Editing Sima Qian (section)

===Li Ling affair===
[[File:Sima Qian.png|thumb|A [[Ming dynasty|Ming period]] (1368–1644) portrait of Sima Qian]]
In 99&nbsp;BC, Sima became embroiled in the Li Ling affair, where [[Li Ling]] and [[Li Guangli]], two military officers who led a campaign against the [[Xiongnu]] in the north, were defeated and taken captive. Emperor Wu attributed the defeat to Li Ling, with all government officials subsequently condemning him for it. Sima was the only person to defend Li Ling, who had never been his friend but whom he respected. Emperor Wu interpreted Sima's defence of Li as an attack on his brother-in-law, Li Guangli, who had also fought against the Xiongnu without much success, and sentenced Sima to death. At that time, execution could be [[Commutation (law)|commuted]] either by money or [[castration]]. Since Sima did not have enough money to atone for his "crime", he chose the latter and was then thrown into prison, where he endured three years. He described his pain thus: "When you see the jailer you abjectly touch the ground with your forehead. At the mere sight of his underlings you are seized with terror ... Such ignominy can never be wiped away." Sima called his castration "the worst of all punishments".{{sfnp|Hughes-Warrington|2000|p=291}}

In 96 BC, on his release from prison, Sima chose to live on as a palace [[eunuch]] to complete his histories, rather than commit suicide as was expected of a gentleman-scholar who had been disgraced by being castrated.<ref name="jay">{{cite book |last=Jay |first=Jennifer |title=The Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing Volume 2 |date=1999 |publisher=FitzRoy Dearborn |isbn=9781884964336 |editor=Boyd |editor-first=Kelly |pages=1093–1094 |chapter=Sima Qian |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0121vD9STIMC&pg=PA1094}}</ref> As Sima Qian himself explained in his ''Letter to Ren An'':

{{blockquote
|text=<poem>{{nbsp|5}}{{lang|zh|且夫臧獲婢妾猶能引決，況若僕之不得已乎。所以隱忍苟活，函糞土之中而不辭者，恨私心有所不盡，鄙沒世而文采不表於後也。古者富貴而名摩滅，不可勝記，唯俶儻非常之人稱焉。| size = 110% }}
{{nbsp|5}}If even the lowest slave and scullion maid can bear to commit suicide, why should not one like myself be able to do what has to be done? But the reason I have not refused to bear these ills and have continued to live, dwelling in vileness and disgrace without taking my leave, is that I grieve that I have things in my heart which I have not been able to express fully, and I am shamed to think that after I am gone my writings will not be known to posterity. Too numerous to record are the men of ancient times who were rich and noble and whose names have yet vanished away. It is only those who were masterful and sure, the truly extraordinary men, who are still remembered.


{{nbsp|5}}{{lang|zh|僕竊不遜，近自託於無能之辭，網羅天下放失舊聞，考之行事，綜其終始，稽其成敗興壞之理 ... 凡百三十篇，亦欲以究天人之際，通古今之變，成一家之言。草創未就，適會此禍，惜其不成，是以就極刑而無慍色。僕誠已著此書，藏諸名山，傳之其人通邑大都，則僕償前辱之責，雖萬被戮，豈有悔哉！| size = 110% }}
{{nbsp|5}}I too have ventured not to be modest but have entrusted myself to my useless writings. I have gathered up and brought together the old traditions of the world which were scattered and lost. I have examined the deeds and events of the past and investigated the principles behind their success and failure, their rise and decay [...] in one hundred and thirty chapters. I wished to examine into all that concerns heaven and man, to penetrate the changes of the past and present, completing all as the work of one family. But before I had finished my rough manuscript, I met with this calamity. It is because I regretted that it had not been completed that I submitted to the extreme penalty without rancor. When I have truly completed this work, I shall deposit it in the Famous Mountain. If it may be handed down to men who will appreciate it, and penetrate to the villages and great cities, then though I should suffer a thousand mutilations, what regret should I have?</poem>
|source=Sima Qian, "Letter to Ren An" (96&nbsp;BC; [[Burton Watson]], trans.){{sfnp|Watson|1958|pp=57-67}}
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