Zhao Baisheng, A Theory of Auto/biography
Chapter 1, Section 1 Biographical Fact 傳記事實
Biographical facts are all the elements within anecdotes that reveal something of the personality of the biographical subject, affirms Professor Zhao. For Plutarch and Sima Qian alike, biography is a craft of carefully chosen anecdotes. Alcibiades bites a man and says he is no woman, but a lion: the lion is memorable because it is a good figure by which to receive the general character of Alcibiades. Alcibiades has a beautiful dog, and one day he cuts off its tail. Again, the dog has the ability to sub-in for Alcibiades.
The main point here is that biography is not simply a large accumulation of materials, distinguished only by their veracity. Liang Qichao thought this was so, but as we can see in his biographies of Confucius and Guan Zhong, there is no personality there, because he did not craft one. Personality was not at the center of his attention, as it should have been. But what exactly is a "personality"? This remains a slippery term for Prof. Zhao. Also of concern: what sorts of personalities are most worth preserving? Does Zhao relate at all to Prof. Thayer's concern that "mokes" might be as interesting as heroes? I like the case of Alcibiades, because it indicates that this might be so.
"He was once hard pressed in wrestling, and to save himself from getting a fall, set his teeth in his opponent's arms, where they clutched him, and was like to have bitten through them. His adversary, letting go his hold, cried: "You bite, Alcibiades, as women do!"
"Not I," said Alcibiades, "but as lions do."
No comments:
Post a Comment