司马迁对《左传》复仇故事的再书写——以伍子胥复仇故事为例

Sima Qian’s rewriting of revenge story in The Chronicle of Zuo——Taking Wu Zixu’s revenge story as an example

伍子胥为父报仇是中国古代最波澜壮阔的复仇故事,其记载以《左传》和《史记》最具代表性,但《左传》的记载相对精简,偏重记述事件。司马迁在《左传》的基础上,将复仇情节细化,着力突出伍子胥身处窘境矢志不移、忍辱负重,最终成功复仇的烈丈夫品格。司马迁对《左传》伍子胥复仇故事的再书写,具有内容合理虚构、情节波澜起伏、基调慷慨悲壮的特点,体现司马迁隐忍待机以复仇、无道之君可复仇、奋发砥砺誓复仇的复仇观。

“Wu Zixu avenged his father” is one of the most magnificent revenge stories in ancient China, and its records are most representative in The Chronicle of Zuo and Records of the Grand Historia, but the records in The Chronicle of Zuo are relatively simple, focusing on the event. On the basis of The Chronicle of Zuo, Sima Qian focused on highlighting Wu Zixu’s strong male character of perseverance, enduring humiliation, finally achieving his revenge goal. Sima Qian’s rewriting of Wu Zixu’s revenge story is characterized by reasonable fictions in content, ups and downs in plot, and generous and tragic in tone, which reflects Sima Qian’s view of revenge that one withholds the opportunity to take revenge, that one can take revenge on the unprincipled king, and that one strives to take revenge.