The Records of the Historian

史记

Why are the Records of the Historian acclaimed¹ as the most valuable literary work among books on history in China? the reasons lie not only in its narrative² descriptions of historical events and individual biographies, but more importantly in its solemn and stirring，yet lyrical style that can be felt throughout the book. This style comes from the fact that, whatever he wrote about, be it a person or a historical even, the historian would pourforth all his concern and outrage³ into the lines, along with his understanding of history. Therefore, the history and historical characters he depicted⁴ are immersed in a kind of poetic⁵ ambience.

为什么史记被誉为中国书籍历史上最有价值的文学作品呢？原因不仅在于它对叙述历史事件和个人传记的描述，但更重要的是它的悲壮，它抒情的风格，可以在整本书中显现出来。这种风格来自于一个事实，不管他写的是什么，无论是一个人或一个历史事件，在字里行间历史学家会倾注他所有的关心和愤怒，连同他对历史的理解。因此，他描绘的历史和历史人物都沉浸在一种诗意的氛围中。