《通鑑》編纂中的修辭時刻

Rhetorical Moments in the Compilation of the Comprehensive Mirror

本文為筆者關於北宋中期史學史系列研究之終篇，奠基於此前已發表與尚未刊布的多篇個案研究，但仍具備獨立論述之完整性。筆者的起心動念是想要嘗試將《資治通鑑》的編纂，還原到十一世紀的史學史脈絡中，也就是試圖發掘，在《資治通鑑》尚未成為經典前，司馬光及其團隊如何考慮歷史書寫的形式與操作，並指出在此編纂過程中，哪些時刻在非重複性的歷史書寫上至關緊要。借用英文“moments”（時刻）及其蘊含的“momentum”（動能）意涵，本文將這些富含動能、賦予《資治通鑑》所指向之歷史詮釋意義的時刻，稱之為「修辭時刻」。

This paper is the consummation of a series of investigations into the evolution of historiography in eleventh-century China. Focusing on the compilation of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aids in Government (hereafter, CM), this paper seeks to restore it to its historiographical context prior to becoming a classic. That is, what exactly were the historiographical considerations of Sima Guang and his team, both in the forms of historical writing and in its mode of operation, particularly in comparison with several other historical texts produced around the same time? The first section analyzes the ambivalent relationship between the Guange as the site of production for the CM and as a point of departure. The paper then characterizes the compilation procedures of CM in contradistinction to the official historiographical mode of operation, with further differentiation into deformation, admission, and subscription. The final textual product of the CM can thus be seen as a historical mirror of its own, going beyond commentarial criticism and fragmentary narratives. This refreshed and contextualized understanding of the place, procedures, and product of the CM, enables us to identify specific rhetorical moments in the process. These moments and their momentum support the causal interpretation and the effect of meaning implied in the CM that we read today.