A Saint Narrative and a Sacred Paradigm: The Hereditary House of Confucius in the Records of the Grand Historian
Vol. 39 No. 2 6/2009
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Title |
A Saint Narrative and a Sacred Paradigm: The Hereditary House of Confucius in the Records of the Grand Historian |
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Author |
Zhen-xun Wu |
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Genre |
Article |
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Pages |
227-259 |
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Download |
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Language |
Chinese |
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Key words |
Ssu-ma Chien, Records of the Grand Historian , Confucius, saint, biography, narrative, sacred paradigm |
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Abstract |
This paper approaches The Hereditary House of Confucius from the standpoint of orthodox Chinese studies of Confucian classics. It incorporates both orthodox studies and contemporary historical narratology, and it places importance on interpretive schemes of narratives. Arrangement of plot is considered to be the representation of the author's creative consciousness and cultural pattern; in other words, the Hereditary House of Confucius represents the cultural pattern and system of values of the Han Dynasty and it reshapesthe life of Confucius as a sacred paradigm. The Hereditary House of Confucius not only serves as Confucius's biography but also places humanity's sacred origins within a historical context and puts into relief the essence of humanity. |