Recently, Oriental Publishing House grandly launched the hardcover collector's edition of " Baiyang Vernacular Edition of Zizhi Tongjian " (a total of eighteen volumes). This set of books Mr. Bo Yang wrote from the age of sixty-four to the age of seventy-three, and finally completed it with 12 million words. In 1993, it was first published in the form of 72 paperback books by Yuanliu Publishing Company. It is the ten-year effort of the famous writer Mr. Bo Yang. It is an irreplaceable introductory book for modern Chinese people to read " Zizhi Tongjian ", turning the "reference" of the old emperors into a "mirror" for modern people.
Mr. Bo Yang said: "Without reading "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" carefully, it is simply impossible to understand China, understand Chinese people, understand Chinese politics, and look forward to China's future."
An old man has gone through many vicissitudes and written history in ten years. In addition to the essay collection "The Ugly Chinese" and the historical work " Outline of Chinese History ", which are best known to mainland readers, his works include more than 170 works including novels, essays, poems, reportage, and historical works. "Bo Yang's Vernacular Edition of Zizhi Tongjian" is one of Bo Yang's three widely influential works, and is as famous as "The Ugly Chinese" and "A Compendium of Chinese History". The style of his works is especially praised for his extensive coverage, sharp writing style and profound content. In the second half of the 20th century, Bo Yang's works made waves among Chinese people at home and abroad, and he was even considered the greatest essayist after Lu Xun .
Bo Yang once said with a smile that he was "an old man who has gone through many vicissitudes of life." Like the intellectuals of his generation, Bo Yang experienced national disasters and continuous civil wars; he also faced dilemmas, and finally left his hometown and lived alone overseas; and later, because of his strong bones, he clashed with the current situation and was bloodied, and even was imprisoned. But the reason why Bo Yang became Bo Yang was that his bumpy and wandering fate never took away his conscience to tell the truth. Bo Yang has already surpassed his status as a writer and historian. He is not only a witness of history, but also an actor in cultural and social reform. The vicissitudes of this "old man's" story is worth recording because this period of history deserves to be remembered. This brave and fearless soul also deserves comfort and tribute. Bo Yang once said: "My whole body is covered with wounds, and it is very difficult to break through myself. Not all wounds can be licked, but I still want to fly."
When Bo Yang wrote "Bo Yang's Memoirs" orally in his seventies, the author often put down the pen in the middle of writing, stared at Bo Yang, and sighed: "How come your disasters are endless?"
The decade of the 1960s was a spurt period for Bo Yang's essay creation. The pseudonym "Bo Yang" began to officially appear. When choosing essays, what Bo Yang cares about is its sharpness.
However, the sharpness of the essay also hurt Bo Yang himself. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Taiwan authorities at the time just because of a translation error, and served a total of 9 years and 26 days. While in prison, Bo Yang experienced torture, family disintegration, information isolation, and was once in danger of being shot. Under the pressure, he began to mutter to himself, became insane, and had to beg his fellow prisoners to use their fists to help him stay awake. Regarding this experience, the Japanese writer Mr. Huang Wenxiong once quoted a Japanese proverb, saying that Bo Yang is a "person who has seen hell and returned." Bo Yang, who does not admit defeat, looks for a way out in a complex and difficult environment, accumulating life energy bit by bit, illuminating the darkness of the present, and even gaining insight into the blind spots of history. And the light that makes Bo Yang's life shine is writing.
Bo Yang is considered an "unclassifiable writer". The term "cannot be classified" refers to the fact that from 1951 to 2006, when he finished writing, he wrote more than 20 million words of masterpieces. His creative career can be divided into ten years of novels, ten years of essays, ten years in prison, five years of columns, and ten years of "Tongjian".
Mainland readers have known Bo Yang since "The Ugly Chinese" was introduced and published by Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House in 1988. As soon as it came out, it caused an uproar in the Chinese world. Bo Yang's history writing career began when he was imprisoned. In 1972, Bo Yang was escorted to an isolated island with huge waves - Green Island.Sometimes he is allowed to read some ancient books (information is isolated in the prison, and only ancient books can have some exceptions), and sometimes he is not allowed to read anything. The long days in prison have no limits. In order to drive away despair and give his mind something to rest on, Bo Yang chose to read "Twenty-Five Histories". Bo Yang's view of history began to mature: writing history for the common people, rather than writing genealogies and good words and deeds for emperors, generals and ministers. Amidst the sound of huge waves lapping against the rocks, Bo Yang sat with his back to the wall in his cell, secretly completing three works: " Chronology of Chinese History ", "Genealogical Records of Chinese Emperors, Queens, Princes and Princesses" and "Outline of Chinese History". After his release from prison, three books were published. "Outline of Chinese History" is particularly popular among readers because of its profound and unique viewpoints and interesting and readable language.
Bo Yang has a grander plan.
The idea of translating "Zizhi Tongjian" was also a seed planted in the prison cell. In Bo Yang's view, Zizhi Tongjian is one of the most valuable history books in China. This work, which was called "one book that determines the world" by Columbia University professor Tang Degang , has almost become a dead book in the past hundred years due to the limitations of classical Chinese. Therefore, he decided to translate "Zizhi Tongjian" into modern Chinese .
From 1983 to 1993, it was the ten years when Bo Yang started writing the vernacular version of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". These ten years almost became another new "prison" career for Bo Yang, and his study became a prison cell. "On average, I have to read at least about 40,000 words of original classical Chinese text (including punctuation and annotations) every month, write a first draft of about 75,000 words, and hand in a proofreading of about 150,000 words, as well as the necessary maps and appendices. For ten years, there are no Sundays, no holidays, no clouds, no sunshine..." Bo Yang sighed.
In fact, "Ten Years of "Tongjian"" is far more than ten years: starting from the 1980s, it took Bo Yang ten years just to translate "Tongjian" into vernacular. After the cross-strait exchanges opened up, Bo Yang finally obtained a more precise map of China, and based on the mainland With the latest geographical divisions at that time, he revised the notes on current place names in "Tongjian", presided over the drawing of accurate historical maps of the events recorded in "Tongjian"; and began to compile a new vernacular version of "Tongjian" in a new style. By the time the "Boyang Edition of Tongjian Chronicles" was completed, it was already the beginning of the 21st century.
Do not sing hymns for the king. Only speak "human" words for the common people.
Bo Yang announced the closure of his writing at the age of 86. His last work was a preface to the reprint of " Bai Yang said " which was about to be published in mainland China at that time.
At the end of the preface, he wrote:
"I use 'Bo Yang Yue' to read history and put forward my analysis and criticism of traditional history from different angles. In addition to training myself to face the history of my own country honestly, I must also try to make people who read history get rid of the past habit of scholar-bureaucrats vassaling the powerful, supporting the powerful emperors and protecting their shortcomings, and even providing the most unscrupulous rationalization theory for their cruelty and atrocities." OK. I still want to say that my view of history may not be able to grasp the whole picture of history, but I get rid of the burden of traditional culture, do not sing hymns for kings, but only for the common people, for the position and dignity of a 'human', speak 'human' words, and re-examine history from a 'people-oriented' perspective. "
On April 29, 2008, Bo Yang died of respiratory failure at the Gengshin Hospital in Xindian, Taiwan, at the age of 89. In accordance with his last wish, his family scattered his ashes in the sea near Green Island. Two years later, escorted by his wife and children, some of Bo Yang's ashes were buried in Fushouyuan Cemetery in Xinzheng, his hometown in Henan Province. The tombstone was inscribed:
"Don't sing praises for the king. Just speaking human words for the common people."
Judging emperors and generals as ordinary Chinese, focusing on ordinary Chinese who have been submerged by history, is Mr. Bo Yang's historical view, and it is also the most important feature throughout Bo Yang's vernacular version of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". In addition, Bo Yang's vernacular version of "Zizhi Tongjian" has several bold innovations: first, it skips the era name and adopts the simple AD chronology; second, it does not use the change of dynasty as a chapter, but uses the century as the unit, placing the dynasty, country name, and era name in a secondary position to give an overall historical view; third, it does not use posthumous titles and directly calls the emperor by his name, reducing every emperor who once wielded ultimate power into a "person."In addition, he also personally drew 1,500 additional maps. In addition to innovation,
also inherits the traditional spirit. In ancient times, there were " Tai Shi Gong said" and "Chen Guang said", which were historians who additionally recorded their own opinions and opinions after objectively recording the history. Bai Yang followed the example and annotated the historical commentary of "Bo Yang Yue". However, Sima Guang's "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" was written for the emperor and his ministers, while Bo Yang was written for today's common people. He is glad that he was born in this era and can observe the truth from a broader perspective and with more information.
From today's point of view, Bo Yang's ten-year Chinese translation of "Tongjian" has a dialogue with history, with Sima Guang, and with many Confucian elites. The 862 "Bo Yang said" are undoubtedly another more important project. After the achievements of Hu Sansheng "Zi Zhi Tong Jian Yin Zhu ", Yan Yan "Zi Zhi Tong Jian Supplement and Correction", Wang Fuzhi "Reading Tong Jian Lun", etc., "Tong Jian Xue" made further achievements in the twentieth century. The new values of modern democracy, rule of law and human rights that Bo Yang advocated also brought an end to the traditional theory of praise.
In the year when he wrote "Bo Yang's Edition of Zizhi Tongjian", Bo Yang was sixty-four years old and already had white hair. But at the age of seventy-three, when the 10,000-word masterpiece was finally completed, Bo Yang's head was full of white hair. Each volume of "Bo Yang Edition Zizhi Tongjian" was printed at 10,000 copies. In Taiwan, a country with a population of 20 million at the time, this was an astonishing sales volume for a book like "Tongjian" that was not easy to gain popularity. The most popular part among readers is "Bo Yang Yue". Historian Tang Degang even commented passionately: "Bo Yang's Edition of Zizhi Tongjian is his memorial tablet in the history of cultural transformation!"
"I was arrested twenty-five years ago today. If I had known that I would have such an honor today, I would not have been so painful and sad." On March 7, 1993, when Yuanliu Publishing Company celebrated the publication of Bo Yang's book, Bo Yang said this.
What is even more gratifying is that this set of books has been popular for nearly 40 years so far. The famous historian Tang Degang said: "I would like to say that "Bo Yang's Edition of Zizhi Tongjian" (vernacular version) is a side note. Hu Shi, Liang Qichao and Li Ao have all been published for modern college and middle school students. There are dozens of books that must be read in the study of various countries. If someone wants me to create a similar book list, then I will choose "One Book to Define the World" - "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". If you can't understand the original text, then read "Bo Yang's Edition of Zi Zhi Tong Jian" (vernacular version). The reason is that as a modern Chinese intellectual, if you want to know something about China's inherent civilization, the most practical and feasible thing is to read "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". "
Regarding the new hardcover collector's edition launched by Oriental Publishing House, planner Wang Lili said in an interview: "This set of books allows readers to easily understand the history of China in 1362, and learn from the experiences and lessons of success and failure of the ancients in cultivating themselves, managing their families, conducting themselves in society, governing the country, and selecting and employing people. For the first time, this publication adopts the form of a complete set of 18 volumes with square spine hardcover. The cover paper is selected from imported black cardboard and supplemented with special customized textures to show the weight of history. The book title on the cover uses hot stamping technology to highlight the collection value of "Bo Yang's Vernacular Edition of Zizhi Tongjian". Because the 18 books (72 volumes) are relatively large, two exquisite gift boxes were specially designed to pay tribute to Mr. Bo Yang with the editor’s ingenuity. " For this publication, Liu Wenrui, a professor at Northwest University who studied "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", was specially invited to write an excellent preface. He commented that (Bo Yang's "Tong Jian" work) comes from its wild rather than domesticated self-awakening, and is a flourishing Weeds are not a garden trimmed by gardeners; they are roadside stalls that can quench the thirst of the people, not reserved rooms in royal hotels; they are popular ballads that move from elegance to vulgarity, instead of bel canto singing from vulgarity to elegance; they are cultural references that introduce ancient books into real life, rather than leading modern people to ancient imperial dreams.
Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Chu Wenjing
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