A Struggle with "the Nebula of Tragedies" An Introduction to the Literary Study of Shi ji

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Other Title
  • 「悲劇の星雲」との格鬪 : 文學としての「史記」硏究序說
  • 「悲劇の星雲」との格鬪--文學としての『史記』研究序説
  • ヒゲキ ノ セイウン ト ノ カクトウ ブンガク ト シテ ノ シキ ケンキュウ ジョセツ
  • 「悲劇の星雲」との格闘 : 文学としての「史記」研究序説

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It is sometimes stated that Shi Ji or Records of a Historian is a literary work rather than a historical record. People often regard Shi Ji as a literary creation by Sima Qian 司馬遷 because of its deep emotion, and they associate it with his tragic life. On the other hand, historians in modern times regard Shi Ji as a corpus of historical material. They divide Shi Ji into several parts and examine the reliability of each part. In the past, some historians considered that Shi Ji included a considerable number of fictional tales, but today they are indifferant to tales in Shi Ji, since many unearthed texts demonstrate the reliability of Shi Ji. Historians pay more attention to Sima Qian's sense of mission, that is, carrying forward the tradition of Chun-Qiu 春秋 (Spring and Autumn Annals) and praising the glory of the Han dynasty, and Emperor Wu in particular. Shi Ji is rich with impressive stories, but we must note that they are not Sima Qian's creations, nor are they the entire content of Shi Ji. Nevertheless, many stories in Shi Ji are interconnected and form a literary world as a whole. We can call it 'a nebula of stories'. The end of the Warring States era and the establishment of absolute government by the Han dynasty were very important events in Shi Ji. They were the road to the victory of Emperor Wu, on the other hand, however, they were the course in which all but the emperor would be defeated. Sima Qian, who intended to record the glory of Emperor Wu, collected numerous tragedies as a result, and he also had the tragic experience of emasculation. We consider that the literary value of Shi Ji comes from Sima Qian's struggle with "the nebula of tragedies".

Journal

  • 中國文學報

    中國文學報 70 1-33, 2005-10

    CHINESE LITERATURE ASSOCIATION, DEPARTMENT OF CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, FACULTY OF LETTERS, KYÔTO UNIVERSITY

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