A Study On The Compilation Characteristics And Academic Value Of Bu Dayou’s "The Essences Of Historiography"

During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty,Bu Dayou compiled the articles of previous scholars on historiography into a book entitled "The Essences of Historiography".The basis for the publication of "The Essences of Historiography" was the reprinting of a large number of ancient history books in the Ming Dynasty,and the motive for its compilation was related to the increased awareness of historical criticism and the changing relationship between history and scripture in the Ming Dynasty.When compiling the Essentials of History,Bu Dayou was influenced by the compiled works of his predecessors,and adopted the way of compiling a collection of records,taking the principle of "concern for historiography" as the principle of compilation,and following the example of the "Wen Xian Tong Kao·Jing Ji Kao".Through his book Essentials of History,Bu Dayou expresses his dialectical perception of the relationship between "knowledge" and "essences",his demand for the spiritual cultivation of historians,and his thoughts on ways to explore the resources of historic theory and historical criticism.In terms of scholarly value,the book is a pioneering work in the compilation of scattered historical literature,and its awareness of distinguishing between "historical criticism" and "historical commentary" is invaluable.It is one of the values of this book that it attempts to systematize the scattered historical materials,but the greatest shortcoming of this book is that it only contains excerpts from the collected documents.