《史记》中的黄帝形象与司马迁的帝国构想

Images of the Yellow Emperor in Shiji and Sima Qian’s Imperial Conception

司马迁的《史记》第一次将存在于传说中的黄帝置于历史叙事的开端,从而建构了汉帝国的历史谱系。《史记》在《五帝本纪》与《封禅书》中呈现的黄帝形象截然不同,司马迁通过《史记》独特的“古今对照”结构将黄帝形象的两种截然不同的面貌与汉武帝时代的帝国建构相对应,映射出汉帝国政制在武帝时代的冲突与变革。司马迁对与黄帝有关的传说材料进行取舍与组合,反映出汉武帝确立大一统帝国过程中对秦帝国政治遗产与战国时代政治思想的抉择。《史记》中黄帝形象的差异,乃是司马迁积极地参与到汉武帝时代的政治变革中的体现。黄帝形象集合了司马迁对汉帝国权力、帝王身份与政治空间等方面的个人构想。

Sima Qian’s Shiji placed the legendary Yellow Emperor at the beginning of historical narrative for the first time, thus it constructed a historical genealogy of the Han Empire. At the same time, the images of the Yellow Emperor in the Book of Five Emperors and the Book of Fengchan displayed two completely different features through the unique "ancient and modern contrast" structure of Shiji, thus reflecting the conflicts and changes of the Han Dynasty’s political system in the period of Emperor Wudi. Sima Qian’s choice and combination of legendary materials related to the Yellow Emperor reflects Emperor Wudi’s choice of the Qin Empire’s political heritage and the Warring States Period’s political thoughts in the process of establishing the Great Unity Empire. The differences of the image of the Yellow Emperor in Shiji are the reflection of Sima Qian’s active participation in the political reform in the period of Emperor Wudi of Han Dynasty, and the image of the Yellow Emperor embodies Sima Qian’s personal conception of power, emperor status and political space with the Han empire.