The Study On Li Taifen's Doctrine On History

Li Taifen was a remarkable historian in modern China. As a great learned man, he wrote and compiled many historical works. Though some historians sang high prize for his contribution to New History1 few man knows his name and his research because of his silent character. Maybe, this is the first attempt to discuss his doctrine of history in academic circles.This paper reviews LiTaif en' s whole activities of compiling history, summarizes his theories of the deve!opment of history, an~ d~scusses his views on how to write and compile history. In his eyes, the development of human history is an indivisible spiralling evolutional process.His views of his history as a SOience, and methods of compiling history are the main topics of this paper. A theory of his was proposed tor us to help understand the origin and evolution of history. ~Vith the devolopment of the history ,he insisted on that we should regard it as a synthethical science whether in modern time or in the future. Particular attention was paid to his evaluation of the historian' s morality for th sake of science. He emphasesed that historians should devote themselves to their duty, should not fear power and influence, and should not take bribes. Vie also stated the form of historical book, the way of gathering materials and the theory of compiling local chronicles.The aim of this thesis is to comment on LiTaif en' s doctrine of history, to find out its value and to evaluate his contribution. In conclusion, he was a great objective historian in modern China.