《左传》学与纪事本末体之源起

The Studies of The Commentary of Zuo and the Origion of the Style of “Jishi Benmo”

与编年体、纪传体并列为我国古代三大史书体裁的纪事本末体,有一个历史性的生发源头,即《左传》学中的纪事类编学。由于《左传》叙事存在"隔断",在六朝至宋代极为流行的《左传》学中,出现了类编《左传》纪事的系列著作。在南宋前期治史为鉴的思潮下,这一《左传》纪事类编学与逐渐兴起的《资治通鉴》学相结合,产生出被清四库馆臣称为纪事本末体典范和创例之作的袁枢《通鉴纪事本末》,徐梦莘撰著《三朝北盟会编》,亦受其影响。此后,纪事本末体史书编纂续成传统。鉴于《左传》纪事类编学形成更早,四库馆臣所谓袁枢《通鉴纪事本末》"创纪事本末之例",当是误说,但在史学著作范畴内,袁枢此书可视为史书纪事本末体的创始之作。

'Jishi Benmo'(history presented in separate accounts of important events)is one of the three historiographical styles in ancient China along with annalistic style and annals-biography style.Its historical source lies in the compilation recording events in the studies of The Commentary of Zuo.Due to the'abruptions'in the narratives of The Commentary of Zuo,there emerged series of works to classify the events recorded by The Commentary of Zuo in the studies of The Commentary of Zuo popular in the period from the Six Dynasties to the Song Dynasty.In the trend of drawing lessons from studying history in the early Southern Song Dynasty,those works were combined with the growing studies of Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance,thus generated Yuan Shu's Historical Events of the Comprehensive Mirror in Their Entirety,which was regarded as the canonical and pioneering work of the style of Jishi Benmo by scholars at the Academy for Complete Library in Four Sections,and Collected Accounts of the Treaties with the North under Three Reigns compiled by Xu Mengshen was also affected by it.Hereafter,historiography in this style became a tradition.Since the works to classify the events recorded by The Commentary of Zuo formed earlier,it should be a misrepresentation that Yuan Shu's work'creating the style of Jishi Benmo.'Yet in the field of historical works,Yuan Shu's book can be regarded as an initiating masterpiece in the style of Jishi Benmo.