Analysis Of The Tragedy Of The Biographies In "Historical Records"

In the course of cultural development over the past two thousand years,the interpretation and study of the Historical Records have never been stopped.This great book,which records the long history from the Yellow Emperor(a legendary ruler)to the Han Dynasty(a period of time in Chinese history),contains Si Maqian's profound life thinking and tragic consciousness.Especially the tragic images of many characters in the 70 Biographies(Excerpts of the Historical Records).It embodies the unique tragic style of the Historical Records."Tragedy" is not a local concept,but a genuine "foreign thing",through various conflicts and contradictions,expresshuman's understanding towards the world and the destiny.Si Maqian's "Historical Records" takes Confucius' arrangement of"Spring and Autumn"(one of the masterpieces of Confucius)as an example,reflecting his serious and sober understanding of the historical development and its rooted causes,which is the main source of the tragic style of the "Historical Records".Storytelling,as a common way of expression in pre-Qin and Han dynasties(two periods of time in Chinese history),not only provides a strong text foundation for historical writing,but also plays a vital role in the process of historical figures entering into literary works.In Chapter 1 of the Historical Records,"The question of Si Maqian",through the in-depth analysis of "the Biography of Boyi" discusses the origin and contradiction of Si Maqian's tragic consciousness.The five questions in the text will be "when the Heaven and Man" of the historical tenor reflected incisively and vividly.Taking the relationship between personal morality and blessings as the core,which not only raises doubts about the heavenly law's cyclein the Yin and Zhou dynasties(two periods of time in Chinese history):insisting the morality matches the blessing while good contrasts to the evil,as well as the Confucian view that there is a causal relationship between moral cultivation and blessing,meanwhile different views were proposed.However,"helping justice and doing justice in a manner that does not make one lose" is the standard for writing the 70 Biographis,reflecting the struggle against history and time.Si Maqian's tragic consciousness mainly comes from "doubt" and "revolt".The chapetr 2 and 3 takes the two life outcomes of active death and passive sacrifice as the standard of classification,listing the Niezheng,who was willing to sacrifice himself to repay the kindness of his bosom friend and Wu Zixu,who bears the familial hatred and with loyalty,still difficult to express,as examples,which clings to the text.With the appropriate intervention of tragedy theory,and in-depth analysis of the tragic features of these two characters,the critical power,the appeal to the readers and the warning power to the later generations of the Historical Records are reflected.The lessons and references of history are often the patented products of the few masters of political power and the senior intellectuals of the society.As for the general publics,it is difficult to learn historical knowledge and experience from historical books.But the search for the understanding of the past is the common instinct of human beings,so later generations of litterateurs and playwriters have replaced historians,shouldering the task of historical education.The story of Nie Zheng's "dying for his confidant" and the story of Wu Zixu suffering humiliation and revenge,admonishing to death,has been widely circulated in the field of literature,and has also played a certain role in the society.The historical figures in literature are more lively and vivid than those recorded by historians,therefore more prone to be accepted.But after a long time,the original features of these characters gradually fade,there are the historical tragic characters in literature instead in the mind of people.This sad situation of "not the ancients before"inadvertently deepened the tragedy of the characters in the Historical Records.