Although modern-day lyrical poet Kanye West once stated “I’m too busy making history to read it”, Si-ma Qian believed that by writing history he could be a part of history. This essay seeks to explain Si-ma Qian’s decision to avoid execution, his attempts to justify his choice, and the relationship between his own narrative and his portrayal of historical characters. After Si-ma Qian refused to speak ill of Li-ling following his surrender to enemy forces, Qian was faced with three options; he could pay a fine, follow the gentleman’s code by committing suicide, or face castration. Qian did not have the funds to pay the fine, and if he committed suicide, he would not have been able to fulfill his father’s final wish which was…show more content… He attempts to relate his own personal burdens to that of other famous Chinese writers who had faced dishonor while producing very influential works. “All of these men had something eating away a t their hearts; they could not carry through their ideas of the Way, so they gave an account of what had happened before while thinking of those to come.” Here we see Qian attempting to rationalize the suffering he underwent, King Wen of Zhou, Zou Qin-ming, and even Confucius produced great works while suffering for them. In Qian’s Biography of Bo Yi and Shu Qi, Bo Yi and Shu Yi, who are considered good men, are contrasted with Zhi the Outlaw. Bo Yi and Shu Yi followed their sense of right, and starved to death, While Zhi the Outlaw who habitually killed and cannibalized innocent people lived a long life. Si-ma Qian could be trying to draw a parallel to the Li-ling affair. When Qian attempted to do what he though was the right thing, which was giving his honest opinion of Li-Ling to the King, he was also forced to suffer castration much like Bo Yi and Shu Yi were forced to starve to death to uphold their
