第15课 秦汉繁盛的科技文化

15 、秦汉繁盛的科技文化

Paper of the Western Han Dynasty

“Caihou Paper (Marquis Cai’s Paper)” as a way of commemorating his contribution. The paper-making technique was later spread to all parts of the world. It greatly boosted cultural exchange and educational promotion, and heavily influenced the process of world civilization. The Seismograph Historiography and Philosophy Sima Qian and the Records of the Grand Historian Sima Qian (145 BC–87 BC), whose courtesy name was Zichang, was a native of present-day Hancheng, Shaanxi Province. He was born into a historiographer fam-ily. His father, Sima Tan, was the taishi ling (Grand Historian) of the Western Han Dynasty. Taishi ling was a historical official who was also in charge of the library, astronomy, and the calendar. Influenced by his father, Sima Qian enjoyed reading. He left home for a long journey in his twenties, traveled to Kuaiji to study the relics of Yu the Great, and went to Confucius’ hometown to collect the sage’s documents. He even travelled to the Yantze-Huaihe area and the Central Plains, collecting the legends of prominent figures such as Xiao He and Han Xin. After he returned to Chang’an, t he capital, he was appointed as the Palace Attendant, which involved safe-guarding the gates of the palace, managing the imperial carriage, and accompanying the emperor on inspections of different parts of the country. He accompanied Em-peror Wu on several tours, and thus visited many areas. He was sent by Emperor Wu to Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and other places to learn their local customs. Other places he visited included Shandong, Yunnan, Hebei, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Hunan. After his father died, Sima Qina took over his post and became the taishi ling. He had read large numbers of imperial books, and his knowledge of history as well as his experiences from traveling across the country provided a solid foun-dation for the writing of The His-Sima Qian Sima Qian proceeded to compile the Records of the Grand Historian in early 104 BC. However, he infuriated Emperor Wu and received severe punishment for his involvement in General Li Ling’s affairs. In 99 BC, Emperor Wu dispatched an army to launch a campaign against the Xiong-nu. Li Ling who commanded a force of five thousand, was besieged by the Xiong-nu cavalry numbering tens of thousands. Li Ling was defeated and taken captive. Emperor Wu attributed this defeat to Li Ling, and all the officials in t he government condemned Li Ling for the defeat. Sima was the only one defending Li Ling. As Sima Qian’s remarks enraged Emperor Wu, he was castrated and thrown into prison for three years. In 96 BC, upon his release from prison, Sima Qian was appointed as the zhongshu ling in charge of the emperor’s confidential documents. In his final years, Sima Qian devoted himself to writing The Histor ical Records and completed the work at the age of fifty-five. The whole book comprises five parts: twelve volumes of Benji (Imperial Biog-raphies), ten volumes of Biao (Tables), eight volumes of Shu (Treatises), thirty volumes of Shijia (Biographies of the Feudal Houses and Eminent Persons), seventy volumes of Liezhuan (Biographies and Collective Biographies), a hundred and thirty volumes in all. This book keeps a record of major events in Chinese history for three thousand years, from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the earlier years of