This book has been completed at this point. Some readers have asked me to write more biographies, but I think I am powerless. The biographies of Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei have exhausted me both physically and mentally, and I am really unable to write them.
Before writing Qiming, I never took a break. After writing one book, I immediately followed it up with the next, sometimes even writing both books. I was exhausted every day. I wrote for four or five years. By the end of Qiming, I felt obviously unable to do what I wanted, so I decided to take a two-month break.
As a result, my grandmother passed away from illness at the end of October last year. During the rest period, I spent a lot of time on this matter. She was also very tired and did not have a good rest. After that, I started to update Xuande, four times a day at first, but later I lost energy. Gradually it became three updates, then two updates, and now, it has really reached its limit and I can’t hold on anymore.
Moreover, I had no intention of writing Xuande's book, and it was considered one of my scrapped projects, because I expected that if I wrote it this way, I would inevitably run into the tyrants in the later period, and my understanding of the country's later construction and political struggles in this era was unavoidable. The content has basically been written in Xiaoxiongzhi. There is nothing new and I feel there is nothing to write.
The main reason why I wrote Xuande was that I read a lot of content about the debate between modern and ancient texts during the break. I felt that this area was a hidden line in the former Three Kingdoms period. No one had written about it. I thought it might be something new to write in this way. Plus, after reading Many books related to Liu Bei gave me a deeper understanding of Liu Bei and dispelled some misunderstandings about Liu Bei when I was young, so I wanted to write a book to apologize to Emperor Zhaolie.
So I decided to use Liu Bei as the protagonist to write about the undercurrent of the dispute between modern and ancient literature. But as I kept writing, I found that it was difficult to write this part in a long way. If I only wrote about academics and political struggles, I wouldn’t be able to write much new ideas. Writing about military affairs War is not my strong point, so I struggled with it for a long time. I originally planned to write more than three million words, but finally decided to stop early and not write any more, so as not to ruin my character.
The results of this book are very good. It is the best since I wrote a book. I am very happy about this. Because of this, I have higher requirements for myself. I don’t want to use a book that is difficult to expand and cannot be written. This good result was overshadowed by the novelty of old stories. I wanted to complete a brand new work with more energy and fighting spirit, and pursue my higher ceiling.
Everyone says that writing a book is a very challenging job. No one knows what the next book they will write will be like. It may be better or worse. It may be over. I was also worried for a while.
But later I discovered that I was still full of fighting spirit and enthusiasm for opening up new paths and writing new stories. I still wanted to unearth all kinds of details and find all kinds of novel angles in the five thousand years of history. To cut into a piece of ordinary history on paper and make this history lively and interesting.
This process made me feel extremely excited, and I found that this process not only pleased the readers, but also pleased myself. It made me truly feel that I was walking with a group of people thousands of years ago, and trying to communicate with them. Empathy and experience something that cannot be experienced in modern times.
I think this is the charm of traveling through history.
Therefore, since I still have such enthusiasm and fighting spirit and have not diminished at all, then I should finish decisively and not be limited by past results, whether good or bad, as long as I continue to maintain this enthusiasm and fighting spirit, then no matter when, I can start all over again.
If one book doesn't work, cut it, go to sleep, and come back with another book tomorrow. It's not my father-in-law. If you cut it, it won't grow anymore.
so……
I hope I can still retain this passion and fighting spirit when I am forty or fifty years old (laughs)
Tomorrow is the National Day. I am rushing to present this incomplete ending to everyone on the last day of September. I hope you will accept it. Two months later, on December 1st, I will present my new work on time. About An unusual little story from the mid-Qing Dynasty.
Dear gentlemen, see you in two months.
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PS: Regarding Liu Bei’s temple title, some readers have raised questions, thinking that it should be the ancestor rather than the ancestral line. I have thought about it for a long time and believe that Liu Bei’s accession to the throne in this book was due to abdication, and the country’s title is still Han, without interruption. Emperor He was always the emperor of the Liu family. The situation was completely different from the emergence of a new Mang dynasty at the turn of the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Western Han Dynasty actually subjugated the country, so Liu Xiu restored the country and re-established the foundation. He can be called the ancestor. However, during Liu Bei's period, the Eastern Han Dynasty did not subjugate the country. , the name of the country did not change after he ascended the throne, and there was no nominal restoration of the country to create a new foundation, so he should not be regarded as an ancestor.
And regarding the issue of "ancestor", I also thought about Jiajing's change of Zhu Di's temple name from Taizong to Chengzu. This happened during the Jiajing Rite Conference and was closely related to the power struggle in the early Jiajing Dynasty. I think the change of the temple name represented Jiajing implies that Zhu Di's becoming emperor is not a normal handover, but a new business, which essentially denies the legality and orthodoxy of rule that Zhu Di has pursued throughout his life. This is something Zhu Di's son and grandson will never do. For Zhu Di, if he knew If his temple name was changed to Chengzu, he would probably draw his sword and kill Jiajing.
Therefore, letting Liu Bei's temple name be his ancestor is essentially equivalent to later generations thinking that Liu Bei is starting a business again. If it is further extended, it will make people think that Liu Bei is treason, which is problematic in terms of the legitimacy of his ascension to the throne. But at that time, Liu Bei's All formalities were legal, and even the matter of ascending to the throne was not something he initiated independently. His actions were ignored, and the procedures were fair and clear.
Therefore, I think Liu Bei's descendants, ministers and even later history writers should all agree that Liu Bei's temple name is Zong, not Ancestor, even though his achievements are very great.
As for Shizong, some people have suggested that Liu Che is also Shizong, so Liu Bei cannot be Shizong. However, the temple name of Shizong is a metaphor for the transfer of the ruler's family, which often represents the transfer of the throne from one branch to another. Liu Che is Shizong of the Western Han Dynasty, and Liu Bei lived in The era is the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, some people called the Western Han Dynasty the Former Han Dynasty and the Early Han Dynasty. That is to say, people at that time also looked at the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty separately. Shizong of the Early Han Dynasty and Shizong of the Later Han Dynasty can also be viewed separately. Therefore, I think it is more appropriate to use Sejong as the temple name.
I think so. If you have different opinions, you can share them.
