succession. For Sima, dynastic succession was instead a result of power struggles; dynasties rose and fell according to consistent factors. He believed that history was a "mirror" for the present and could provide the government with historical context for their current situation. Literati could thus use history as an aid to governance. His histories are structured in a way that promotes these theories.[38]
Sima and the other Yuanyou faction conservatives (except for
Death
Emperor Shenzong died in 1085, shortly after Sima had submitted
Achievements
As well as his achievements as a statesman and historian, Sima Guang was also a
See also
- Zizhi Tongjian
- Sushui Jiwen
- Twenty-Four Histories
- Chancellor of China
- History of the Song dynasty
- Fan Zhongyan
- Wang Anshi
References
- ^ a b Song Shi, ch. 336.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, pp. 689–690.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, pp. 693–694.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, p. 689.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, p. 692.
- ^ a b Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, p. 693.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 350.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 340–343.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 345.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 354.
- ^ Tanner 2010, p. 212.
- ^ a b Tanner 2010, p. 213.
- ^ Ebrey & Bickford 2006, pp. 178–179.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, p. 150.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 356.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 371–373.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 383.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 387.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 438.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, p. 340.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 455.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 478–479.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 486–487.
- ^ a b Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 487–488.
- ^ Ebrey & Bickford 2006, p. 7.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 489.
- ^ Ebrey & Bickford 2006, p. 133.
- ^ a b Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, p. 127.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, p. 491.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 494–496.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 496–498.
- ^ a b Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 498–502.
- ^ Ebrey & Bickford 2006, p. 543.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 502–504.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 504–505.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 505–508.
- ^ "Sima Guang and His History Book". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, pp. 690–691.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, pp. 728–729.
- ^ Chaffee & Twitchett 2015, p. 756.
- ^ Twitchett & Smith 2009, pp. 508–510.
- ^ "The family precepts by Sima Guang". Vincent's Calligraphy. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
Sources
- de Crespigny, Rafe (1973). "Universal Histories". In Donald D. Leslie; Colin Mackerras; Wang Gungwu (eds.). Essays on the Sources for Chinese History. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. pp. 64–70.
- Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (1961). "Chinese Historical Criticism: Liu Chih-chi and Ssu-ma Kuang," in Historians of China and Japan, William G. Beasley and Edwin G. Pulleyblank, eds., Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 135–66.
- Strange, Mark (2014), "Sima Guang", in Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography, Kerry Brown, ed., Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing, vol. 2, pp. 664–683. ISBN 9781614729006
- Xiao-bin, Ji (2005), Politics and Conservatism in Northern Song China: The Career and Thought of Sima Guang (1019–1086), Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. ISBN 962-996-183-0
- Yap, Joseph P. (2009), Wars With the Xiongnu – A translation From Zizhi tongjian, Extract translations on Qin, Han, Xin and Xiongnu and Introduction. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4490-0604-4
- (in Chinese) Song Shi(宋史) [History of Song].
- Tanner, Harold (2010). China: A History (Volume 1): From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire, (10,000 BCE - 1799 CE). Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1603842020.
- Twitchett, Denis; Smith, Paul Jakov (2009). The Cambridge History of China Volume 5 Part One: The Sung Dynasty and its Precursors, 907-1279. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24330-8.
- Chaffee, John; Twitchett, Denis (2015). The Cambridge History of China Volume 5 Part Two: Sung China, 960–1279. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81248-1.
- Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Bickford, Maggie (2006). Emperor Huizong and Late Northern Song China. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 0674021274.
External links
- Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, Zizhi Tongjian Chapters 54–59 (157–189 BCE), translated and annotated by Rafe de Crespigny