The Connection Between the Language Characteristics of Characters in Records of the Grand Historian and Their Personalities—Taking "the Four Noblemen of the Warring States Period" and "the Figures of the Early Han Dynasty" as Examples

Xiaomeng Yu

doi:10.54254/2753-7048/2026.HZ29377

Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public MediaOpen access

The Connection Between the Language Characteristics of Characters in Records of the Grand Historian and Their Personalities—Taking "the Four Noblemen of the Warring States Period" and "the Figures of the Early Han Dynasty" as Examples

Research Article

Open Access

The Connection Between the Language Characteristics of Characters in Records of the Grand Historian and Their Personalities—Taking "the Four Noblemen of the Warring States Period" and "the Figures of the Early Han Dynasty" as Examples

Xiaomeng Yu ^1*

¹ Hunan University

^*Corresponding author: yuxiaomeng@hnu.edu.cn

Published on 11 November 2025

LNEP Vol.116

ISSN (Print): 2753-7056

ISSN (Online): 2753-7048

ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-535-6

ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-536-3

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Abstract

As China's first biographical general history, Records of the Grand Historian features character languages that embody both historical and literary values. However, existing studies have paid insufficient attention to the comparative analysis of the languages used by figures from the Warring States Period and the early Han Dynasty it. Therefore, this study takes the Four Noblemen of the Warring States Period and Xiao He, Fan Kuai, and Zhou Bo from the early Han Dynasty in Records of the Grand Historian as the research objects. It sorts out the linguistic characteristics of these characters based on vocabulary, sentence patterns, and styles, and conducts a comparative analysis by combining their personalities with the historical backgrounds of the Warring States Period and the early Han Dynasty, to explore the differences in their languages and the causes behind them. The language of the Four Noblemen of the Warring States Period revolves around their noble status and political demands, embodying both utilitarianism and strategic thinking, while also containing the contradiction between modesty and arrogance. In contrast, the language of figures in the early Han Dynasty was consistent with their own role positioning. Due to the strengthening of monarchical centralization and the governance demand for recuperation and rest, their language showed characteristics of being cautious and balanced, or simple. The differences in characters' language are not only the external projection of their personality traits, but also the linguistic mirror of the styles of different eras.

Keywords:

Records of the Grand Historian, language, era, personality

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References

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