纪功刻石的文本传统与《任尚碑》反映的“历史事实”

The Textual Tradition of the Memorial Monument and the “Historical Facts” Reflected by the Ren Shang Stele

发现于新疆哈密巴里坤县的东汉边塞纪功碑《任尚碑》是目前已知最早的边塞纪功碑的实物。纪功刻石作为最早形成的碑刻类型之一,在东汉中期逐渐形成为一个特殊的历史叙事载体。《任尚碑》的出现,标志着边塞纪功刻石突破封禅祭祀礼仪而向单纯的散文体叙事纪功碑转型。这一转型的背后,折射出三百年间汉匈关系的深刻变化,以及东汉皇权与外戚权力斗争白热化状态下官员的生存状态。此碑承载的历史信息不仅仅限于刻石文本所书写的内容,刻石纪功本身就是一个有着复杂现实情境的重要历史事件,而且纪功刻石的文本传统由此而发生转型,更隐含着特殊的历史事实和深层的历史脉络。出土文物承载的文本信息,除文献学视角的研究之外,还需要政治史的视角以及在文献中做田野研究。

The Ren Shang Stele, discovered in Balikun county, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 1980 （or 1957）, is the extant oldest material object of stele inscription recording frontier military achievements. The stele got its name because it was established by General Ren Shang of Eastern Han dynasty when he defeated the surviving forces of Huns, which was the major enemy of the Han empire. Stele inscription became a kind of historical narrative since then, especially for recording the important construction completions, the sacrifices of heaven and earth in sacred mountains, and the frontier military achievements. The stele inscription of Ren Shang marked an initial and pivotal trans- formation of an old tradition of achievements recording. Behind this transformation, the stele and its inscription indicated the complexity of political and power struggle, and reflected deep historical trends. The stele inscription itself has more implications than the mere record of frontier military achievements. Historians need to do some fieldwork among the stele inscription and numerous historical books, so that they can find more about the historical reality and truth.