Reading Weekly | Reading - How "History" became a literary classic

Sima Qian, a famous historian of the Western Han Dynasty, was a native of Hancheng, Shaanxi, and his immortal work "Shi Ji" is not only a monument to Chinese culture, but also a bright pearl in the treasure house of world culture. Lu Xun commented that the "History of History" is "the greatest song of historians, the departure of no rhyme", which is known to everyone, but not necessarily everyone can understand. People can't help but wonder: Why is a history book associated with Qu Yuan's "Departure from Sorrow"? How did the Chronicle of History become a literary classic? This is indeed a question that seems easy but is actually not easy to answer. Professor Zhang Xinke of the College of Literature of Shaanxi Normal University's "The Road to the Construction of literary classics in the History of History" also answers this question while being selected into the National Library of Philosophical and Social Science Achievements.

This book is widely involved in extensive research and careful discussion, and conducts a detailed investigation of the process of people's literary understanding and the construction of the status of literary classics since the birth of the "History". Its body is large, its thoughtfulness, its thinking is refined, and its knowledge is profound. Knot in one.

The whole book of "The Road to the Construction of Literary Classics in the History of History" is a total of more than 400,000 words, divided into ten chapters, and the scope of investigation began in the Western Zhou Dynasty, in the 21st century, up and down for three thousand years, involving thousands of kinds of literature. The author believes that people's construction of the literary classic status of the "History" has gone through eight major stages. That is: starting, laying, establishing, new changes, consolidation, peaks, strengthening, new peaks. It is commendable that the book also includes the construction of the literary classics of the "Historical Records" research on the overseas "Historical Records" into the research horizon, and completes the tenth chapter "The Role of Overseas "Historical Records" Literary Research on the Construction of Classics". It can be said that this monumental work spans ancient and modern times and is all-encompassing; it is both Chinese and foreign, and there is no omission, which is for the sake of being large.

Works with a grand system tend to flow into emptiness, and this book is not only large, but also thoughtful. The book's investigation of the construction process of the literary classic status of the "Shi Ji" is not limited to the way of literary creation, but also considers the various ways of classicizing the literature of the "Shi Ji". The book proposes that the reason why "Shi Ji" has become a literary classic is first of all because of the rich and profound ideological connotation and superb literary characteristics of the work itself. In the process of classicization, the reader is always the subject, and the reader's recognition and acceptance is the key. In the final analysis, it was Sima Qian's personality spirit and the "soul" of the "Historical Record" that infected countless readers. The path of classicizing the literature of "Shi Ji" mainly includes the following six ways: First, the literary creation of the essayist using the "Shi Ji" as a model, imitating or borrowing; second, the selected "Shi Ji" compiled by the anthology writers to establish a literary model; third, the various interpretations and comments of the "Shi Ji" by literary commentators from the perspective of literary criticism; fourth, the poetry poems created by poets using the "Shi Ji" as the material; fifth, the novels created by novelists with the "Shi Ji" ji biography as an example and the content of the "Shi Ji" as the material; sixth, the opera composers use the "Shi Ji" as the material for "Shi Ji" History" is an opera created for the material. These six ways can be said to have covered all aspects of the classic construction of the literature of the "Chronicle of History" for two thousand years, which is for the sake of worrying about the week.

With such a thorough investigation, the problems that may arise are comprehensive and not focused. In the investigation of these eight courses, this book takes into account the new characteristics of each era, especially the influence of the mainstream ideas and trends of thought in each era on the construction of the literary classic status of the "History". For example, in the Han Dynasty, it was pointed out that the reason for the low literary status of the "Shi Ji" was that it was shackled by the study of scriptures, and the self-consciousness of the literature of the Six Dynasties of Wei and Jin promoted people's hazy understanding of the literary nature of the "Shi Ji", and it was not until the Tang and Song ancient literature movements that the status of the "Shi Ji" literary classics was established. The adaptation of the story of "Shi Ji" on the Yuan Dynasty opera stage and the evaluation of the chapters, techniques and language of the "Shi Ji" by the Ming and Qing novel commentaries further strengthened the status of the "Shi Ji" literary classics. In modern times, under the influence of the Western academic system, scholars' research on the style, narrative, article method, biography, artistic aesthetics and other topics of the "Shi Ji" and the newly compiled literary history have affirmed the literary status of the "Shi Ji", which has further strengthened the literary classic status of the "Shi Ji". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the study of the "Shi Ji" with new ideas and new methods not only discovered new materials, but also opened up new research fields, so that the process of classicizing the literature of "Shi Ji" has a new beginning. In addition, the author also pays special attention to the impact of the development of printing technology on the dissemination of the "Shiji", the impact of the imperial examination, the cultural system, and the cultural policy changes on the classicization of the "Shiji" literature, and so on. All these things are the essence of their thoughts.

In addition to thinking, there is also deep knowledge. Although the book focuses on the investigation of the establishment process of the literary classic status of the "Shi Ji", it has never departed from the historical standard, and the author points out: "The literary nature of the "Shi Ji" is based on historical foundation. The Chronicle of History is first and foremost a work of history, but it is different from purely historical data; as literature, it is different from pure literary fiction, not literature for literature's sake. For example, writing About Xiang Yu, Sima Qian chose three big scenes of the Battle of Julu, the Feast of Hongmen, and the Siege of Xiaxia to show Xiang Yu's life, as a typical technique in literature, but the historical ideas of Sima Qian are permeated in the bones. In the construction of literature, it is also inseparable from historical. In addition, after examining this magnificent process, the author particularly emphasizes: "The "History" as a literary classic is not self-styled, but is formed by the recognition and study of it by successive generations of readers. He also said that as long as the reader exists, "the process of classicization of the literature of the "Shi Ji" has not ended, and will continue, that is to say, the literary classicization of the "Shi Ji" will always be on the road." It should be said that this kind of profound understanding cannot be achieved without the precipitation of many years of immersion in the study of the "Records of History", without the dedication of day and night thinking and dedication.

Professor Zhang has been engaged in the study of "Historical Records" for many years, and has published "Historical Outline of Historical Research", "Historical Records and Chinese Literature", "Introduction to Historical Records" and other works. At the same time, through the discussion of the literary dissemination of "Shiji" and the acceptance of readers, the new book "The Road to the Construction of literary classics" in "Shiji" is the first systematic and in-depth comprehensive study of the history of literary interpretation, aesthetic effect history and classical influence history at home and abroad, and at the same time, through the discussion of the literary dissemination of "Shiji" and the acceptance of readers, it excavates the unique concept of "truth" and "beauty" of our nation, which has profound literary and cultural value, and also provides a reference for today's literary creation and history book compilation, and inspires contemporary writers to create biographical works with vitality that are accepted by readers.

"The Road to the Construction of Literary Classics in the History of History", zhang xinke/author, China Social Sciences Press, 2021

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