Sima Xiangru - Shiba Shojo

A Chinese literati from the Western Han Dynasty. His courtesy name was Changqing. He was from Chengdu (Sichuan Province). He loved reading from a young age, studied swordsmanship, and served Emperor Jing as a military cavalry attendant, but left his post and traveled to Liang. Under the literary-loving King Xiao of Liang, he became acquainted with Zou Yang and Hei Rong, and worked hard to create rhymed prose, which became popular during the Han Dynasty, and composed the "Fu of Zi Xu." After King Xiao's death, he returned to his hometown, but was unemployed and in the midst of poverty, he eloped with Wenjun, the daughter of the wealthy King Zhuo's grandson, and opened a liquor store, which is a famous story. His "Fu of Zi Xu" was praised by Emperor Wu, and he was summoned to become a servant and became an active court literati. During Emperor Wu's southwestern expedition, he became a General of the Middle Army and made a great achievement, later becoming the Minister of Xiaowen Gardens. His representative work, "Fu to Zi Xu" and its sequel "Fu to the Shanglin", are long works in the form of a dialogue between three fictional characters, Zi Xu, Master Wu You, and Duke Mu Zhe, that describe the splendor of the palace and gardens and the grandeur of hunting. At the end of the work, there is a satire against Emperor Wu's politics, but this is an added-on and has been criticized as "a hundred words of advice and one satire". Both fu are beautifully written works filled with beautiful language and are considered to be representative works of Han fu, and as representatives of fu-style literature that draws on the tradition of the "Chu Ci" from the end of the Warring States period, they had a great influence on writers of the Six Dynasties and later generations of writers. He also has famous works of prose, such as "A Speech Using the Example of Ba Shu" and "Criticizing the Elders of Shu."

[Masako Negishi]

"About Shiba Sojo" (included in "Kojiro Yoshikawa Complete Works 6", 1968, Chikuma Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、前漢の文人。字(あざな)は長卿(ちょうけい)。成都（四川(しせん)省）の人。若いころより読書を好み、撃剣を学んで景帝に仕え武騎常侍(ぶきじょうじ)となったが、職を辞して梁(りょう)に遊んだ。文学を愛する梁の孝王のもとで鄒陽(すうよう)、枚乗(ばいじょう)らと交わり、漢代に盛んとなった有韻の文である賦(ふ)の創作に努力し、「子虚(しきょ)の賦」をつくった。孝王の死後、故郷に帰ったが、職もなく、困窮のさなか富豪卓王孫の娘、文君と駆け落ちして酒屋を開いた話は名高い。「子虚の賦」が武帝の賞賛を受け、召されて郎となり、宮廷文人として活躍した。武帝の西南征伐に際し、中郎将となり功績をあげ、のちに孝文園令となった。代表作の「子虚の賦」および続編「上林の賦」は、子虚、烏有(うゆう)先生、亡是公(ぶぜこう)の3人の架空の人物の問答形式をとって、宮殿や庭園の壮麗さや狩猟の盛大さを叙述する長編である。その最後に武帝の政治に対する諷諫(ふうかん)がみられるが、これは付け足しであり「百を勧めて一を諷す」などと評される。2賦とも全編に美辞麗句を連ねた美文で、漢賦の代表的作品とされ、戦国末期の『楚辞(そじ)』の伝統を引く賦形式文学の代表として六朝(りくちょう)の文人ならびに後世の文学者に大きな影響を与えた。散文にも「巴蜀(はしょく)に喩(さと)す檄(げき)」「蜀の父老を難ず」などの名高い作品がある。

［根岸政子］

『「司馬相如について」（『吉川幸次郎全集6』所収・1968・筑摩書房）』

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