司马迁的“发愤著书”说是对人类生命终极意义的一种深刻认识,是一种强烈的生命意识的体现。司马迁从先贤圣哲身上认识到,在专制社会里,尽管当权者以其权力意志可以左右一个人的生死荣辱,但只要他对社会历史做出了贡献,就会得到人民和历史的承认。司马迁的“发愤著书”说不仅包含了对个体生命价值的客观评判标准,而且看到了作为个体生命的真正价值之所在。 Sima Qian’s “angry book” is a profound understanding of the ultimate meaning of human life and an expression of strong sense of life. Sima Qian realized from his saints and sages that in the authoritarian society, though the power of the people in power can affect the life and death of a person, as long as he makes contributions to the social history, people and history will be recognized. Sima Qian’s “angry book” not only contains objective evaluation criteria for the value of individual life, but also shows the true value as an individual life.