Historical records and appraisals are not always reliable. Many are deceitful. As we all know, in a long dynasty, heroes abound; in a short one, most are villains. Why? Because a long dynasty chronicles its own history, hence eulogy; a short dynasty has its history written by its conqueror, hence denunciation.
Lu Xun told his audience, in one of his 1927 lectures on the Wei-Jin era (coinciding roughly with the late Roman Empire).
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