"Compendium" calls it "the swan song of historians, the unrhymed "Li Sao"" "Historical Records". The whole book has 526,500 words. Although it cannot be said that every word is filled with blood and tears, it did consume Sima Qian's eighteen years of hard work; This does not take into account the energy his father Sima Tan spent preparing to write "Historical Records". In terms of the number of words written, Sima Qian seems to be far less than many contemporary professors who have written a lot of books. However, this "Historical Records" has become the most glorious legacy in the history of Chinese culture. What is even more ironic is that a man who was castrated by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty became China's "Father of History" because he wrote "Historical Records"! .?

?"Li Sao" is a long poem with a special genre written by Qu Yuan, a nobleman of Chu State during the Warring States Period. This genre is called "Chu Ci" in the history of Chinese literature. After the unification of the Qin and Han Dynasties, the influence of Chu Ci spread more and more to the north; Qu Yuan, who was unknown before the Qin Dynasty, also began to be known to more and more Chinese people from a local figure rumored among the Chu people. . Before Sima Qian, there was a man named Jia Yi who was demoted to Changsha and wrote an "Ode in Tribute to Qu Yuan" there. Once this famous literary work was circulated, Qu Yuan's image as a self-admiring and resentful scholar and poet was deeply engraved in the hearts of ordinary people. But from Sima Qian's eyes, Qu Yuan was more than just such a character. He regarded Qu Yuan's grief-stricken suicide as his desperate accusation and final resistance to the dark forces. He describes Qu Yuan as a moral hero. "Li Sao" talks about the ancient sage kings, King Tang of Shang, King Wu of Zhou, and even Duke Huan of Qi, the earliest overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period, in order to criticize current affairs and reveal the importance of morality and the rules of how to deal with chaos. Therefore, in Sima Qian's view, although Qu Yuan was surrounded by filth, his ambition could compete with the sun and the moon. Lu Xun compared "Historical Records" and "Li Sao" not only because the authors' experiences or the writing background of the works are very similar, but also because "Historical Records" is not only a great peak in the history of Chinese historiography, but also, like "Li Sao", is An immortal monument in the history of Chinese literature

Lu Xun had two praiseful comments about "Historical Records", which everyone knows: "The historian's swan song is the unrhymed "Li Sao"." The first sentence is: , it is difficult for any historical books after "Historical Records" to match it. Regarding the second sentence, today's interpretation is generally that Lu Xun was praising "Historical Records" for its rich literary quality, which can be compared with "Li Sao". I feel that the explanation of the second sentence is reasonable but somewhat superficial and needs further interpretation. For example, in terms of literary nature, the three hundred poems also have their own characteristics, but Lu Xun did not say "The Book of Songs without rhyme", but said "Li Sao without rhyme". This is actually not a random choice, but There is a different reason.

? I guess there are two main reasons for this:

? First, Lu Xun believed that both Sima Qian and Qu Yuan had suffered great hardships and were both grumbling and angry people. Qu Yuan wrote "Li Sao" " to express his anger, Sima Qian wrote "Historical Records" to express his worries, so "Historical Records" is "Li Sao". Let us quote the original text of Lu Xun when he talked about "Historical Records" as "the swan song of historians, the unrhymed "Li Sao"": Mo, feeling the slaughter and humiliation of his life experience, has been passed down to the abnormal people for thousands of years. Although it carries the meaning of "Spring and Autumn", it can still be regarded as the historian's swan song, the rhymeless "Li Sao". ("Outline of the History of Chinese Literature: Sima Xiangru and Sima Qian") said "hate to be a jester", which means that Sima Qian was "taunted by his master, promoted excellent animals, and ignored by popular customs" ("Reporting to Ren Shaoqing") "Book") was deeply dissatisfied with his status and "feeling the humiliation of his life experience" means that Sima Qian was saddened by the humiliation of being castrated. These all became the motivation for Sima Qian to write books vigorously and complete "Historical Records". The life experiences of Qu Yuan and Sima Qian are very similar: "He served the king as a left disciple" and was also a "fool"; he was exiled by slander and threw himself into the river with a stone in his arms, which was also similar to the great tribulation Sima Qian suffered. In order to express his anger and complain, Qu Yuan wrote "Li Sao". The so-called "Li Sao" means complaining and worrying. Sima Qian had a deep understanding of Qu Yuan. He wrote in "The Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng": "You are trustworthy but you are doubtful, you are loyal but you are slandered, how can you have no resentment? Qu Ping's "Li Sao" is based on self-pity." Sima Qian knew very well that the "Li Sao" His work stems from resentment and grumbling, and he himself is exactly like this. Sima Qian and Qu Yuan's hearts are connected. It is precisely because the two people have similar life experiences and similar mental states that they both "express their hearts and write ink" and write heroic essays. Sima Qian can be said to be the Qu Yuan of the Han Dynasty, and "Historical Records" is also the "Li Sao" of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Lu Xun said that "Historical Records" can be regarded as "Li Sao without rhyme". In fact, Lu Xun himself was also a grumbling and angry person, and he knew each other very well. He had a deep understanding of the state of mind of Qu Yuan and Sima Qian two thousand years ago - grumbling, resentment, and melancholy. It is precisely because of this that he was able to profoundly interpret "Historical Records" as "the "Li Sao" without rhyme.

The second reason is Lu Xun’s preference for "Li Sao" and Chu Ci. Lu Xun spoke very highly of "Li Sao". He wrote in "Outline of the History of Chinese Literature: Qu Yuan and Song Yu":

During the Warring States Period... in rhyme, Qu Yuan originated from Chu and was He was slandered and exiled, so he wrote "Li Sao". The great words of Yixiang are outstanding.

Later generations were astonished by his literary talent and imitated him. Because it was originally from Chu, it was called "Chu Ci". Compared with the "Poetry", its words are very long, its thoughts are very illusionary, its writing is very beautiful, its purpose is very clear, and it is spoken from the heart and does not follow the rules. Therefore, those of the later Confucian scholars who followed the teachings of poetry might be embarrassed, but their influence on later articles might even be more than 300 articles. Lu Xun believed that "Li Sao" has "resonant and magnificent words, which are outstanding" and has had a great influence on later generations of literature. Compared with "The Book of Songs", "Li Sao" has many superior literary characteristics, so its influence is often greater than that of "The Book of Songs". The Book of Songs. For example, "Chu Ci" is "speaking from the heart", that is, I write from my heart, expressing the true temperament, which is consistent with "Sent from emotion, and write from the heart" ("Outline of the History of Chinese Literature· Sima Xiangru and Sima Qian") are the same. Lu Xun was very fond of literary works such as "Li Sao" (and "Historical Records") that "act from the heart and do not follow the rules". This has a lot to do with Lu Xun's charismatic personality and different literary tastes. It is consistent with his fondness for Wei and Jin Dynasty articles and Ji Kang. It is also consistent with his dissatisfaction with the "gentle and honest" poetry. . From this point of view, Lu Xun would not praise "Historical Records" as "the Book of Songs without rhyme". Lu Xun's preference for "Li Sao" is especially reflected in his lifelong love for the beauty and profound meaning of Chu Ci. His poems and essays often borrow and quote the words and allusions of "Li Sao", such as his poems "There are people on the bank of the river who can't sing, and the autumn waves have disappeared" "Li Sao"" ("Untitled"), "The lonely night on the high hill, the fragrance There is no spring left in the city" ("Xiang Ling Song") and so on. He once collected the verses from "Li Sao" and wrote banners twice. The sentence from "Li Sao" in the collection is "Look at the concubine but don't force it, for fear that the pelican will sing first." The first time is to ask someone to write and encourage oneself, and the second time is to write to oneself and give it to a friend. The first time I asked Qiao Dazhuang to write it, this piece of writing is still hanging on the west wall of the "Tiger Tail" of Lu Xun's former residence in Beijing. Precisely because Lu Xun was very fond of the literary characteristics of "Li Sao" and saw the similarities between it and "Historical Records" in literary characteristics, he moved "Li Sao" to comment on "Shi Ji", and therefore compared "Shi Ji" to "Shi Ji". For "Li Sao".

"The swansong of a historian is the unrhymed "Li Sao"" - Lu Xun's two comments on "Historical Records" are not only very accurate, but also contain personal emotions and good taste. From the analysis of Yun Zhi's "Li Sao", one can understand one or two things.