| The term "Counselors" comes from Sima Qian’s the Biography of Chu Lizi and Gan Mao of the Western Han Dynasty,and refers to the scholars who engaged in strategizing and serving the upper management of the state."Counselors in Warring States" refers to the counselor who lobbied during the Warring States period and offered advice to the kings and magnates.Both Historical Records and Sima Guang’s History As A Mirror of the Northern Song Dynasty have written about the counselors in Warring States.Specifically,they include Su Qin,Su Dai,Su Li,Zhang Yi,Chen Yi,Gongsun Yan,Gan Mao,Mao Sui,Yu Qing,Hou Huan,Lu Zhonglian,Fan Yu,Cai Ze,etc.In Historical Records,Sima Qian intends to show the personality and social influence of the counselors in Warring States;In the History As A Mirror,Sima Guang,for the purpose of politics,not only recounted the deeds of the counselors who lobbied and strategized,but also commented on their talents and conduct.In recent years,scholars have paid attention to the fact that both the Historical Records and the History As A Mirror contain counselors in Warring States,but scholars generally examine the authenticity of the counselors’ deeds,and discuss the evaluation of the counselors in Warring States by the "two Simas" on the fields of history and thought,and there are few literary comparative researches.Starting from the texts of Historical Records and History As A Mirror,comparing and discussing the literary writing of the counselors in Warring States in the two classics can fill the gap in existing research.There are both similarities and differences between the Historical Records and the History As A Mirror.The differences are manifested in three aspects: the deeds,language,and image of the counselors in Warring States.First,in terms of the deeds of the counselors in Warring States,the Historical Records records the lobbying,travelling,and other experiences of the counselors in Warring States that reflect their own personalities,covering almost every aspect of their lives.In History As A Mirror,Sima Guang comprehensively uses a variety of narrative techniques in the order of time,focusing on recording the deeds of counselors in Warring States who manipulated the political situation of the Warring States with their tongues as resources,so its scope is not as wide as Historical Records.Second,from the aspect of the language of the counselors in Warring States,the Historical Records and the History As A Mirror both focus on writing the lobbying and arguing words of the counselors in Warring States,and realize the polyphonic writing of voice.However,in terms of specific language content,counselors in Warring States in Historical Records pay attention to "speculation" and "ornamentation",and have a strong sense of making good use of the language.The language of the counselors in the History As A Mirror is concise,and basically only plays the role of clarifying political views.Third,when it comes to the images of the counselors,both classics show the images who can make good decisions and speak well.At the same time,the counselors in the Historical Records are more vivid and real,and their personalities are fluid;the History As A Mirror shows a flattened feature because it focuses on showing the performance of counselors participating in politics.The differences in the writing of the Historical Records and the History As A Mirror is the result of the linkage of many factors.Sima Qian and Sima Guang lived in different eras,their writing concepts were not completely identical,and there were differences in their personal life experiences and temperament.Under the combined influence of these factors,Sima Qian and Sima Guang diverged in their cognition of the counselors in Warring States,which eventually led to the different writing of the counselors in Warring States in Historical Records and History As A Mirror. |
