黄帝传说与《史记》的政治传统建构

《尚书》始于尧舜，这是经过孔子编订，汉代经学确立的权威的历史开端。司马迁所见所闻并不多于孔子，何以将历史的开端提前至黄帝? 这是作为史官的司马迁在为汉武帝托古改制而努力建构改元封禅的政治传统。太初改制在秦汉帝国革新更始的思潮中，围绕改历和封禅展开，《史记》确立“汉兴复当黄帝时”的新纪元。司马迁根据汉武帝改制的需要书写黄帝，也利用黄帝为武帝改制提供了历史和思想的“证据”。此过程体现了他为汉家立法，以当代圣人书写当代经书的雄心，最终也成为他遭受宫刑的原因。

The Book of History (《尚书》) which was compiled by Confucius (孔子) started with Yao (尧) and Shun (舜). It was the authoritative historical beginning set up by the Confucian classics of the Han Dynasty. Sima Qian (司马迁) saw and heard less than Confucius, but why did he advance the beginning of history to Emperor Huang (黄帝)? This is how Sima Qian, as a historiographer, made his great efforts to construct the political tradition of adopting a new reign title (改元) and offering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth (封禅) for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, (汉武帝) in the institutional reform under the name of the ancient sage emperors (托古改制). The institutional reform by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (汉武帝) with the new reign title “Taichu” (太初改制) started in the ideological trend of reform during the Qin and Han Dynasties and unfolded around the change of calendar and the worship for Heaven and Earth. Records of the Historian (《史记》) established a new era with “the rise of the Han Dynasty, being consistent with the governance of Emperor Huang". Sima Qian wrote about Emperor Huang according to the need of Emperor Wu's institutional reform, and also made use of Emperor Huang to provide historical and ideological “evidence” for Emperor Wu’s institutional reform. This process reflected his ambition to make legislations for the Han Dynasty and to write contemporary scriptures as a contemporary sage, which ultimately became the reason for his punishment of castration.