On The Achievement In Depicting Characters In "the Records Of History

"The Records of History" by Sima Qian can be safely regarded as a perfect combination of history and literature. It is in this book that at the first time, viewed from a vast social context, characters assume a central position, mirroring historical changes, and that thoughts and emotions are woven into character and events. Within the history-biography literature, "the Records of History" occupies an unprecedented status. Although the artistic value of the book has been fruitfully explored by many both in the past and at the present, the literary achievement, especially in depicting characters is far from been exhausted. With reference to the previous study, this thesis aims at a possible inquiry into the achievement of the Records of History in terms of depicting characters.Instead of covering all the details, the present study is to concentrate on these problems: typification of characters, intention of figure biography as a whole, overall arrangement of the book, principle for describing characters. As a historical works first and foremost, "the Records of History" can by no means be discussed without considering its historical property and the author's historical intention in particular. In other words, what this thesis is to talk about is how history and literature appear in unity in the book.The thesis will develop the discussions from the following aspects:First, foundation for successful character depiction. With a critical inheritance to the awakening humanistic ideas from pre-Qin to early Han dynasity, Sima Qian first established man as the center of history. So far as literature is concerned, the author absorbed and widened the achievements in depicting characters from pre-Qin history prose, while his special personal experience cannot be neglected, either. The mentality as a scholar and disaster related to Li Ling served as a great driving force for his creation. The achievement in describing characters world have been unthinkable without the deep thoughts and cultural roots as well as the particular psychology of Sima Qian himself.Second, systematization and typitication of characters. Starting from macro-history, Sima Qian took into account all kinds of historical figures, elite and representives of the common. Following historical facts and distinguishing them from non-historical ones,Sima Qian created some unique characters who were enriched by his personal feelings. The systematic record of historical figures well demonstrates the very idea of Sima Qian, i.e., Man reflecting history. And the typification of characters is one of the central substance of his ideal as "establishing his own unique theory".Third, intention and overall arrangement of figure biography. "The Records of History" is grand in terms of its whole arrangement, and full of vitality. The five-types are both independent and supplemented with each other. The structure of each type follows a certain rule, but is flexible as well. With superior text-types and rich ideas, "the Records of History" is just like a towering tree, which takes historical figures as its trunk, gathering the colorful substance of history. Prominent as the central idea is, the content crosses and as a whole interacts. Norm-governed, yet variable, the Records of History is also similar to a palace, magnificent, but free from close guard. The individual biographies, well-knitted, can focus on the main idea. Through various artistic techniques, form and spirit are so fused that the characters described are as truthful as or better than the real figures.Fourth, as to the property of characters, Sima Qian, rising above the simple record of history, perceived history and historical figures in his own way. Therefore, the characters not only retain the historical truthfulness, but also present the color of ideal. Through plenty of exceptional words and actions, especially details and psychological descriptions, the author presented the figures as they are, and fused into his own feelings. The unique personality of historical figures and the aut...