在当前史学理论领域，“narrative”和“叙事”常被用作两个可互译转换的词汇，使用者有时忽略它们于其中生成的不同文化背景。在西方文化传统中，narrative通常与史诗（epic）、罗曼司（romance）和小说（novel）等文学体裁相关。在写作历史时，一方面，史学家与文学家共享着narrative这一形式，另一方面，他们又通常认为这一形式是透明的，不会影响历史作品客观地反映过去实在，直至叙事主义着力揭示narrative作为形式所蕴含的“内容”，来说明史学作品的修辞和艺术本质。而在中国古代文化传统中，叙事主要指对事件的属辞比事，叙述者通过排列、讲述事件过程来梳理历史本身的条理。与“实录”相关联的史学作品在叙事文类的发展过程中扮演着关键角色。

就《史记》而言，其行文包含着narratives，即司马迁围绕历史人物所讲述的生动具体、活灵活现、富有起落的故事，这些叙述和描绘使得《史记》展现出较高的文学价值，以情感及道德意蕴感染、打动读者。同时，它还在本纪—表—书—世家—列传的“五体”形式中展现出一个宏大叙事。司马迁意图在此宏大叙事中揭示历史过程的成败兴坏之理，他以超越历史行动者的视野，获得和呈现对实际历史趋势的理性认知。可以说，司马迁写作《史记》，离不开心中发愤之情的推动，也离不开汉初大一统政治格局的滋养。从这一层面看，叙事主义对史家头脑中审美和伦理之概念化模式的强调，有其合理性。但叙事主义忽略了史家写史的重要目的在于理性地认知和理解历史，而非全然地仅仅感受历史之“美”或将历史道德化。在narratives和叙事中，司马迁展现了复杂的历史变化过程，同时，他试图合理地认识和解释这一变化过程，确切地把握变化中的常规。司马迁的史学实践启发我们，在对事实保持审慎态度的基础上，对历史作出理性论断，这构成史家在认识论上的一种行事准则。

“Narrative” and “Xushi (叙事)” are often regarded as equivalents in translation in current field of historical theory, whose respective cultural traditions are sometimes ignored by users. In the West, narrative is usually associated with literary genres such as epic, romance and novel. As for historians, on the one hand, they share narrative with fiction writers when they write histories, on the other hand, they believe that this form is transparent, which could reflect realities in the past objectively, not until narrativism reveals “the content of form” of narrative, which suggests the figurative and literary nature in history. However, in ancient China, Xushi is about how to adapt one’s language to the things of which he speaks. Through organizing events in coherence and telling them in an orderly way, narrators show us the reason behind history. Xushi which was complementary to “Shilu(实录)”, played an important role in contributing to the early development of narrative literature.

With regard to Records of the Historian, it contains narratives. Surrounding different historical figures, Sima Qian told lots of vivid, lively and dramatic stories. These narratives and descriptions give Records of the Historian high literary value. Its powerful emotions and moral senses infect and move readers a lot. At the same time, Records of the Historian unfolds a grand narrative in five forms, which are basic annals (本纪), tables (表), treatises (书), accounts of noble families (世家) and biographies (列传). Sima Qian tried to reveal the logic of success and failure in history and acquire a rational understanding of historical trend under the perspective of which transcends historical agent’s vision. It can be said, without the impetus of mixed emotions in Sima Qian’s hear and the unificationary situation during the early Han dynasty, Records of the Historian could not be accomplished. As fas as this level concerned, Narrativism’s emphasis on conceptualizations in brain of historians towards aesthetics and ethics is reasonable. However, narrativism ignores that one important goal of historical writing is gaining rational historical knowledge, rather than just feeling history’s “beauty” or moralizing it. Sima Qian had represented a complicated historical process in his narratives, and he also had attended to comprehend and explain this historical process properly, grasp the regularities within numerous changes in history correctly. Sima Qian’s historiographical practice inspires us that there is one unbreakable epistemological norm that historians needs to act with when they write histories, that is, making rational judgements of history on the basis of being cautious about facts.