Tong Shuye And Transformation Of Historiography In The Mid & Late 1940s

The 20th century Chinese historical study can be basically regarded as the resistant history between overview history and fact-finding history, which separately represent the two wings of positivism and interpretation. Their fluctuation constitutes the main clue of Chinese historical study in the 20th century. In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party's coming into power is undoubtedly the primary cause of transformation for the two patterns.However, the transformation already appeared as early as in the Mid of 1940s.This major change has two aspects.Specifically, historical research is transformed from positivism to interpretation and from specialization to general history.The transformation has its intrinsic logic besides the social factor.This article combines the methods of overall analysis and case study, integrating Tong Shuye's historical syudy under this background, which highlights the intrinsic rationality of historical development in this period.The article launches the elaboration from four aspects.In the first part, the article outlines the mainstream: the New Philology, and its characteristics in the period of the Republic of China, and narrates Tong Shuye's early historical study.The school of the New Philology stresses the importance of materials in historical study by rejecting overview and pre-construction.They emphasized specialization and neglected synthesis. They pursued historical reality by opposing the idea of regarding history as practical use.Tong Shuye belonged to the school of New Philology, his early historical research was constrained by the disciplines of he New Philology, using textual criticism as his major historical method.In the second part, the article elaborates one of the major changes in the 1940s. Historical research was converted from positivism to interpretation. Dated from the early 30's, the school of the Overview History started to rise by way of Guo Moruo's demonstration and the Social History Controversy.The new approach of using social sciences began to flourish.Under this background, Tong Shuye's historical research started to transform, and payed more attention to theory. He not only criticised the doctrine -like Overview History out of good intentions, but also he utilized the theory in his historical research.In the third part, the article deals with one of the major changes in the 1940s. Historical study was converted from specialization to general history. After the Sino-Japanese War erupted, not only the school of Overview history or that of tradition started to write Chinese general history in abundance, but the school of the New Philology gave up pure textual criticism, forming the second climax of writing Chinese general history. Tong Shuye was influenced by the political situation , and he was no longer restricted by the rules and disciplines of the New Philology. He not only payed much attention to the general history research, but he himself wrote the History of Spring and Autumn Period, and even started to compose Chinese general history before liberation.In the fourth part, the article discusses the reasons of the changes in the mid and late 1940s. From the point of social history, firstly, in the 1930s, Marxism already overwhelmed in society, and secondly, the eruption of Sino-Japanese War broke the advancement of fFact-finding history. From the academic factor of internal development, the historical research rose from fact-finding history to overview history, which was coherent to intrinsic logic to some extent. The school of the New Philology partially emphasized historical reality and neglected relationship between history and society, which led to isolate from society. They focused on hunting facts of history and rejected the involvement of historical interpretation, thus they merely confined historical research to experience, Therefore, the transformation from fact-finding history to overview history manifests intrinsic logic of historical development to some extent.