Inheritance & Transcendence ——SIMA Qian's Literary Thinking and the Literary View of Confucianism

Influenced by the cultural spirit of Han Dynasty, SIMA Qian established a compatible point of view featuring the ambition of Confucianism in which he took great responsibilities. As reflected in his writings, on the one hand, SIMA Qian consciously scrutinized history, evaluated historical facts and historic figures with the Confucian thoughts, on the other hand, SIMA Qian's purpose and motivation for writing changed fundamentally due to the troubles and disasters that had fallen on him. Writing out of anger and misfortune, his literary thinking, endowed writing with great vitality for the first time in China's literary history. So far it has surpassed the doctrine of Sorry but not sad, complaint but not furybound, the Confucian tenet on writing. In conclusion, SIMA Qian's literary thinking is not only an inheritance but also a transcendence of the literary view of Confucianism.