Shi Ji
《史记》
Authored by Sima Qian，Shi Ji is the first Chinese book on general history ever written in the biographical style.Besides，being a great literary work，Shi Ji opens a new horizon of recording and narrating historical events in the form of individual biographies. Applying the five styles of Benji (Imperial Biographies of the Rulers and Emperors)，Biao(Tables of Events)，Shu(Treatises or the Economic and Cultural Records of the Time)，Shijia(Biographies of Notable Rulers，Nobility and Bureaucrats)and Liezhuan(Biographies of Important Figures)，Shi Ji organizes the ample and complicated historical events into a formally coherent and organic whole，thus raising the structure of Chinese prose to a completely new high. The book also achieves abundantly in terms of characterization，for it is good at highlighting the typical details embodying the essence of its characters personality and at depicting its characters by setting them in the capacious historical back-ground and the dramatic conflicts and contradictions. In addition，it makes a frequent use of individualized dialogues in its characterization. With the technique of“complementation" and the extensive use of comparison，contrast and foiling，the book creates a large number of lifelike and round historical figures. Adepting at language and rich in emotion。the author of Shi Ji displays a strong capacity of creating the atmosphere of the scene and exhibiting the psychological and emotional state of its characters，often in a matter of a few sentences or even a few words，thus enhancing the forcefulness of his narration.With its brilliant characterization and narrative techniques，Shi Ji has exercised an enormous impact on the fictional and theatrical creations of later generations. Its exoteric and emotional style of Ianguage has set up an apotheosis for the prose writing of later generations.
《史记》的作者是西汉时期的司马迁。《史记》是中国第一部纪传体通史，首创厂以人物纪传来反映历史内容的史书编写方法，又是一部伟大的文学著作《史记》采用书、表、本纪、世家、列传五种体例，把丰富复杂的内容组织起来，结构形式精密严整，使中国散文的结构体制提高到了一个全新的高度。在人物形象的描写上，《史记》也取得了很高的成就，它善于捕捉足以显示人物性格内在本质的典型细节，把人物放在广阔的历史背景中，在戏剧化的矛盾冲突中刻画和塑造人物。在刻画人物形象时，大最使用个性化的人物对话，采用“本传晦之，而他传发之”的“互见法”，广泛运用对比、映衬、烘托等多种手法，塑造了人批性格鲜明、形象饱满的历史人物。《史记》的语言纯熟老练，富于感精，往往几句话甚至几个字就能谊染出场而气氛或展现出人物的心理情态，极大地提高了叙事文字的表现能功和力度。《史记》塑造人物形象、描述故事的方法，对后世的小说、戏曲的创作有很大影响它典雅简洁、富于感情的语言，成为后世散文语言的典范。
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