《史記》「不可靠敘述」的史學意義和對金批《水滸》之啟發

The Critical Meaning of “Unreliable Narration,” Based on History and Literary Aspects, the Records of the Grand Historian

司馬遷寫作《史記》，對於事涉當代之敏感人事，為求存真，並避免因此獲罪，所以採用了特殊的敘事策略，亦即文本矛盾的「不可靠敘述」。金聖嘆髫齡並讀《史記》與《水滸》，其後於此二書皆有所評點，其解讀《水滸》人事，頗有受到《史記》中「不可靠敘述」之啟發。《史記》「不可靠敘述」在史學上有其存真之特殊用心，然而於後世，似啟發了文學批評家批評之靈感。

When writing the Records of the Great Historian, Sima Qian applied a particular narrative technique to record certain true stories, trying to avoid taking blames from the emperor, since not all related persons and events were admirable. The technique was the self-contradictory “unreliable narration” in this study. Jin Shengtan read the Records of the Great Historian and All Men Are Brothers in his youth. Later, he wrote comments on these two books. The way he interpreted the persons and events in All Men Are Brothers was significantly triggered by the “unreliable narration” technique in the Records of the Great Historian. The “unreliable narration” technique in the Records of the Great Historian preserved the sincere purpose to record the truth and won its historical stand. The technique seemed to have also inspired the creative critical thought from the commentators in the later generations.