A set of unique, systematic insights and
theories.(一家之言)
Sima Qian was China's most eminent
historian. His Records of the Grand Historian is China's most classic
historical work.
In his youth, he travelled throughout China
conducting detailed fieldwork.
In middle age, he began to organise Chinese
history from 2700 BC to 100 BC based on the materials he had collected.
He once wrote a letter to a good friend
named Ren An, in which he expressed his feelings while completing this great
work.
A short passage from this letter reads:
'I am a person of very limited ability; I
do not possess great talent. I have spent a great deal of time travelling
throughout China to collect and verify historical materials from ancient times
and to deeply explore the chronological sequence within these materials. I have
used all the materials I collected to write this history book.
In it, I have written about the successes
and failures, the rises and falls of kingdoms and individuals." The
greatest leader in ancient China was Gongsun Xuanyuan, who was posthumously
honoured as the Yellow Emperor. He is widely recognised as the common ancestor
of the Chinese nation, and this book begins with his story.
The book is divided into five main parts
comprising 130 chapters.
The first part consists of 12 chapters.
These chapters recount all the dynasties that continue to this day in Chinese
history, their kings and the significant events that occurred within these
kingdoms.
One or two individuals, though not kings
themselves, wielded influence equivalent to that of a king, and their stories
are included here.
The second part consists of ten chapters.
In these chapters, tables are used to clarify complex historical threads and
meticulously record major events in all the noteworthy kingdoms from the Zhou
dynasty onwards.
The third part consists of eight chapters.
In these chapters, I have recorded the major institutions and systems of
various Chinese dynasties throughout history.
The fourth part consists of 30 chapters.
Here, I recount the stories of the thirty most significant vassal kingdoms of
the Zhou dynasty, which were later unified by the Qin dynasty. I have also
included the stories of some people who, though not feudal lords, wielded
influence as great as feudal lords.
Part Five contains 70 essays. These essays
cover notable figures from all walks of life, excluding kings and feudal lords.
I have also included my autobiography in this section.
Having completed this work, I believe that
I have gained a deeper understanding of the relationship between nature and
human affairs and a comprehensive understanding of all the changes in China
from ancient times to the present day. I have developed a set of unique and
systematic insights and theories.
The idiom directly translates as 'a set of
unique, systematic insights and theories'.
It is used to describe the opinions or
theoretical viewpoints of a school of thought or individual.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
Do you have your own unique perspective on
the world? How do you develop your ability to think independently?
I hope this story brings you some new
insights.
一家之言(A set of unique, systematic insights
and theories.)
司馬遷是中國最傑出的歷史學家。他寫的史記是中國最經典的歷史書。
他在青年時代走遍了全中國，進行詳細的田野調查。
他在中年之後根據所蒐集的材料，開始整理中國從公元前2700年到公元前100年間的中國歷史。
他曾經寫信給他的一個名字叫做(任安)的好朋友，他在這封信中寫出了他在完成這本偉大的著作的過程中的內心感受。
他在這封信中有一小段內容如下。
我是一個能力很微小的人，我並沒有很高的才能。我花了很多時間到中國的各地去搜集與考證中國自古以來的歷史資料，然後深入地探索這些歷史資料中的時間序列，我整合我所搜集到的所有材料寫下了這本歷史書。
在這本書中，我寫出了一個王國或一個人的成功與失敗、興盛與衰敗的過程。
中國上古時代最偉大的領袖是公孫軒轅，他死後被尊稱為黃帝，他被公認為中華民族的共同的祖先，我的這本書就是從他的故事開始書寫。
這本書的內容主要可以分成五個部分共130篇。
第一部分主要有12篇。這12篇中分別紀載了中國歷史上延續至今的所有王朝與這些王朝內的國王與這些王國中所發生的影響巨大的事件。
其中有一兩個人雖然沒有成為國王，但是他的實際影響力相等於一個國王，我也把他的故事寫在這裡面。
第二部分主要有10篇。這10篇中我用表格理清複雜的歷史線索，並且詳細紀載了周王朝開始的所有值得紀錄的王國中的重大事件。
第三部分主要有8篇，這8篇中，我記錄了中國歷史上到各個朝代主要的典章與制度。
第四部份有30篇，這30篇中，我寫下了周王朝最重要的30個諸侯王國的故事，這些諸侯王國後來被秦王朝統一。有些人雖然不是諸侯王，但是他的影響力跟諸侯王一樣的巨大，我也把這些人的故事寫在這個部分中。
第五部分有70篇，這70篇中，我寫下了除了國王與諸侯王之外的所有值得記錄的社會上各個階層的代表性人物，我把我的自傳也加在這個部分中。
完成這部作品之後，我認為我更深刻地理解了自然與人事之間的相互關係，也對於中國從古到今的所有變化有了系統性的認識，我創建出一套體系化的獨特見解與理論。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是一套體系化的獨特見解與理論。
這句成語被用來形容泛指一個學派或個人的意見或理論觀點。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你對於這個世界屬於自己的獨特觀點與看法嗎?你如何建立自己獨立思考的能力呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為司馬遷-報任少卿書
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%A0%B1%E4%BB%BB%E5%B0%91%E5%8D%BF%E6%9B%B8