The Multiplicity of Meanings of Shiji (Records of the Historian)

Abstract Revered as the founding father of Chinese historiography, Sima Qian 司馬遷 (?145–86 BCE ) has been an exemplar of the frustrated author in Chinese literary history. Despite the monumental position of his Shiji (Records of the Historian), Sima’s background story has long overshadowed the interpretations of the book. This biographical method, which has dominated the Chinese historiographical tradition, obscures the complex relationships among a historical text, the historian, and the reader. As the narratologist, Gerald Prince, has proposed, different readers do not process narratives in exactly the same manner. Applying Prince’s analysis to the interpretations of Shiji , I argue that, even though numerous readers have consistently adopted the biographical approach, their individualized reading processes yield dissimilar interpretations of Shiji . The current study highlights the value of narratological theories in understanding the reception of Chinese historical works, illustrating the promise of opening Chinese historiography to narrative analysis.