司马迁与普鲁塔克——略谈两人共同的传记艺术手法

Biographical Writing Techniques of Sima Qian and Plutarch

三十多年前我研究西欧的传记文学时,读到公元初的罗马希腊语作家普鲁塔克的名著《对比传记》,讶异地感到其艺术手法与我国汉代司马迁在《史记》传记部分中运用的手法有不少相似之处。这两位作家的共同出发点是写历史和历史上的著名人物,为后人提供经验教训。他们都以历史家为己任。普鲁塔克选了二十三对四十六位古希腊和古罗马的政治家、军事家、

This article compares the techniques of Parallel Biography by Plutarch-the pioneer in Western biographical literature-and Shi Ji by Sima Qian, the founder of Chinese biography.The aim is to understand the channels of cultural exchange between China and Western countries,and to compare the literary techniques of biography in China and the West.