A Distant Mirror

Scholars of Chinese history have always had the so-called "Two Ssu-ma's in History" approach, with a consensus that the Historical Records and the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government are the two greatest works in the annals of Chinese historiography. Ssu-ma Kuang, author of the Comprehensive Mirror, and Ssu-ma Chien, compiler of the Historical Records, are classified together as the two jewels of Chinese historical writing.

Ssu-ma Chien's work is extremely difficult and complex. This is because it was a personal effort, without official materials at hand, so that collection of data was difficult. Also because paper had not yet been invented, it was an arduous task to transcribe it onto bamboo sticks and silk paper. By the time of Ssu-ma Kuang, in the Northern Sung, there was a great deal of manpower available, and there was much firsthand material, so that collection of data was extremely easy, and few obstacles were encountered.

Nevertheless, the greatest difference between the two books was in the motives for their creation. Ssu-ma Chien wrote the Historical Records to realize a personal avocation: "Studying all affairs in heaven and earth, looking through from past to present, and coming up with a respected set of observations" so that after its completion it could be "stored in the Imperial library and passed on to others. " Ssu-ma Kuang's Comprehensive Mirror had a political mission. It's style and purpose was entirely to "utilize the history of the past to assist in governing." He collected 322 varieties of public and private works and drew from them historical lessons, then provided these to the emperor as apologues for the handling of national affairs.

Author: Ssu-ma Kuang
Translator: Po Yang
Publisher: Yuan-Liou
Price: 72 volumes (soft-cover)
NT$8,400

Chinese style power games:

Precisely because the creative motivation was to "use the past to assist in governing, " throughout the Yuan, Ming, and Ch'ing dynasties which came after the initial publication of the Comprehensive Mirror, it became essential discourse for the imperial teacher, and essential reading for each successive ruler and crown prince--required courses in the education of an emperor.

Nevertheless, the effect of each emperor being compelled to read the Comprehensive Mirror was very limited. Muddle-headed monarchs were just as muddle-headed, the careless or stupid followed in the footsteps of the careless and stupid of old.

These muddled rulers who were unable to learn the lessons of history were overwhelmingly those who inherited their positions from their fathers; rarely were they dynastic founders. Founding emperors all passed through ordeals of fire in the transition from one dynasty to another, and were leaders who arose out of a chaotic world. Rarely were they of mediocre caliber.

Still, though history may have only had a limited impact on emperors, and may not ever have been of "aid" to the imperial "government, " for the ordinary citizen it is a "mirror" that never loses its sheen.

What good is reading history? Besides simple interest, increased knowledge can broaden one's perspective and open one's heart, help one to learn how to make proper judgements, and achieve the "clear-headed thinking" Confucius talked about.

From this point of view, Po Yang's translation of the abstruse and complex Comprehensive Mirror into contemporary language allows modern people to grasp the full, abundant contents of that work. This is of great significance to helping citizens understand the history and culture of their nation.

Why do we have to study history?:

Currently many publishers on the market promote historical classics from the angle of strategic studies or power games. Thus we have Modern Kingship and Commercial Strategy. All are based on business considerations, but also reflect the ambitions of modern people to get rich quick. I am inclined to look at history from a traditional perspective, as Lien Ya-tang pointed out in his Comprehensive History of Taiwan: "If you want to destroy a nation, destroy their history first." Countries or societies that do not place much store in history have little hope.

In fact, what Po Yang has been doing is not merely to translate the Comprehensive Mirror into the vernacular, but to "restructure" it as well. He has simultaneously undertaken tasks of reconsideration, verification, addition, and supplementation: modern place names, contemporary renderings of official titles, explaining esoteric official positions through modern political roles.

Before Ssu-ma Kuang completed the Comprehensive Mirror, the mainstream of Chinese history had only the seventeen histories. But in the 900 years from the Sung dynasty to the present, a great many historical materials have come out. Among these, if Ssu-ma Kuang has made no reference to them and Po Yang feels they would be helpful to supplementing the contents, then he adds them in. For example there's Yang Hsiung's special critique of history, Commentaries, Wang Fu-chih's On the Reading of the Comprehensive Mirror, or writers like Liang Chi-chao; if Po feels they are sufficient to understand the history of the period in question, all of them are given attention.

Retain a critical spirit:

Another special feature of The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, Po Yang Edition is the inclusion of more than 800 "Po Yang Says" sections. In these parts he expresses his personal view of history. They co-exist with the "Ssu-ma Kuang Says" commentaries on historical events and personages.

We can see Po Yang severely criticizing the thinking of the Confucian school, and Ssu-ma Kuang's defense of traditional ethics. Each has his arguments, and readers can decide what is right or wrong on their own. For example, when Ssu-ma Kuang describes how a six-year-old emperor ascended the throne in the South and North dynasties, he relates that a high-ranking minister saw the little emperor crying and asked him why. The young monarch supposedly replied that he was thinking about how arduous the achievements of his predecessor had been and of his own great responsibilities. Feeling overwhelmed, he couldn't help but cry bitterly. Po Yang notes in an aside that this is not the kind of talk one gets from a six-year-old, but is the wording of a sixty-year-old "mythmaker." In fact this is true, and I think anyone would be skeptical.

Further, under the long-term sales strategy of the publisher, one volume is published each month, creating a dynamic relationship between author and readership, allowing readers to raise questions about the Po Yang Edition, with mutual discussion of important historical problems. Unlike the traditional scholar, Po Yang does not disdain the views of others, and in his responses to letters in "Comprehensive Mirror Forum" he repeatedly thanks the readers for their valuable ideas, and accepts criticism and guidance.

In the end the wisdom of any one man is limited. The "Forum" is the equivalent of having tens of thousands of readers working together to proofread and edit these books, continually rectifying errors.

To complete his work Ssu-ma Kuang did the equivalent of drawing from the national budget, had the backing of the emperor, and worked collectively with a group of people. If today some academic institution were to mobilize 50 people and spend ten years to translate and annotate the work no one would find it remarkable. Under conditions of having no manpower and no expenses, Po Yang is relying on his persistence and his sense of mission to succeed to the experience and wisdom of the past to produce this work. Only as aesult of this do we regard this as a major event in the Chinese world.