INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced fromm icrofilm the master. UMI films the text directly firom the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be ft’om any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9218985 Spatialization in the ‘‘Shiji” Jian, Xiaobin, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1992 Copyright ©1992 by Jian, Xiaobin. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 SPATIALIZATION IN THE SHIJI DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Xiaobin Jian, B.A., M.A, ***** The Ohio State University 1992 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Hao Chang . Eugene Holland Timothy Wong Acjiviser Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures To My Parents ACKNOWLEDGMENT I express my sincere appreciation to Professor Timothy Wong, my adviser and member of my dissertation committee, for his inspiration, guidance, and friendship. For the past several years, I have been inspired by, and benefited from. Professor Wong's enthusiasm for the study of Chinese literature, his insights on the field, his kindness, and his sense of humor. From Professor Wong, I have learned much about the direction under which my study is going. I am particularly grateful for his critical and extensive comments on both the ideas and the presentation of this research. I would also like to express my gratitude to Professor Hao Chang, another member of my dissertation committee. From many of Professor Hao Chang's mind-opening discussions and studies I have learned valuable lessons about scholarship as well as Chinese history itself. Over the years. Professor Chang's kindness and friendship have also greatly encouraged and helped me. Sincere appreciation is also expressed to Professor Eugene Holland, the other member of my dissertation committee, whose class introduced me to the contemporary critical issues and theories of narrative and whose advise, criticism, and encouragements have been essential to this research since its beginning. I also want to thank my parents, brothers, and my sister. Although I have been far away from them, I have always strongly felt their presence which have warmed and encouraged me every step in my life. Finally, I want to thank my wife Mei Chan for her love, inspiration, and support. Mei's contribution and importance to this research and to my life are beyond what words can express. VITA 1 9 8 2 ....................................................................B.A., Jinan University, Guangzhou, China 1982-1984 ........................................................Teacher, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China 1 9 8 7 ....................................................................M.A., Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1990-Present ................................................... Assistant Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia FIELD OF STUDY Chinese Literature IV TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.................................................................................................... li ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.................................................................................. ill V IT A ................................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................. v INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER PAGE I. SPATIALIZATION AS A MODE OF COMPREHENSION............... 34 Temporalization and Spatialization: History As Development and History as System............................... 34 "Grasping Together".............................................................. 40 Non-narrative Discourse Funtions Within the Narrative Fram ework...........................................45 Narrative Representation Functions Within the Non-narrative Framework?...................................49 II. THE WRITING OF THE SHIJI AND THE TRADITION OF SHI ^ .............................................. 60 The Practice of Weiyan day! A (Subtle Words Great Principles)............................................ 60 The Differences between Za/zMkongyan (Carried Out by Airy Formulations) and XIanzhi xingshi (Shown through Past Events)................................................ 71 The Interplay between Shu ^ (To Transmit) And Zuo (To M ake).......................................................... 75 The Specific Meaning of Shi (Time) and The Concept of Yuzhou ^ ^ (Space-time).........................85 The Specific Meaning of Bian ^ (Changes) And the Concept of Xunhuan # # (Cycle)......................... 94 Answering the Call for Generalizations Of the Knowable Civilization.............................................. 101 The Significance of Chuanming # ^ (To Pass on the Name) and Buxiu ^ ^ (Immortal)........................................................ 106 III. THE CONSTRUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE S H IJ I.......................................................................... 125 Lleqi xingshi ^ ft Ÿ (Present His Deeds) and Clqi shlxu dvj&Bf/F (Order His Chronology): The Combination of the Plot of Attribute and the Plot of Law in Individual Zhuan # (Biography)............... 125 Lianlei y I zhangyi (Connect Those Of the Same Kind to Argue for the Principles): Categorization in HezAuan (Combined Biographies)...................................................... 142 Juxtaposition........................................................................ 146 Comparison and Contrast .................................................. 157 Crose-reference .................................................................. 161 Norvaction Framework and Non-closure Ending................. 169 CONCLUSION: BUILDING A SYSTEM OF TOTALIZATION AND MOLDING AN IMAGE IN MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SPACE ................ 181 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................ 190 VI INTRODUCTION Spatialization, e.g. "episodic structure" and "flat characterization," is undeniably among the most recognizable and yet poorly interpreted features in traditional Chinese narrative. It is most recognizable because it is everywhere in the tradition; from the early historical representations such as theZuozhuan è. {The Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals) and the Shiji t it {Records of the Grand Historian) to later fictional writings such as the Shuihu zhuan # { The Water Margin) and the Honglou meng üx # ^ {Dream of the Red Chamber); It has been poorly interpreted because it has been mainly and simplistlcally judged against concepts, such as "inward development," "unity," "temporalization," and "followability," derived from the Western literary tradition but set up in the reality of literary studies as universal standards of excellence for all narratives. Both "episodic structure" and "flat characterization" share the same characteristic of what here is termed "spatialization," that is, the presentation in general is molded in dimensions in space rather than developed through duration of time. In other words, for the work as a whole, its temporal elements are defused and its spatial quality is enforced so that, in general, it does not present itself as a unilinear process 1 but as a single and timeless picture in which all aspects of its subjects are "simultaneously" present. It is the working and effects of this "spatialization" that appear to be at odds with the Western literary concepts cited above and has been either left accounted for or simplistlcally criticized. In his Poetics, the cornerstone of Western literary criticism, Aristotle distinguishes "narrative poetry" from "history" in terms of their constructions and their functions in relation to truth. In "narrative poetry," Aristotle asserts, "the construction of its stories should clearly be like that in a drama; they should be based on a single action, one that is a complete whole in itself, with a beginning, middle,