《史記》敘事之抒情性——以〈刺客列傳〉為核心之探討

Narrative Lyricism of Records of the Grand Historian: A Study of 'Biographies of the Assassins'

《史記》敘事最重要的特質在於抒情，藉《史記》抒情詠懷，是司馬遷獨特的「一家之言」，亦是《史記》突破先秦史書敘事表現之關鍵。〈刺客列傳〉為《史記》具代表性之名篇，其中豫讓、聶政、荊軻三傳內容與《戰國策》多所重疊，本文將二者文本相互參照比較，以具體突顯《史記》敘事之抒情性。不同於《戰國策》以敘述歷史「事件」為主，《史記‧刺客列傳》敘事以「人物」為重，司馬遷書寫人物不但為傳主記功、為傳主立言、更為傳主「立名」——「刺客」在司馬遷筆下是為「知己」「捨生取義」之「壯士」，「士為知己者死」是刺客自我生命價值之實踐，亦是《史記‧刺客列傳》貫串全文的主題。「士」與「知己」間的關係是錯綜複雜的，士固為知己者死，但當「知己」對「士」並非真正的深知相惜，則「士」為其「知遇之恩」報之以生命，正顯現「士終不遇」的悲壯與蒼涼。幸而天地間，士仍有一二「真知己」，壯士終究不致真正孤寂。由於司馬遷對「士」與「知己」深有所感，《史記‧刺客列傳》方能如此動人。而《史記‧刺客列傳》之敘事結構，不論是紀年鈎連筆法，或「一唱三歎」的書寫形式，同樣展現出濃厚的抒情特質。抒情、敘事合而為一，是《史記》敘事風格獨特的重要原因。

Lyricism is the most important aspect of the narration in Records of the Grand Historian. Writer Sima Qian expressed his unique "singular vision" and how to make a breakthrough in narrative expression. 'Biographies of the Assassins' is the renowned chapter that represents narrative lyricism in Records of the Grand Historian. The stories of Yu Rang, Nie Zheng, and Jing Ke are covered by both 'Biographies of the Assassins' and Intrigues of the Warring States. To highlight the narrative lyricism in Records of the Grand Historian, this article compares these stories from the two different books side by side. The narration of Intrigues of the Warring States focused on historical "events", while the narration of 'Biographies of the Assassins' emphasized the "characters". Sima Qian’s writings not only recorded the historical characters’ achievements and words, but also promoted their fame. Through his writing, these assassins became heroes who sacrificed their own lives for those who really understood them. "Shi Wei Zhiji Zhe Si" (士為知己者死 means an intellectual would risk his life for those who really understand him. In general, "Shi" (士) signifies intellectuals, and in this article, Shi implies the assassins. "Zhiji" (知己) means the individuals who really understand Shi.) Finding Zhiji was a goal that assassins sought to fulfill in their lifetime, which was a theme that repeated in 'Biographies of the Assassins'. The relationship between Shi and Zhiji was complicated. Although Shi was willing to die for Zhiji, there were situations where Zhiji took advantage of this special relationship to achieve their selfish ambitions, as oppose to really appreciating Shi. At times, the death of a Shi turned out to be a tragedy when it was later revealed that he did not encounter a genuine Zhiji throughout his life. (In other words, Shi thought that he died for a genuine Zhiji, when in fact he was being taken advantage of.)
Fortunately, Shi still had a small number of genuine Zhiji in the world, preventing them from permanent loneliness. Because Sima Qian deeply understood this complex relationship, he was able to present the stories in 'Biographies of the Assassins' in a very touching and vivid way. The combination of lyricism and narrative is what makes the writing style of Records of the Grand Historian very unique.