The Art of Time Travel (How to Read Historical Nonfiction)

A few days ago while browsing the aisles of Midtown Scholar in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, I came across a biography of a man whose life I always wanted to study: Emperor Huizong (A.D. 1082-1135) the last emperor of the Song Dynasty in northern China. Around my neck on a leather thong I wear a coin designed by the emperor and I many times meditate on and marvel at the journey the coin must have taken from the minters of almost a millennia ago to where it rests around my throat.

Emperor Huizong by Patricia Buckley Ebray was published in 2014 by Harvard University Press and when I found it in the stacks at Midtown Scholar, I was overjoyed. Unfortunately, I did not have the necessary funds to purchase it. Reluctantly, I left it behind, but this morning I returned to the store and my luck held. It is now in my possession.

My own personal time machine.

Fortunately, Dr. Ebray is no amateur writer. A professor at the University of Washington and an author of over 12 books on the Song Dynasty, she is uniquely qualified to lay out the history of this fascinating, star-crossed emperor and give me a fascinating, detailed and intimate look into Emperor Huizong's life and times.

It takes two shelves to hold my works on Theodore Roosevelt

And fortunately, I know how to read historical nonfiction. As a collector of ancient writings, biographies, and works on history, I've learned that true learning comes when one is willing to follow a few simple rules:

1. I do not consider myself superior to the past. Just because the people I study did not have access to the Internet, smartphones and other technology does not mean I am more intelligent than they are.
2. Though issues of morality are tricky when it comes to reading history, there are universal moral codes that are accepted regardless of culture, nationality, and boundaries (cf: The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis), through which I can safely judge actions and decisions as we all share a common morality with the past. However, I also have to reluctantly agree that certain acts questionable or even reprehensible to me did seem wise at the time they were enacted. Though I will never go so far as to say the Holocaust and similar events of genocide were ever good or wise, historical events such as the Crusades, the discovery of the New World and the resulting conquest of the Americas, the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan, and other events need to be viewed somewhat dispassionately in order to understand the zeitgeist or spirit of the times. 
3. We learn from the past to understand how we arrived at the present. Our own age did not spring from whole cloth. Our own zeitgeist was generated by actions and decisions made by our forebears some as much as several millennia ago. 
4. Finally, I am teachable. There are men and women that though they spoke a different language and lived in a different culture, they achieved and mastered arenas that I also wish to achieve and master. Therefore, though he was a misogynist and racist, I study the literary theory of H. P. Lovecraft to better refine my own writing. Though I disagree with the politics of Theodore Roosevelt, I study his life to learn how to conquer fear and surmount great trials. Though I am by no means an atheist, I study the life and writings of Friedrich Neitchszhe to understand the roots of a worldview that has an ever-increasing audience. 

My encouragement to you, Gentle Reader, is to utilize the millions of books that are at your disposal and learn. One in four Americans never read a book last year. Don't be one of them.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am scheduled to make a trip back to 11th century China. I am certain it will be a satisfying and enjoyable experience.