History can find its name as academic subject, uncut jade and virginal champaign. From the past to the present, from heaven to earth, history almost involves all events happened or happening, as a witness of beauty and evil in the world, known for time-honored and measured for abundant content. People view one thing in different ways, which is true of interpreting history. Value of Ancient History at Modern Times, the report given by Professor Wang Liqun, in which interpretation of history in terms of politics, literature and academy varies, deserved our reflection.

    Political authority, literary entertainment and scientific academy applied in interpretation of history are appreciatable in Professor Wang’s speech. However, I can hardly show my approval of the generalized commonts on entertainment of history in literature works for reasons as follows.

    First, we initiate our discussion with the relationship between literature and history. That is to say, how literature relate to history. Undoubtedly, literature works were composed by people and for people, with the permanent topic on humans, presenting the beauty and making people inspired. As part of the spiritual life of human being, literature has been playing a significant role in the spiritual world of human being. Therefore, all literature were not generated from the virtual but  the real world composed by actual events and people. Literature menefests itself in nature-themed or event-themed writing, in terms of historical stories or legendary tales, which can hardly be taken separately from human life. Recording and presenting the old times, with written or oral language, or relics, history shows its significance as store house of literary materials. Epics and historical novels emerged for interpreting history in a new way, which fascinates the literature workers. Suppose that litterateurs can reinterpret events and personage of the past, reviewing and enjoying the spiritual charm, the experience in which give out great temptation to people. the need for both beauty and reflection to enrich spiritual, referenced to personal understanding of readers themselves, differ the literary interpretation of history from academic interpretation, resulting in the rational and logic interpretation being overwhelmed by emotional and aesthetic understanding. All elements are responsible for the advent of literary interpretation of history as one of classifications.

    Consequently, the interpretation has been characterised with artistic nature even since it came into being, which accounts for the existence of literary interpretation relying on the will of itself. Literature makes changes of history it involves in by demonstrateing it in a literary and exaggerative way, causing misinterpretation or mistakes reverse to real history. I suppose that as reasons for Professor Wang's perspectives on entertainment of history in literature works. 

    Subsequently, we come to the point on value of history in literature works. Apart from functioning as entertainment, does it have more serious meaning? Undoubtedly, positive answer available.

    Chinese relics-proved history can trace back to Shang Dynasty. The earliest historical book, covered only part of historical events happened in those days. We are exposed to history in and before Shang Dynasty only by Book of Songs and Book of Mountains and Seas. Literature works here offer much-needed references to analysis of history. After The Records of Grand History, history recorded or described in literature works was overwhelmed by so-called authorized history books written in biographical style. However, history in those books is insufficient for people to know well about real history. As to the details of some historical events, we have to look up some unauthorized works. So, literature is of great importance in recording and transmitting history. Nature of literary excel that of history in literature works. A case in point is the dispute between The History of Three Kingdoms and The Romance of Three Kingdoms. Differences between history and literary is enlarged, that history shows preference to record everything accurately while literature tends to demonstrate history in terms of literary art. Literature finds its value in history as supplement to content and enrichment to theme, to specify the framework of history. That is how valuable literature works are in scientific analysis of history.

    Here, we should focus on some problems in history. As known to all historian, the most authorized epic The Records of Grand History, part of events in which were made up by Sima Qian out of his imagination. Did Xiang Yu sing the song at Gai Xia? If he did, who was the witness? Who made it public? Obviously, under no circumstance can the events and dialogue like this be recorded without any change. Certainly, all these facts were made up by Sima Qian. Consequently, even so-called authorized historical work never means the copy of every details in real history thought it is based on it. The truth is that history itself need perfecting with more made-up etails. Or, historical epics would be monotonous and boring.

    Some movies and TV series plays made at modern times, more or less, distort the real history, exerting negative influence on the transmission of historical culture, misleading people in learning history. To satire the ill phenomena, Professor Wang put forward his theory that history involved in literature works is for entertaining people instead of informing people knowledge. Apart from some movies and TV series plays made for entertainment only, I see others, namely, Reign of Zhenzhuan and Reign of Emperor Yongzheng, as supplement to history. Differences lying between the made one and the real one is the significance of their contributions to the transmission of history. Nevertheless, we would like to make our concern known by playwrighters and directors that it is their responsibility to value up ancient history to meet the people's need in learning history. To achieve this goal, they are supposed to analyse history in literature and make their works more meaningful than to entertain the public.

    Hence, from my own perspectives, history demonstrated in literature works means more than entertaining materials, for it function profoundly as record and supplement to the real historical events. By no means can we fully realized the great importance of history in literature works, unless we are able to appreciate it as a kind of art.