On the Differential Presentation Features of Narrative Time in Chinese Historiographical Literature
Abstract
This paper analyzes the differentiated narrative time mechanisms embedded in classical Chinese historiographical (or zhuàn, biographical historical) literary texts, taking two representative canonical masterpieces of Chinese classical historiographical literature, Records of the Grand Historian (the first biographical general history in Chinese history) and Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance (one of the most influential annalistic general histories compiled in the Northern Song dynasty), as comparative research samples. Through systematic comparative analysis from two core dimensions of long-established editorial conventions and underlying authorial creative motivations, this study reveals that the divergence of their narrative time systems is jointly driven by the inherent structural differences between biographical and annalistic historiographical traditions, as well as the essential distinction between private scholarly ambition for independent thought construction and the official mandate of providing practical governance reference for imperial rulers. This study provides global cross-cultural audiences without specialized sinology background with a concise, easy-to-apply analytical framework to understand the distinctive expressive conventions of Chinese classical narratives, and fills relevant longstanding cognitive gaps in cross-cultural communication and comparative literature research scenarios.
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