The Analysis And Comparison Of Narrative Arts Between Zuo Shuan And Records Of Historian

Based on Zuo Zhuan and Records of Historian, this paper makes a comparative analysis from three aspects: the narrator, narrative skills and characters'portrayal, combined concrete texts and theory.The induction part gave a brief introduction to the history and present situation of the study of this project, defined some important concepts and introduced the structure of the whole article briefly.Chapter one combed the historiographer rank in Spring and Autumn Period and the main achievements and stories of Sima Qian from the authors'social status of Zuo Zhuan and Records of Historian and the official historians'traditions. Sima Qian was different from those historiographers in Spring and Autumn Period who regarded themselves as the elites of the society. He had a folk psychology. This chapter also analyzed different meanings revealed from the use of different subjects which reflected the author's likes and dislikes. In Zuo Zhuan, the subjects were absent or hidden, as many sentences were started with"the virtual man says"(君子曰). While sentences started with"Taishigong's words"(太史公曰) meant the affirmation of self-consciousness.Based on concrete texts, chapter two analyzed the problems involved in Zuo Zhuan's and Records of Historian's narrative skills from the following three aspects: the choice of material, different narrative viewpoints, and different narrative standpoints. This paper concluded that Sima Qian selected and organized the materials better. The characteristic of Chronological Style lies in the complete and thorough narration, which would scatter the event and be disadvantageous for the overall effect and the author's portrayal of the characters. With a form of writing characterized by presenting the history on biographies (of emperors and influential personalities), Records of Historian reflected the characteristics and the destiny of the characters very well. Zuo Zhuan had a standpoint of a nation while Records of Historian held a more magnanimous standpoint of the concerning people and the future of a country.In chapter three, a comparison and a profound analysis has been made between different ways of portraying characters of Zuo Zhuan and Records of Historian based on representatives from three different backgrounds (the rulers, rebels, and women from royal families). In Zuo Zhuan, the life of a ruler has been scattered because the chronological writing style is disadvantageous for the representation of one's characteristics. When an image of rebellion was portrayed, Zuo Zhuan focused on the description of direct conflicts between opposing sides, while Records of Historian would analyze the external and internal reasons which force a person to be a rebellion step by step and the whole process. The images of women for royal families haven't been given importance to both in Zuo Zhuan and Records of Historian.