Biography of Historical Records and Li Lie (excerpt);
Guang Lian, you must be rewarded for your work, diet and scholarship. Finally, I have been a man of two thousand stones for more than forty years, and there is no extra money at home, so I never say anything about my family. As we all know, he is a man with an ape arm, and he is also good at shooting, although his descendants and other scholars can't get in touch with him. Broad mouth and few words, living in human settlements, painting the land for the military, shooting wide and drinking narrow. Designed to shoot for the play, it died. What Guang Zhi's generals lack is a unique place. When they see water, their foot soldiers don't drink, they don't approach water, their foot soldiers don't eat, and they don't taste food. Generosity is not harsh, and scholars use this philharmonic.
Translation:
Li Guang is an honest official. When he got the reward, he gave it to his subordinates. He always eats and drinks with soldiers. Li Guang lived to be an official for more than 40 years with a salary of 2,000 stone. There is no extra property at home, and he never talks about family property. Li Guang is a tall man with two arms like apes. He is good at archery, which is also a gift. Even if his descendants or outsiders learn from him, no one can catch up with him. Li Guang's language is slow and he doesn't talk much. When he was with others, he drew an army array on the ground. Then, compared with archery, he decides who will be punished for drinking according to whether to draw a dense line or a wide line. He used archery as a pastime until his death. When Li Guang led his troops, he met food and water, and when he saw water, Li Guang didn't go near the water until the soldiers drank it completely. The soldiers haven't completely finished their meal, and Li Guang hasn't tasted a bite. Li Guang is generous and gentle to the soldiers, so the soldiers love him and are willing to use him.
Biography of General Li is a historical biography written by Sima Qian, a historian and writer of Han Dynasty, which is contained in Historical Records 109. This paper describes Li Guang, a famous Han Dynasty soldier known as "Flying General", who is witty, brave, honest and generous, and his unfortunate experience of not being knighted for his meritorious service and finally being forced to commit suicide, thus creating the image of a tragic hero. Narrative highlights key events, makes good use of contrast and pays attention to detail description, which is a famous biography in Historical Records.