Study On Han-shi Wai-zhuan

Han-shi wai-zhuan was the only handed down work of the San-jia Shi' in the Western Han Dynasty and had important significance in the studying of the Book of Songs. This paper tries to inquire into it comprehensively based on the predecessors' study. This paper is composed of four parts:First: the style of commentaries on classics in the Western Han Dynasty and Han-shi wai-zhuan. "The Unofficial Life of History" the naming way of Han-shi wai-zhuan, made it contacted with commentaries on classics which was of Confucian canon. So this part probes into the history events quality of" commentaries on classic" based on the investigation in the works of the style commentaries on classics of the Five Classics, which were record in Honshu descriptive accounts of books in dynastic histories. And Divides it into the style of commentaries on classics of original story and the one of unoriginal story. The former one was named "commentaries on classics" or "the official life of history". The latter was named "the unofficial life of history". From the basic point of differences between them, the writer makes preliminary textual research and discussion and holds that Han-shi nei-zhuan isn't merged into Han-shi wai-zhuan oftoday.Second: the style of arrangement and the quality of writing. The total feature of the style of the Wai-zhuan was that almost each chapter's end of the book quoted the Book of Songs as concluding remarks. In most volumes, the arrangement of the chapter's order was in accordance with the order of the sentence which was quoted from the complete sections and chapters in the Book of Songs. In every volume, the order of the sentences of different poems which were quoted in every chapter was the same with the order of the list of articles of today's the Book of Songs. However, we can't see the style of arrangement between each chapter of it. Wai-zhuan was a model in using the Book of Songs in the quality of writing, but not a work to explain it.Third: the ideological content of Han-shi wai-zhuan. This part deals with its ideological content from the following five aspects: the main ideological standpoint, the thought of cultivating one's moral character, the political thought, the outlook of heavenly laws and the status in the Han dynasty's thought history. Han-shi wai-zhuanused the Confucian thought as basic standpoint and absorbed thoughts of other schools. It extremely emphasized self-possession, attached importance to learning, asked people to conform to fate and learn from the sage. Ethics had a key maintaing role between human relations, so people must follow the standard of the ethics to become into gentlemen to bring peace to the country and protect the people. It held neutrality in the theory of human nature and kept silent between kindness and wizkedness. Under the ideal glory of kingly way politics, Han-ying emphasized the political thought of enlighten by education and assigning worthy people. It combined "heavenly laws" with "manly laws" and had a "heaven and man turning into one" tendency. But it emphasized that conducting the politics lied in the man not in the heaven. Han Dynasty's thought was situated in the chain of the development of the Western Han Dynasty's thought and was in a inheriting the past and ushering in the future condition in the locus of academy's changing.Forth: the literature value of Han-shi wai-zhuan. It laid stress on literature, was more readable than the same stories in other books by means of narrating pattern, had novel quality and was connected with poetic prose influenced by folk literature. It gave prominence to numerous characters and images including bachelors, women, good officials and pedestrians. Most of its stories were diplomatic languages, remonstrating theories and the dictations of argument. Characters' language dialogues were rich and applied exquisite metaphor and rhyme mostly.