Dragon Bed: 14th-17th century, of six Chinese emperors

Author: Li Jiefei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: The content, approach, style, and writing method of this book are generally not bound by rigid conventions. The author never intended to disguise himself as a professional historian, imitating their methods and formats. Additionally, there are writers in the literary world who create historical novels using history as their material—this is not the path the author follows. The author feels that he is doing the opposite, bringing the spirit and perspective of literature into historical writing. This will manifest in two aspects: narration and reflection.
Narration refers to the careful study of historical materials, thoughtfully considering their relationships and possibilities, and then organizing them to present them anew. Reflection, on the other hand, is straightforward. In the face of historical figures and events, the author cannot merely be a copyist or a mouthpiece for past viewpoints, opinions, and judgments. Instead, he must strive to offer deeper and more unique personal insights and perspectives. Otherwise, he would be unworthy of the readers who are willing to spend money and time on this book.
Introducing the spirit and perspective of literature into historical writing is not an excuse to manipulate history. On the contrary, the more one does so, the more one must adhere to principles. In the use and understanding of materials, creativity and depth should be pursued, but the sources of the materials must be clear and reliable. During the writing process, some suggested reducing direct citations of ancient texts and translating them into modern language for easier reading. After careful consideration, the author dared not adopt this suggestion. Since all the cited materials are fundamental primary sources, they should remain in their original form in the book, serving as a reference for verification against the author's use and interpretation. However, the issue of understanding unfamiliar or difficult sentences for ordinary readers does indeed need to be addressed. Footnotes are the usual practice, but finding them can be tedious, and the author often lacks the patience for it. After deliberation, the author decided to try the following method—adding marginal notes directly after the relevant sentences, distinguished from the original text by square brackets. Here is a special note:
(1) In the book, any text within square brackets printed in a different font is a note on the citation;
(2) These notes mainly fall into two categories: one is a direct translation of the original meaning, and the other appropriately extends, comments on, or reinterprets it to aid readers in understanding and enhance reading interest.