Study On Shike In Shiji

Sima Qian is a great historian and philosopher in Ancient China, whosemasterpiece Shiji(also known as Records of the Grand Historian) not onlydescribes the vivid historical characters but also raises lots of advanced thoughts.Based on the principle of not preaching the goodness and not avoiding the badness,Sima Qian used lots of words to describe various characters, for example thedescription to Class of Shi (a class intermediate between the new nobility and thecommon people composed of men seeking employment on the basis of their talentsand skills). From the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods to late QinDynasty and early Han Dynasty, there were humorous social changes in Chinahistory, ranging from political diplomacy to economy&culture, under the socialtransformation the growing Class of Shi flourished around China. Shike(thetalented individuals who were often employed by various state rulers as adviserson the methods of government, war, diplomacy etc.) as an important part of Classof Shi recorded in Shiji, first stepped into historical stage in Spring and AutumnPeriods, and thrived in Warring States Periods, then declined as the strictimplementation of Centralism, which were a symbolic group reflecting socialtransformation. In Shiji Sima Qian recorded lots of characters and legends of Shike,this paper aims to study on the definition, characters, function and influence ofShike.This paper includes four parts:First part discusses the definition and appearing causes of Shike. Based onprevious studies this part gives a refined definition to Shike, and through discussesdifferent personal address to state clearly what this paper studies about on Shike.There were dissents in previous studies about the appearing causes of Shike, basedon previous studies and history records in Shiji, from different angles of socialhistory, hosts(state rulers) and Shike themselves, this part focuses on analyzing theappearing causes of Shike.Second part studies on the characters of Shike. Shiji records about seventiescharacters of Shike with names, and other nameless or group forms. Based on Shike’ s different pursuits--spirit or physical, this part studies Shike according tofour categories: spirit, pragmatic, physical, and sensitive, and studies on thefunction and influence of Shike group.Third part studies on the host characters. Shike were the ones hosts raised,appreciated and trusted. The hosts’ aggression brought the blooming of Shike.Through studying on the host characters, this part further studies on thephenomenon of Shike. From central to local grade, this part divides the hosts intothree classes: empire class, central ruler class, local ruler class, central ruler class isthe key point this part studies on. Besides studies on common hosts, this paperpays more attention to study on the typical Four Hosts in Warring States Periods.Because of less records to local ruler hosts in Shiji, this part just briefly mentionsthem.Fourth part discusses function, decline causes and influence of Shike, andtheir impact on later generations. As am important part of Class of Shi, Shike notonly reflected the lifestyles of Class of Shi under huge social historical changes,but also reflected the changes of an era. The growing Shike group had great impacton politics, diplomacy, economy, culture, etc. After experiencing a flourishing timein Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, Shike phenomenon declined asthe strict implementation of Centralism, the causes for which were complicated.From the fundamental cause, outside cause, and inside cause of Shike, this partanalyzes the causes for decline of Shike. Shike also profoundly impacted on lattergenerations. From later literature, social morality, and the continuity of Shike,fourth part further studies on the development of Shike in later generations.In conclusion, Shike phenomenon is really a hot and attracted topic. Thedescription of Shike in Shiji by Sima Qian imparts the position and influence ofShike. The studies on Shike in Shiji are an important complement to the study ofClass of Shi, and also an important study item of Shiji.