From The Yan’an Edition To The Revised Edition: A Study Of Fan Wenlan’s "Compendium Of General History Of China"

After Fan Wenlan’s "Compendium of General History of China" was published in Yan’an,it had a profound impact and became the foundation and model of Marxist general history of China.After the founding of New China,Fan Wenlan reviewed the problems in the book and constantly revised it.From the Yan’an edition to the revised edition,great changes have taken place in "Compendium of General History of China" in terms of writing purpose,guiding ideology,and writing focus.The Yan’an edition aims to tell the revolutionaries’ view of Chinese history,focus on exposing the crimes of the ruling class,and reveal the future of China’s historical development;the revised version strives to write a good general history for the people,inherit and carry forward the excellent historical heritage,absorb precious experience,and make better new creations.Historical materialism is the consistent guiding ideology of "Compendium of General History of China".Fan Wenlan’s application of historical materialism has gone through a process from groping and imitating learning steps to being able to skillfully use and explain Chinese history,and has formed a systematic Theory of General History of China.With the change of purpose and the deepening of the guiding ideology of "Compendium of General History of China",the focus of its writing content has also changed,showing the obvious characteristics of focusing on academic culture from focusing on political economy.British historian E.H Carr once said: "History is a continuous process of interaction between the historian and his facts,an endless question-and-answer conversation between the present and the past." The changes in "Compendium of General History of China" from the Yan’an edition to the revised edition reflect Fan Wenlan’s constant dialogue with history according to the needs of the times.In the process,he adjusted his identity and the direction of his work.Fan Wenlan’s practice of writing general history of China reflects the influence of the times on historiography and the response of historiography to the times.