Ban Gu's History of Early China By Anthony E. Clark

Chapter 1:

Inscribing the Past: A History of Chinese History

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But Mao interpreted it as a circuitous attack on his earlier purging of Peng Dehuai (1898–1974) and tried to have Wu removed from office, ironically aping the play’s theme. This conflict between a lesser statesman and a ruler had an influential role in what soon after evolved into the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). From China’s early period to its present era, the antagonism between minister and ruler has remained active.

Ban Gu created an intellectual view wherein remonstrance is possible without suspicion. Of course, sycophancy always helps, but Ban Gu also highlighted the political value of his clansmen while discrediting Wang Mang’s claims to have received Heaven’s Mandate; he configured a novel Mandate paradigm in which the Liu clan’s tenure of Heaven’s approval was divinely predetermined and perennially assigned. According to Ban’s History of the Han, the Liu clan can count on Heaven’s endorsement now and forever. Beyond the political nuances of Ban Gu’s work, he did have a discernable historiographical view, one that supports the expectation to praise and blame—an impulse found throughout his writings.

Praise, Blame, and the Modes of Judgment

Historical praise and blame (baobian ) are not indigenous only to China. Daniel Robinson, in his recent work, Praise and Blame: Moral Realism and Its Applications, wrote,

Praise and blame are central features of scripture, of ethics and moral philosophy of ancient schools of rhetoric, of criminal law, of the behavioral and social sciences. They are the tested tools of childrearing and interpersonal influence, staples in the busy world of advertising and the murky world of propaganda. They are the means by which attention is drawn to the hero and the villain, the saint and the sinner, the victor and the vanquished.³⁷

So this impulse sweeps across wide cultural lines. Ban Gu’s particular understanding of historical writing is revealed in two primary sources, and both disclose much about his view of praise and blame. The first source is an essay by his father, Ban Biao, which appears to have influenced Ban Gu’s approach to writing.