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汉 Han · 文 Prose

廉颇蔺相如列传·节选

Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru (Excerpt)

司马迁

Sima Qian

名篇Masterpiece 史传Historical Biography 人物Character

廉颇者，赵之良将也。
赵惠文王十六年，廉颇为赵将，伐齐，大破之，取阳晋，拜为上卿，以勇气闻于诸侯。
蔺相如者，赵人也，为赵宦者令缪贤舍人。

Lian Po was a fine general of Zhao. In the sixteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao, Lian Po, as general of Zhao, attacked Qi, defeated it utterly, and took Yangjin; he was made Senior Minister, and his valor was heard of among all the feudal lords. Lin Xiangru was a man of Zhao, a retainer of Miao Xian, the eunuch-in-chief of Zhao.

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Meaning

The opening of Sima Qian's famous joint biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru from the Records of the Grand Historian. The passage introduces the two men by their origins: Lian Po, the fine general of Zhao whose victory over Qi made his valor known among all the feudal lords, and Lin Xiangru, then merely a retainer of the eunuch-in-chief Miao Xian. The 'fine general' and the humble 'retainer' stand in clear contrast, foreshadowing the famous story to come: the return of the jade to Zhao, the meeting at Mianchi, and the final reconciliation when Lian Po offers the brambles on his back to apologize.

廉颇是赵国出色的将领。赵惠文王十六年，廉颇担任赵国将领，攻打齐国，大败齐军，夺取了阳晋，被授予上卿之位，凭借勇武的气概在诸侯各国中闻名。蔺相如是赵国人，担任赵国宦官头目缪贤的门客。

Appreciation

The passage is typical biographical prose of the Records, orderly in narration and interweaving fact with a hint of the future. Structurally it introduces Lian Po first, then Lin Xiangru, each fixed by a single phrase—'fine general' and 'retainer'—forming the contrast that prefigures the main thread of the biography, the two men's passage from mutual contempt to reconciliation. The writing shows the true Records manner in three ways: first, it dates by military events—'the sixteenth year of King Huiwen,' 'attacked Qi,' 'defeated it utterly,' 'took Yangjin'—in the briefest strokes, a chain of short verbs falling like beads; second, it reveals praise and blame through titles—'fine general' is the author's judgment, 'his valor was heard of among all the feudal lords' confirms it sideways, and 'a retainer of the eunuch-in-chief' records the humble origin without flattery or concealment; third, it plants the seed from the start, the valor of the one set against the hidden intelligence of the other.

【白话串讲】司马迁写《廉颇蔺相如列传》：蔺相如“完璧归赵”、“渑池之会”立了大功，位居廉颇之上。廉颇不服，扬言羞辱他。蔺相如处处避让，说：“先国家之急而后私仇也”。廉颇听说后，“肉袒负荆”，登门请罪——“将相和”，负荆请罪。【意象与手法】纪传体散文以人系事，叙事简劲：连用「伐、破、取、拜」等动词写战功，节奏明快；又以「者……也」判断句式立传主，一褒（良将）一实（舍人），暗藏褒贬。【情感与主旨】司马迁于开篇即写廉颇之「勇」与相如之「微」，寄寓其对敢担当、有气节者的敬重，也见史家「不虚美、不隐恶」的实录精神。【名句点睛】「以勇气闻于诸侯」一句是廉颇形象的总纲，「勇」字贯穿全传，终由血气之勇升华为负荆请罪的道义之勇。

Background

The Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru is a famous piece among the seventy 'liezhuan' (biographies) of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. This passage is its opening, introducing the two men's origins and Lian Po's military merit. Sima Qian (c. 145–86 BCE), courtesy name Zichang, succeeded his father as Grand Historian, suffered castration for the Li Ling affair, and in patient rage completed the Records, 130 chapters from the Yellow Emperor to Emperor Wu of Han, the founder of the annals-biography form. The sixteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao was 283 BCE, when Zhao, after King Wuling's reform of Hu clothing and mounted archery, was waxing strong and contending with Qin for the mastery of the central plain; Lian Po's great victory over Qi and capture of Yangjin was a landmark of Zhao's military strength. Sima Qian, beyond the facts, valued character, fixing the two men from the start by 'fine general,' 'valor,' and 'retainer' for the famous scenes to come.

《廉颇蔺相如列传》是司马迁《史记》七十列传中的名篇，本段为开篇，写廉颇、蔺相如二人出身与廉颇战功。司马迁（约前145—约前86），字子长，西汉史学家，继父职任太史令，因李陵之祸受宫刑，隐忍发愤著《史记》，凡一百三十篇，上起黄帝、下至汉武帝，为纪传体通史之祖。列传为《史记》五体之一，叙帝王以外的各色人物，本篇传主廉颇、蔺相如皆战国赵人，故合传。此节文字作于司马迁身受腐刑之后，所谓「隐忍苟活，幽粪土之中而不辞」，其写廉颇「以勇气闻于诸侯」，正见作者对敢担当、有气节者的激赏。赵惠文王十六年为公元前283年，时赵国经赵武灵王胡服骑射之后国力方张，与秦争雄于中原，廉颇伐齐大破之、取阳晋，是赵国军事强盛的标志性战功。司马迁于史实之外，尤重人物性情，故于开篇即以「良将」「勇气」「舍人」三语立二人之传神，为后文完璧归赵、渑池之会、负荆请罪张本，亦见其纪传体「以人系事」的著史匠心。

Art

The passage is typical biographical prose, orderly and interweaving fact with foreshadowing. It introduces Lian Po first, then Lin Xiangru, each fixed by a single phrase, forming the contrast of 'fine general' and 'retainer' that prefigures the main thread. Three things show the true Records manner: dating by military events in the briefest strokes, a chain of short verbs falling like beads; revealing praise and blame through titles—'fine general' as the author's judgment, 'heard of among all the feudal lords' as the sideways confirmation, 'a retainer of the eunuch-in-chief' as the honest record of humble origin; and planting the seed from the start, the general's valor set against the retainer's hidden intelligence, storing the energy for the conflict to come when Xiangru, 'by the merit of his tongue,' is placed above Lian Po. The language favors the 'so-and-so, a man of X' judgment-sentence and four-character clauses, at once forceful and full of spirit.

此节为典型纪传体散文，叙次谨严、虚实相生。结构上先叙廉颇、次叙蔺相如，各以一句定其身份，再以战功与出身分写，形成「良将—舍人」的对照，暗伏后文二人由相轻到相和的矛盾主线。写法上最见《史记》本色者有三：其一，以战事纪年，如「赵惠文王十六年」「伐齐」「大破之」「取阳晋」，用最简之笔交代战功，一连串动作短句（伐—破—取—拜）如连珠而下，节奏明快，具史笔的劲健；其二，以称谓见褒贬，「良将」是作者断语，「以勇气闻于诸侯」以侧写见其实，「宦者令缪贤舍人」则如实记其微贱出身，不虚美、不隐恶；其三，开篇即埋伏笔，廉颇之「勇」与蔺相如之「智」在句法上一扬一抑，前者显于诸侯、后者隐于舍人，为后文完璧归赵时相如「以口舌之劳而位在廉颇之右」的冲突蓄势。语言上多用判断句「者……也」与四字句，如「伐齐，大破之」六字一顿，气足神完；全文以散句为主而间以整齐短句，骈散相济，正是汉初散文由先秦诸子向史传文学过渡的成熟形态。

Allusions

The cultural depth of the passage lies in the parallel of 'general' and 'minister,' the separation and reunion of valor and intelligence. Lian Po, 'heard of among all the feudal lords,' taking Yangjin and made Senior Minister, is the model of the Warring States general; Lin Xiangru, 'a retainer of the eunuch-in-chief,' humble in rank but carrying hidden intelligence, is the dragon in the shallows of the minister's road. Their joint biography answers the ideal of the 'general and minister in harmony' of the Rites of Zhou and the pre-Qin political ideal of 'issuing from the general, entering as the minister'—and 'general and minister reconciled' became a cultural symbol of the ruler and minister of one heart, of the civil and the military joining force, from the opera 'General and Minister Reconciled' to the idiom of 'offering the brambles.' Sima Qian wrote Lian Po's valor in the tradition of the warriors of the Spring and Autumn, and wrote Xiangru's lowliness to show how the common scholar of the Warring States rose by valor and intelligence to be minister—Shang Yang, Fan Ju, and Su Qin were all of this kind.

此节文化内涵在「将」与「相」的并立、勇与智的分合。廉颇「以勇气闻于诸侯」，取阳晋、拜上卿，是战国「将」之典范；蔺相如「为赵宦者令缪贤舍人」，位卑而怀智，是「相」之潜龙。二人合传，暗合《周礼》将相分职与先秦「出将入相」的政治理想——后世「将相和」遂成君臣同心、文武协力的文化符号，京剧《将相和》、负荆请罪的成语皆由此而来。史迁写廉颇之勇，实承春秋以来「勇士」传统（如《左传》所记赵氏先世事），又以「闻于诸侯」的声誉写战国尚武之风；写相如之微，则见战国布衣之士凭智勇跻身卿相的时势——商鞅、范雎、苏秦皆类此，司马迁本人亦以布衣而「究天人之际」，故于开篇即寄深慨。此外，「赵之良将也」「赵人也」的判断句式是先秦两汉史传的惯用笔法，以「者也」定人物，简净而庄重，含史家立传之体统。整段以「勇」字立骨，与后文相如之「智」、廉颇之「让」（负荆请罪）相映，见出「勇」由血气之勇到道义之勇的升华。

Commentary

This passage, the opening of the Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru, has always been required reading in anthologies of ancient prose, its value a double model of historical and literary writing. Historically, Sima Qian fixes Lian Po's place as a famous general of Zhao by exact dating and clear campaigns, a credible footnote to the history of the Warring States Zhao. As literature, a hundred-odd characters combine character, narrative, and judgment, opening the method of the biographical form—and every dynastic history after the Book of Han followed it. Later critics valued its 'spirit-revealing' power: the Guwen Guanzhi included the full biography, praising its 'full and detailed narrative, its free-sweeping brush'; Liang Qichao called the Records 'the peerless song of the historians,' and this piece shows its narrative revolution of 'carrying events on persons, revealing persons through events.'

此节为《廉颇蔺相如列传》开宗之笔，向为古文选本必录，其价值在史笔与文笔的双重典范。就史而言，司马迁以确切的纪年（赵惠文王十六年）与清晰的战事（伐齐、取阳晋）确立廉颇作为赵之名将的史实地位，为战国赵史提供可信注脚；就文而言，百余字间写人、叙事、断语兼备，开纪传体「因人立传、以传系史」的法门，后世《汉书》以下正史列传皆奉此为宗。历代评家尤重其「传神」：清人吴楚材、吴调侯《古文观止》录本篇全传，谓其「叙事详赡、笔势纵横」；近人梁启超更以《史记》为「史家之绝唱」，而本篇正体现其「以人带事、以事见人」的叙事革命。此节对后世文学影响亦深：廉颇「负荆请罪」的典故、「完璧归赵」「渑池之会」的情节，经小说、戏曲（元杂剧《渑池会》）、京剧《将相和》的演绎，已成为「顾全大局、知错能改」的文化原型；而「以勇气闻于诸侯」的评价方式，又开启后世史传以品题立传主的传统。时至今日，本篇仍是中学语文经典篇目，其「将相和」的精神内核与史迁「不虚美、不隐恶」的实录精神，具有超越时代的价值。

Prosody

Form Pre-Qin and Han historical biography (annals-biography prose)先秦两汉史传散文（纪传体列传）

Rhyme Unrhymed prose; the rhythm comes from the length of the clauses and the pause of the particles: the judgment-sentences answer each other with 'so-and-so... a ... of X,' the narrative clauses alternate four-character and three-character pauses, short and forceful, full of spirit散文不押韵，以句读长短与虚词顿挫成韵。判断句以「者……也」相呼，一唱一和；叙事句以四字顿（伐齐、大破之、取阳晋）与三字顿（拜为上卿）错落，读来短促有力、气足神完。

Tone pattern Mostly loose prose with touches of even, short clauses; the opening judgment-sentence is solemn, the middle chain of actions brisk, the closing sideways description slow and easy, the tone turning three times with the narrative以散句为主，偶用整齐短句；首句判断庄重，中段连动明快，末句侧写舒徐，语气随叙事推进三转三变，声情与辞情相凑。

Reading note The passage, though prose and unrhymed, achieves its rhythm through the cadence of clauses and particles: the 'so-and-so... a ... of X' judgment-sentences call and answer, the four-character actions strike like beads.此节为散文，本不押韵，其节奏之美全在句读与虚词的调度。开篇「廉颇者，赵之良将也」以「者……也」呼应，一吸一呼，语气庄重如定谳；中段「伐齐，大破之，取阳晋，拜为上卿」连用四个三至四字的短句，动词领起，如连弩并发，读之铿然有声，具史笔的劲健；「以勇气闻于诸侯」以长句收束，由促转缓，如战鼓擂罢余音袅袅。次段「蔺相如者，赵人也，为赵宦者令缪贤舍人」句式与首段同构，而「宦者令」「舍人」等称谓音节低回，声调转抑，正合身份之卑。通篇以散驭整、骈散相济，长短句错落有致，是《史记》「浑灏流转」文气的具体呈现，亦为后世古文家（韩愈、欧阳修）取法《史记》声调的范本。

Line by line

廉颇者，赵之良将也。

Lian Po was a fine general of Zhao. (The opening judgment-sentence of the biography, in the classic 'so-and-so... a ... of X' form, sets up Lian Po's place as the subject of the biography in a single solemn stroke.)

廉颇是赵国的出色将领。这是史传开篇对传主廉颇的正式介绍，以判断句为全传立起第一座人物塑像。

Lian Po was an able general of Zhao.

「廉颇者，赵之良将也」以先秦史传最经典的判断句式「者……也」开篇，一句立起廉颇的传主地位。其妙有三：一是体例之正，史迁立传，必先正名，故首句即断其人「良将」，为后文伐齐、取阳晋的战功张本；二是措辞之精，「良」字既含才略（善战），亦含德性（忠良），一褒而二义兼赅，与后文负荆请罪的「让」相映；三是声气之庄，判断句以「也」字收束，语气确定无疑，具史家定评的权威感。此句与下文蔺相如「赵人也」的句式同构而对象不同，一将一相，如双峰并峙，已暗伏合传之旨。司马迁以十二字立一英雄，笔力之简劲，开后世史传「以一两语传神」的法门，后人读此句，廉颇赳赳雄武之态已宛在目前。

The opening. Lian Po was an able general of Zhao. The historian's judgment sentence establishes the general before the minister appears. The able (good) is the word the rest of the biography will test. To have introduced the general would be a beginning; the able-general of Zhao is the beginning's verdict.

赵惠文王十六年，廉颇为赵将，伐齐，大破之，取阳晋，拜为上卿，以勇气闻于诸侯。

In the sixteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao, Lian Po, as general of Zhao, attacked Qi, defeated it utterly, and took Yangjin; he was made Senior Minister, and his valor was heard of among all the feudal lords. (The chain of short verbs—attacked, defeated, took, made—falls like beads, writing Lian Po's victory and the fame of his valor in the briefest strokes.)

赵惠文王十六年，廉颇担任赵国将领，攻打齐国，大败齐军，夺取了阳晋，被拜为上卿，凭借勇气在诸侯各国间闻名。

In the sixteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao, Lian Po led Zhao's army against Qi, defeated it heavily, seized Yangjin, and was appointed Supreme Minister; his courage was renowned among the lords.

此句以编年笔法写廉颇的赫赫战功，动词连珠（伐—破—取—拜），一气而下，如连弩齐发，节奏明快。「赵惠文王十六年」即公元前283年，正是赵武灵王胡服骑射之后赵国国力鼎盛之时，史迁以确切纪年将人物嵌入大历史，见纪传体「以人系事」的著史眼光。「大破之」三字写胜势之决，「取阳晋」写战果之实，「拜为上卿」写功赏之隆，层层递进；而「以勇气闻于诸侯」则以侧写之法，不直写廉颇如何勇，而写其勇名远播诸侯，声势自见。值得注意的是「闻于诸侯」三字：战国尚武，勇名即政治资本，廉颇之显达正赖此「勇」。司马迁于此立「勇」字为全传之骨，为后文与蔺相如「智」的对立统一埋下伏笔，句法之工、叙事之密，堪称史传典范。

The rapid career. In the sixteenth year of King Huiwen, Lian Po led Zhao's army against Qi, defeated it heavily, seized Yangjin, and was appointed Supreme Minister; his courage was renowned among the lords. The staccato verbs are the Shiji style of victory. The courage-not strategy or loyalty—is the trait that will cause the later quarrel. To have summarized Lian Po's rise would be a recap; the routed Qi, taken Yangjin, and the renown among lords based on courage are the recap.

蔺相如者，赵人也，为赵宦者令缪贤舍人。

Lin Xiangru was a man of Zhao, a retainer of Miao Xian, the eunuch-in-chief of Zhao. (The introduction of the second subject, its judgment-sentence answering the first, the 'fine general' of the one set against the humble 'retainer' of the other, planting the seed of the biography's main thread.)

蔺相如是赵国人，担任赵国宦官头目缪贤的门客。这一句交代蔺相如的籍贯与卑微出身。

Lin Xiangru was a man of Zhao, a retainer under the chief eunuch, Miao Xian.

此句以同构的判断句引出第二位传主，而身份悬殊立见：廉颇是「赵之良将」、上卿，蔺相如只是「宦者令缪贤舍人」——连正官都算不上，仅是宦官头目门下的食客。司马迁不避卑微，如实记录，正是「不虚美、不隐恶」的实录精神。然而「舍人」二字又是全传的机枢：后文完璧归赵，相如即由缪贤举荐而出，此处的卑微恰为彼时的崛起蓄势，先抑后扬，章法严整。同时，以宦者门客出身而终位在廉颇之右，也写尽战国布衣之士凭智勇跃身卿相的时势，暗含史迁对「人不可貌相」的深慨。两句之间一扬一抑，一勇一智，双线并起，司马迁经营全传的匠心于此毕见。

The second portrait, in the same formula. Lin Xiangru was a man of Zhao, a retainer under the chief eunuch, Miao Xian. The parallel sentence to Lian Po's shows the contrast: the general is a Supreme Minister, the diplomat is a eunuch's client. The low origin is the setup for the rise. To have introduced Lin Xiangru would be an introduction; the eunuch's retainer who will become the equal of the general is the introduction.

Study

Word focus

良将 Fine general. Sima Qian's total judgment on Lian Po, one word carrying two senses: his talent is 'fine' (a good general, proved by the victory over Qi), and his virtue is 'fine' (a loyal minister, who in the end offers the brambles and yields for the good of the state). In the pre-Qin and Han idiom 'fine general' is the highest praise of a commander, carrying a weight of both talent and virtue. 「赵之良将也」之「良将」是史迁对廉颇的总评之词，一字而含双义：其才略为「良」（善战多谋，伐齐大破之、取阳晋可为证），其德性亦为「良」（忠良之臣，终能负荆请罪、顾全大局）。在先秦两汉语境中，「良将」是对将领的最高褒奖，与「名将」「宿将」相较，多一层德才兼备的庄重感。史迁以「良将」立论于篇首，实为全传定调：后文廉颇的骄（相轻）、悔（负荆）、让（与相如欢），皆须以「良」字衡之——正因为本是良将，其知错能改才愈显可贵。判断句式「者……也」与「良将」相配，语气确定，如铸鼎镌文，为传主立起不可移易的定评，此亦《史记》「太史公曰」式断语在正文中的前奏。

拜为上卿 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「拜为上卿」四字写廉颇因功受爵，「拜」是古礼中最隆重的授官动词，本指以礼相拜、授以官爵，隐含朝廷对受拜者的敬重；「上卿」为战国卿位之最尊者，位在诸卿之上，仅次于相。廉颇以战功由将而拜上卿，正见战国「以功论爵」的尚武体制——沙场斩获即可跃居卿相，与相如以口舌之劳后来居上适成对照。司马迁选「拜」字，既写礼之隆，亦写功之实；「伐—破—取—拜」四动相连，一气呵成，廉颇由将而卿的升迁轨迹如箭离弦，其赫赫声威于此毕现。此四字也是后文「蔺相如位在廉颇之右」冲突的远因：同是上卿之尊，相如竟居其上，廉颇之不平，其来有自。

舍人 Retainer. The humble title of Lin Xiangru at the opening, 'a retainer of the eunuch-in-chief Miao Xian'—the honest record of his lowly origin, set against Lian Po's 'fine general,' the contrast that prefigures the whole biography. 「为赵宦者令缪贤舍人」之「舍人」指门客、食客，是战国贵族私养的宾客，地位微贱，依附主家而食。司马迁不讳相如出身之卑，直言其为宦官头目（宦者令）缪贤门下之客，与廉颇「拜为上卿」的显赫恰成天壤之隔。此「舍人」二字至少有四重深意：一是实录精神，史笔不虚美；二是章法之伏笔，后文完璧归赵、渑池之会皆由缪贤举荐相如而起，此处的微贱正是彼时崛起的铺垫；三是战国养士之风的缩影——四公子门下食客数千，布衣之士凭智勇可自「舍人」跻身卿相，相如即其例；四是「人不可貌相」的史鉴：位卑者未必无才，史迁以此暗讽以出身论人的世俗眼光。