《檀香刑》是莫言在90年代中后期发表的几部长篇小说之一,小说主要以1900年的山东高密为故事背景,并穿插了八国联军攻陷北京、义和团运动、德国修胶济铁路等一系列事件,同时这些事件背后还隐藏着一段骇人听闻的酷刑。整部小说在西方的叙事框架下隐藏的是莫言对传统文化特别是对刑罚文化的一种批判和反思,并且还揭开了中华民族独特的文化心理。本文就将以此为切入点,重点分析《檀香刑》的叙事策略和其中蕴涵的人性主题。 “Sandalwood punishment” is one of several novels published by Mo Yan in the middle and late 1990s. The novel mainly focuses on Shandong Gaomi in 1900 as the story background, interspersed with a series of campaigns by the Eight-Power Allied Forces in Beijing, the Boxer Rebellion, Incident, at the same time there was a horrifying amount of torture hidden behind these events. What the whole novel hides in the western narrative framework is Mo Yan’s criticism and reflection on traditional culture, especially on punishment culture, and also uncovers the unique cultural psychology of the Chinese nation. This article will take this as an entry point, focusing on analysis of the narrative strategy of “Sandalwood punishment” and the humanistic theme implied in it.