Overture: A Study of Chinese Yuan History since Modern Times
The study of China's yuan history in modern times began in the early 20th century. During this period, the study of metahistory carried out by traditional historical revision methods was nearing its end. In the true sense, the pioneers of the study of the path of modern empirical historiography are mainly Wang Guowei, Chen Yuan and Chen Yinke. Weng Dujian, Han Rulin, and Shao Xunzheng, who followed them, were scholars who specialized in the field of yuan history, and in addition to receiving systematic historical training in new universities in China, they also studied in many overseas countries, successively studied under the world-recognized sinology master Paul Pelliot at that time, received good language education and method training, and mastered the language tools necessary for the study of yuan history such as Persian. In terms of governance, all three of them pay attention to facing the world, are good at drawing on the latest research results from foreign countries, and have made many breakthroughs because they are familiar with the method of translating and restoring names of phonetic surveys, paying attention to the comparative study of Chinese literature with other written documents, and carrying out the examination of the system of famous objects. Most of the Yuanshi scholars who grew up after new China have direct or indirect teacher-inheritance relationships with the three of them, so the above three scholars can be regarded as the actual founders of the discipline of yuan history in contemporary China.
The establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 marked the entry of Chinese historical research from modern empirical historiography into a new stage of development of Marxist historiography. During this period, historians generally accepted the ideological transformation of Marxism and the materialist view of history. On the whole, due to the influence of the political environment and other factors, the size of the research team on the history of the Yuan Dynasty from 1949 to 1965 was still very small, and the scope of research was relatively narrow, mainly focusing on the peasant war, the nature of Mongolian society and the evaluation of historical figures, and several aspects related to the "five golden flowers of historiography". During the Cultural Revolution, academic research was basically at a standstill, and even in the first few years after the end of the Cultural Revolution, the inertial influence of the ultra-"Left" trend of thought still existed. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee in 1978, academic thought was truly liberated, and the study of Chinese yuan history began to gradually recover and enter a new era of vigorous development.
Xinfeng: An Overview of Chinese Yuan History Research in the Past 40 Years
In the 40 years since the reform and opening up in 1978, China's yuan history research has taken on a new look and emerged. During this period, the rapid development of metahistory research was all-round. In summary, it can be reflected in the following four aspects:
(1) The formation of successor talents and teaching and research bases. In the first half of these 40 years, in addition to Han Rulin, Weng Dujian, Yang Zhijiu and other scholars of the older generation, a group of middle-aged scholars have become the backbone of the study of Yuan history. In addition to Cai Meibiao, this group of scholars was born in the 1930s, mainly including Yi Linzhen, Zhou Liangxiao, Zhou Qingshu, Ding Guofan, Chen Dezhi, Yang Ne, Huang Shijian, Yu Dajun, Qiu Shusen, Chen Gaohua and so on. After the national college entrance examination system was restored, the Institute of History, the Institute of Modern History and the Institute of Nationalities of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as well as the Central Institute for Nationalities (later renamed the Central University for Nationalities), Nanjing University, Nankai University, Inner Mongolia University, Peking University, Fudan University, Jinan University and other units successively undertook the task of cultivating master's and doctoral students in the direction of Yuan history, and cultivated a large number of reserve forces for the development of the discipline of Yuan history. At present, the third and fourth generation scholars who are active in the field of metahistory research have graduated from the above-mentioned institutions. In recent years, in addition to the above-mentioned "traditional important towns" of Yuanshi continuing to play an important role, with the continuous training of Yuanshi talents and their work positions, the teaching and research base of Yuanshi has a good development trend of continuous expansion. Wuhan University, Lanzhou University, Northwest Normal University, South China Normal University, Hunan University, Zhejiang University, and Xiamen University are among the representatives.
(2) The establishment and operation of academic societies and academic journals. The expansion of the research team of yuan history has created conditions for the establishment of academic groups. In October 1980, the Chinese Yuan History Research Association was established in Nanjing University, with Han Rulin as the first president, and founded the journals "Yuan History Series" (currently 14 series) and "Yuan History Research Newsletter". In addition, the journals that specialize in the study of Yuan history include the "Yuan History and Ethnic and Frontier Studies Collection" sponsored by the Yuan History Research Office of Nanjing University (formerly known as the "Yuan History and Northern Ethnic History Research Collection", a total of 13 series from 1978 to 1990, after the resumption of publication in 2000, it was renamed "Yuan History and Ethnic History Research Collection", a total of 4 series, in 2006 the 18th series was changed to the current name, and the current series has been 31 series), and in recent years, the "Tsinghua Yuan History" sponsored by the Institute of Traditional Chinese Studies of Tsinghua University (3 series have been published so far) With the Institute of Ancient Books and Traditional Culture of Beijing Normal University, he sponsored the "Research on Literature and Culture of the Yuan Dynasty" (3 series have been published so far).
(3) The continuous emergence of research results. In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, the achievements of China's yuan history research, whether in quantity, quality, or breadth of research, have taken a qualitative leap compared with before. Since 1978, the average annual number of papers published has been more than 100 (some years in the first 10 years have not reached this number, and later it has far exceeded this number), and in the past 10 years, it has risen to an average annual scale of 300 or 400 papers. At the same time, the field of research is also expanding. Horizontally, it has been widely involved in politics (including political events, systems, personalities, etc.), economics (including population, agriculture, handicrafts, enlistment, commerce, etc.), law, culture (including ideology, religion, literature and art, science and technology, etc.), society, ethnicity and Sino-foreign relations and other aspects. From a longitudinal point of view, the trend of studying the two ends (Mongolia and the peasant wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty) and the light in the middle has been completely reversed. Correspondingly, there is a change in the perspective of the study. In the study of Yuan history, there has long been a tendency to pay special attention to the Cultural Components of Mongolia and other non-Han Chinese in Yuan Dynasty society, while ignoring the inherent components of Han Culture. Today's researchers are more on the Yuan Dynasty society as a whole to investigate, trying to analyze the primary and secondary status of various cultural components, the collision, influence and integration between them. The inclusion of the Yuan Dynasty in the long river of Chinese history for a long period of investigation has also become a trend in the study of Yuan history in recent years.
(4) Academic exchanges with foreign countries are becoming more frequent and deepening. The study of Yuan history is not only a part of the study of ancient Chinese history, but also a worldwide science. With the deepening of reform and opening up, China is facing the world with an increasingly open mind, and the foreign academic exchange of yuan history research has also made fundamental progress. The holding of international conferences on domestic yuan history and the foreign exchanges of scholars have become more and more frequent from scratch. Especially in the more than 10 years since the 21st century, the foreign exchange of Yuan history research has reached an unprecedented height. At present, foreign scholars often participate in domestic meta-history conferences, and domestic meta-history scholars also continue to go abroad for exchanges, and many people in the meta-history graduate group belonging to the new forces have the opportunity to visit and study in Western countries such as the United States, Germany, and Israel, and some of them directly pursue degrees. Not only are exchanges becoming more frequent, but the degree of exchanges and cooperation is also deepening. At present, the study of Chinese yuan history is no longer satisfied with timely feedback on the old degree of the latest Western research results, but continues to move towards "international cooperation" in the true sense. This is embodied in two aspects: on the one hand, at present, the most front-line history in the West and academic conferences and seminars in related disciplines, etc., can see Chinese scholars using English reports to teach and communicate directly with Western counterparts; On the other hand, Chinese yuan history scholars have also begun to cooperate with foreign scholars to write English research works, rather than staying at the level of translating foreign works in the past.
Example: An Introduction to the Research Achievements of China's Yuan History in the Past 40 Years
In the past 40 years, the research results of Yuanshi can be described as "grand", and they have spread to almost all aspects of the field of Metahistory as we know it now. Due to space limitations, the following is only a list of some of the more representative works on topical research.
(1) Politics and economics. The most political treatises are widely written, covering a wide range of aspects such as the canonical system, political figures, political events, military history, and peasant wars. Among them, the general works of the political system are mainly the eighth volume of the General History of the Chinese Political System (written by Chen Gaohua and Shi Weimin, People's Publishing House, 1996; Revised Edition, Social Science Literature Publishing House, 2011), other important works include Li Zhi'an's "Research on the System of Dividing and Sealing in the Yuan Dynasty" (Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House, 1992; Revised Edition, Zhonghua Bookstore, 2007), Research on the Provincial System (Nankai University Press, 2000, later revised and updated, renamed "Yuan Dynasty Provincial System", Zhonghua Bookstore, 2011) and the collection of essays "Research on the Political System of the Yuan Dynasty" (People's Publishing House, 2003), Zhang Fan", "Research on the Yuan Dynasty Prime Minister System" (Peking University Press, 1997). The biographies of Genghis Khan are the most numerous political figures, of which the larger ones are mainly the works of Yu Dajun and Zhu Yaoting ("A Generation of Heavenly Glory Genghis Khan", Inner Mongolia People's Publishing House, 2002; The Biography of Genghis Khan, People's Publishing House, 2004). The more important biography of Kublai Khan is Li Zhi'an's Biography of Kublai Khan (People's Publishing House, 2004). Biographies of other political figures include Liu Xiao's Commentary on Yelü Chucai (Nanjing University Press, 2001) and Qiu Shusen's Biography of Tuhuan Tiemu 'er( Jilin Education Publishing House, 1991, which was later revised and renamed "Commentary on Tu Huan Tie Mu'er", Aoya Weekly Publishing Co., Ltd., 2004). In terms of military history, there is the Fourteenth Volume of the General History of Chinese Military Affairs edited by the Academy of Military Sciences, "Military History of the Yuan Dynasty" (written by Shi Weimin, Military Science Publishing House, 1998), which involves many issues such as the military system, war, military figures and ideas of the Yuan Dynasty, representing the latest research results in this field.
Economic research in the Yuan Dynasty mainly focused on the system of conscription, handicraft production and overseas trade. Comprehensive monographs include Li Gan's Drafts of The Social and Economic History of the Yuan Dynasty (Hubei People's Publishing House, 1985). Chen Gaohua has devoted himself to the economic problems of the Yuan Dynasty for many years, and has published a series of important papers, most of which have been included in his collections of essays, "YuanShi Research Papers" (Zhonghua Bookstore, 1991), "Chen Gaohua Anthology" (Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, 2005), "New Theories on yuan history research" (Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 2005) and "New Evidence of Yuan Dynasty History" (Lanzhou University Press, 2010). He co-authored with Shi Weimin, "General History of China's Economy: Economic Volume of the Yuan Dynasty" (Economic Daily Press, 2000; China Social Sciences Press, republished in 2007), with strict style and informative content, is a classic work in the study of economic history in the Yuan Dynasty. The main urban studies in the Yuan Dynasty are Chen Gaohua's "Yuan Dadu" (Beijing Publishing House, 1982), Chen Gaohua and Shi Weimin's "Yuan Shangdu" (Jilin Education Press, 1988). In terms of transportation, there are mainly Dang Baohai's "Traffic Research on Mengyuan Station" (Kunlun Publishing House, 2006). Trade research includes Chen Gaohua and Wu Tai's Overseas Trade in the Song and Yuan Dynasties (Tianjin People's Publishing House, 1981) and Gao Rongsheng's Studies on Overseas Trade in the Yuan Dynasty (Sichuan People's Publishing House, 1994).
(2) Ideological, cultural, and religious societies. The works that discuss the idea of meta-agency include Hou Wailu et al., the third edition of the History of Science of Song Ming (People's Publishing House, 1984), Xu Yuanhe, and "Science and Society of the Yuan Dynasty" (People's Publishing House, 1992). The main comprehensive treatises on cultural history are Chen Gaohua et al., "Cultural History of the Yuan Dynasty" (Guangdong Education Publishing House, 2009). The study of historiography mainly includes Zhou Shaochuan's "Research on the Historical Thought of the Yuan Dynasty" (Social Science Literature Publishing House, 2001), and Wang Shenrong's "Exploring the Sources of Yuan History" (Jilin Wenshi Publishing House, 1991) to carefully analyze the historical sources of "Yuan History". Research on the history of religion, mainly qing Xitai edited the third volume of the History of Chinese Taoism (Sichuan People's Publishing House, 1993; 1996 Revised Edition), Yang Ne's "Research on the White Lotus Religion in the Yuan Dynasty" (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2004), Ren Yimin's "History of Chinese Buddhism: The Yuan Dynasty" (People's Publishing House, 2005), Zhao Weidong's "The History of Jin Yuan Quanzhen TaoistIsm" (Qilu Book Society, 2010), Yin Xiaoping's "Yuan Dynasty Ye Li Ke Wen Kao Shu" (Lanzhou University Press, 2012), Zhang Guangbao's "The Founding and Historical Inheritance of Quanzhen Religion" (Zhonghua Bookstore, 2015), etc. In terms of social customs, Shi Weimin's "History of Social Life in the Yuan Dynasty" (China Social Sciences Press, 1996, republished in 2005), Chen Gaohua and Shi Weimin's "General History of Chinese Customs, Yuan Dynasty Volumes" (Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 2001) and so on.
(3) The historical geography of ethnic minorities and Sino-foreign relations in the Yuan Dynasty. Luo Xianyou's "General History of Chinese Nationalities in Past Dynasties: History of Ethnic Groups in the Yuan Dynasty" (Social Sciences Literature Publishing House, 2007) made a holistic study of the ethnic situation in the Yuan Dynasty. Yang Zhijiu's Draft History of the Hui People in the Yuan Dynasty (Nankai University Press, 2003) includes important papers on the author's research on ethnic history. Liu Yingsheng's "Research on the History of The Northwest Ethnic Groups and the History of the Chagatai Khanate" (Nanjing University Press, 1994) and "Research on the History of the Chagatai Khanate" (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2006) are important achievements in the study of the history of the Chagatai Khanate in Chinese academic circles. Shang Yanbin's "Research on the Fear of Wu'er in the Yuan Dynasty" (Minzu Publishing House, 1999), Ma Jianchun's "Research on the People who Moved East to the West in the Yuan Dynasty and Their Culture" (Minzu Publishing House, 2003), and Xie Yongmei's "Research on the Zhala Yi'er Department in the Mongolian Yuan Period" (Liaoning Nationalities Publishing House, 2012) are also quite important monographs. Studies on ethnic frontier areas include Zhang Yun's "Research on the Local Administrative System of Tubo in the Yuan Dynasty" (China Social Science Press, 1998), Zhou Fang's "Research on the Establishment of Political Districts and Related Administrative Management in Yunnan in the Yuan Dynasty" (China Social Science Press, 2009), and Xue Lei's "Research on the Rule of Northeast China in the Yuan Dynasty" (Social Sciences Academic Press, 2012).
Marco Polo and his travels have always been one of the focal points of Yuan history, and many translations have been published. Therefore, Marco Polo's research is also an important topic in the field of The history of Sino-foreign relations in the Yuan Dynasty. Yang Zhijiu enjoys an international reputation for his research on Marco Polo. He published a series of papers on whether Marco Polo came to China, included in the collection of essays "Marco Polo in China" (Nankai University Press, 1999). There are also many other research papers on Marco Polo. In addition, there are Huang Shijian's "Treatise on the History of East-West Exchange" (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1998), Liu Yingsheng's "Sea and Land: A Study of East-West Exchanges in the Medieval Era" (Peking University Press, 2011), "The Mongolian Yuan Empire and the World in the 13th and 15th Centuries" (Sanlian Bookstore, 2013), "Chinese Dialect and Sound: A Language Bridge for East-West Communication in the Late Middle Ages" (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2013), etc.
(4) Collation of historical materials. Historical materials are the foundation of historical research, and in the past 40 years, Yuan historians have made great efforts to sort out and collate the historical materials of the Yuan Dynasty, and a large number of important achievements have been born. According to the universality and particularity of Yuan history research, the results of historical material collation can be divided into Several aspects: Chinese historical materials, ethnic history books, and extraterritorial historical materials.
In terms of the collation of Chinese historical materials, before 1978, only the point proofreading of the "History of yuan" and the compilation of the yuan dynasty part of the "Historical Atlas of China" were important. After the reform and opening up, the academic circles have invested a lot of efforts in this regard and achieved fruitful results. Among them, most of the more important Yuanren Beiji have collated books, and some of the other sets have more than one kind of collation. The 61 volumes of Quanyuan Wen (Phoenix Publishing House, 2004) compiled by Li Xiusheng of the Institute of Ancient Books of Beijing Normal University and the 68 volumes of Quanyuan Poems (Zhonghua Bookstore, 2013) compiled by Yang Gao of the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences are a large-scale collection of Yuan Dynasty literature and the most important achievement of the current Yuan Dynasty literature collation. The Secret History of Mongolia is the most basic historical material for the study of early Mongolian history, and Ulan's Secret History of the Yuan Dynasty (Collation Survey) (Zhonghua Bookstore, 2012) is the latest achievement in this regard in recent years. The Yuandian Zhang, a basic document for the study of Yuan history, is known for its difficulty in reading, and through the unremitting efforts of scholars such as Chen Gaohua, it has been published as a school copy (Zhonghua Bookstore, Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House, 2011). The "Yuan Dynasty Historical Materials Series" presided over by Huang Shijian was published by Zhejiang Ancient Books Publishing House in 7 kinds, bringing together the basic literature of the Yuan Dynasty, which is mainly based on political books. In terms of religious historical materials, Chen Zhichao and Zeng Qingying added and completed the Taoist Jin ShiLuo (Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1988) on the basis of Chen Yuan's old works, which also belong to the Yuan Dynasty. Wang Zongyu's "New Edition of Stone Carvings of Jin Yuan Quanzhen Sect" (Peking University Press, 2005) adds to the former.
The excavated documents of the Yuan Dynasty mainly refer to the Heishuicheng documents, and in recent years, remarkable achievements have been made, and the "Chinese Tibetan Black Water City Han Literature" (Tara et al., Editor-in-Chief, National Library Press, 2008), "Chinese Tibetan Black Water City Ethnic Literature Literature" (Tara et al., Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House, 2013) and "Chinese Tibetan Black Water City Han Literature Interpretation" (Du Jianlu, Zhonghua Bookstore, Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House, 2017) have been published successively. As for the Literature of The Russian-Tibetan and Anglo-Tibetan Blackwater Cities, there are also many collated works published, such as Sun Jimin's compilation of "Anglo-Tibetan and Russian-Tibetan Blackwater City Hanshui Literature Collation" (Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House, 2015) and so on.
Collation of national history books. The collation, research and translation of ethnic history books is a major feature of the study of Yuan Dynasty documents. As mentioned above, the Secret History of Mongolia is the most important in the early Mongolian historical data, but only the Chinese character phonetic transcription has been handed down. Restoring the "Secret History" as it was was was the goal pursued by Mongolian scholars in various countries. In 1987, the Inner Mongolia University Press published a replica of the Secret History of the Mongolian scholar Yi Linzhen, which was the first time in China. Scattered Mongolian literature collation and research include Dob's Compilation of Uighur Mongolian Literature (Minzu Publishing House, 1983), Zhaonastu's Basiba Characters and Mongolian Literature (Tokyo Foreign Chinese University アア·アフフリカ Linguistic Culture Research Institute, I Research Collection, 1990; II. Collection of Literature, 1991), Huge Jiletu and Sarula, Compilation of Mongolian Literature on Basiba Characters (Inner Mongolia Education Publishing House, 2004), Cai Meibiao, Collected Interpretations of Cultural Relics inscribed on Basiba Characters (China Social Science Press, 2011), etc. The Tibetan literature of the Yuan Dynasty is also very rich, which contains a large number of precious historical materials, and some important Tibetan historical books have been translated into Chinese.
Translation and collation of extraterritorial historical materials. As early as the second half of the 19th century, Chinese scholars have recognized the importance of extraterritorial historical materials, especially Persian historical books, for the study of Yuan history, but most of them can only indirectly understand the relevant records in "extraterritorial historical materials" through books such as "Yuanshi Translation Supplement" and "Dosang Mongol History". After the reform and opening up, this situation has been fundamentally improved. The Chinese translation of "extraterritorial historical materials" was able to meet with Chinese scholars one after another. Among them, the more important ones are Zhifeni's History of the Conquerors of the World translated by Gao Ji from the English translation (Inner Mongolia People's Publishing House, 1980), Rasht's "History Collection" (Commercial Press, 1983-1986) translated from Russian by Yu Dajun and Zhou Jianqi, and Zhou Liangxiao's Translation and Annotation of "The Successor of Genghis Khan: The Second Volume of the Historical Collection" (Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House, 1992). In the first half of the 13th century, the travels of European church envoys to Mongolia have been published in two translations (Lü Pu translation, Zhou Liangxiao's notes on "The Journey to Mongolia", China Social Science Press, 1983; Geng Sheng and He Gaoji translated "The Journey of The Mongolian Xingji of Burang guests, Lubrook Dongxingji", Zhonghua Bookstore, 1985).
Prospects: Prospects for the future advancement of Chinese yuan history research
In summary, in the past 40 years, China's yuan history research achievements have been fruitful and great achievements have been made. But it is undeniable that under the appearance of prosperity, there are also many deficiencies. Like many articles, which rely only on some common bits and pieces of information, stay at a shallow level of flat and direct narrative, and cannot be said to be strict academic research at all. Although some articles have spent a lot of energy, because of the closed doors, they have not noticed the research results of their predecessors, and they are actually repeating what others have discussed, and there is not much novelty. Many of the articles with their own unique insights do not attach importance to academic norms, so that readers cannot know which are the author's novelties and which are the views of their predecessors. In addition, the common problem of the lack of standardization of research texts also exists in large quantities in practice.
In the new era, we must have a new atmosphere, and we must also have new deeds. In the study of Chinese Yuan history, there are still the following aspects that need to be vigorously strengthened.
The first is the continued excavation and collation of historical materials. Historical materials are the foundation of historical research, and if historical research is not backed by historical materials, it will become a water without a source and a wood without a root. Past practice has proved that the vigorous development of historical research is often very much related to the excavation of new historical materials.
In the use of Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan historical materials, China has a unique advantage, and the great achievements made by the Institute of Chinese Yuan History in the 20th century can be said to be due to this advantage to some extent. In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, new historical materials that attract attention have emerged in the field of Yuan history research, such as the "Shu shan collection" of the relics of the Western Xia found in Henan, the Yuan periodicals "Lao Qida" and "Zhizheng Tiaoge" found in Korea, the "Records of the Treasures of the Gyeongju Clan" and the "Manuscripts of the Near Si zhai" of the Gaochang Family, the collation and research of the Heishuicheng documents hidden at home and abroad, and the excavation and collation of official documents on paper (also known as official documents back documents) that have attracted widespread attention in recent years. Some of these vivid literature materials have been introduced into the field of research by scholars, adding vitality to the study of Yuan history. In fact, in addition to these new materials, we still have a lot of work to do in terms of documentation. For example, the Yuan Dynasty literature in the local chronicles and the Jinshi zhi deserves great efforts to comprehensively and systematically compile them, and because of the Fang zhi compiled in different periods in the same region, the documents included in the collection are often similar to each other, and we must not consult one of them as a satisfaction. As for the Yuan Dynasty inscriptions and rubbings that have not been recorded in various places, as well as newly excavated epitaphs and inscriptions, the number is also considerable. As early as the early 1980s, Weng Dujian had advocated the compilation of the "Integration of Yuanbei", but unfortunately this work has not yet been fully carried out. In recent years, scholars have applied to the National Social Science Fund for "Rescue, Excavation and Collation of The Remains of the Northern Golden Stone Inscriptions of the Yuan Dynasty", which can be said to be a good start. The collation of Chinese literature can be carried out in many aspects, so as to facilitate the research and utilization of scholars as a principle, and "Quanyuanwen" and "Quanyuan Poems" are a good way. The classification and collation of the data is also very necessary, the publication of the Taoist Jinshiluo has greatly promoted the study of the history of Taoism in the Yuan Dynasty, and there are more Survivors of the Buddhist Jinshi Literature of the Yuan Dynasty, if it can also be compiled into a volume, it will definitely promote the study of the history of Buddhism in the Yuan Dynasty.
"Extraterritorial historical materials" is a large treasure trove of materials for the study of Yuan history, and in this regard, foreign scholars have achieved fruitful results due to their unique conditions and are far ahead of us. To this end, Weng Dujian once put forward a two-step proposal, that is, to first translate the results of the research compiled by foreign scholars, and then directly translate the original text when the conditions are ripe. In this regard, we have only completed the first step, that is, the translation from Western languages, and the variety is limited. In recent years, as Chinese yuan historians have paid more and more attention to "extraterritorial historical materials" and the continuous improvement of language capabilities, the Chinese translation of "extraterritorial historical materials" has accelerated and developed, and the situation is gratifying. For example, the collected edition of Marco Polo's Universal Chronicle published by Moule and Bo xihe in 1938 is still the most complete and authoritative version of the Marco Polo Chronicle, but no Chinese translation has ever been published. In recent years, his Chinese translation work has been underway. At present, the translation of some foreign historical materials no longer relies on Western scripts, but directly "docks" with their original languages. For example, the Chinese translation and collation of the famous Persian genealogy "Five Genealogies" (u'ab-iPanjgāna) was carried out directly as a working book. In addition, it is gratifying that in recent years, some domestic linguists have begun to work on the second step, publishing works such as Wang Yidan's "Research and Text Translation of Boslascht's "History of China" (Kunlun Publishing House, 2006) and "Annotations to the Ily Khan's Treasure Book of Chinese Science and Technology" (Peking University Press, 2016) and other works.
In the future, we still need to continue to strengthen our efforts in this regard, especially the cooperation between historians and linguists. In addition, many of the "extraterritorial historical materials" are manuscripts and written copies, which are collected in the major libraries in China, and in the past scholars' research was mostly obtained through private channels, which was not widely spread in the academic circles, which brought great inconvenience to the research, so in the future, it is necessary to establish a data center relying on a certain university or a research institution to extensively collect the "extraterritorial historical materials" manuscripts or engravings collected in various countries in the world to facilitate the use of domestic scholars.
The second is the absorption and reference of archaeological achievements. Archaeological discoveries can not only provide new information for historical research, but also uncover many new problems. Since the "double evidence method" of Wang Guowei was proposed, the combination of historical documents and archaeological discoveries has become an important way of historical research, and meta-historical research is certainly no exception. Compared with other dynasties, the archaeology of the Yuan Dynasty should be said to be relatively weak. Of course, there are some objective reasons, such as the short reign of the Yuan Dynasty, the emperors are buried in the north, and the Mongols generally have no burial chambers, resulting in the underdevelopment of tomb archaeology in the Yuan Dynasty, but this does not mean that the archaeology of the Yuan Dynasty has no work to do. After the founding of New China, the important archaeological discoveries of the Yuan Dynasty first promoted the Heishuicheng document, although the Heishuicheng document is not the same as the Dunhuang document of the Tang Dynasty in terms of quantity, but because most of the content reflects the situation of the secular society of the Yuan Dynasty, the academic research value is no less than the latter. There are also many religious stone carvings in Quanzhou and other places, as well as many Cultural Relics of the Yuan Dynasty unearthed and collected from all over the country, which have been widely used by scholars in the study of religious customs and social life, and have achieved good results. The study of the history of the capitals of Yuan Dadu, Shangdu and Zhongdu has achieved rapid development because archaeological discoveries have made up for the lack of documentary records. The above situation shows that the archaeology of the Yuan Dynasty is not optional, but promising, on this basis, it is completely necessary for us to respond to Weng Dujian's initiative on compiling the "Atlas of Cultural Relics of the Yuan Dynasty", combined with archaeological discoveries, to drive the further deepening of the study of Yuan history.
The third is the deepening of special research and the development of new fields. Although the study of metahistory in the 20th century has made gratifying achievements in many aspects, there are also obviously many deficiencies, and research in various fields has not been developed in a balanced manner, and even in the fields with more research, the results are not even. For example, in the history of the political system, the study of central organs is mostly concentrated in important institutions such as provinces, procuratorates, and Taiwan, and the specialized study of ministries, temples, and supervisors is very weak. Problems in this regard exist to varying degrees in other areas. Although the study of regional economic and fiscal systems in economic history has made a lot of progress in recent years, there are still many areas that need to be deepened. The study of the legal history of the Yuan Dynasty started late, and there are many issues that have not yet been clarified, from the codification of laws and the penal system to the study of substantive law. For example, the study of the history of religion is very weak, and even zen buddhism, which scholars pay more attention to, actually has many issues that have not been discussed. The health medicine of the Yuan Dynasty, with rich and colorful contents, has not been paid attention to by historians so far. Several histories of the Yuan Dynasty that have been published so far (Han Rulin, ed., History of the Yuan Dynasty, People's Publishing House, 1986; Zhou Liangxiao and Gu Juying, "History of the Yuan Dynasty", Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1993), has received a lot of praise from the academic community, and for a considerable period of time in the future, we should continue to focus on deepening special topic research and making up for the shortcomings of unbalanced research. In recent years, a number of special historical works of the Yuan Dynasty have been published one after another, such as Shi Weimin's "History of Social Life in the Yuan Dynasty," Chen Gaohua and Shi Weimin's "General History of China's Political System, Yuan Dynasty," Shi Weimin's "General History of Chinese Military Affairs, Military History of the Yuan Dynasty," Chen Gaohua and Shi Weimin's "General History of China's Economy, Economic Volume of the Yuan Dynasty," and Chen Gaohua's "Cultural History of the Yuan Dynasty."
In addition to existing research, changes in the objective world and advances in research methods have led to the emergence of new problems, and some of the "paradigms" that were previously regarded as research now seem to have many places that need to be re-recognized. In recent years, a series of popular readings by the Japanese Mongolian historian Masaaki Sugiyama have been translated into Chinese in large quantities, causing a lot of waves. The heated discussion on the "New Qing History" also affected some Yuan historians. How to break the previous research paradigm centered on Han, Chinese and Han culture, and study the history of Mongolia and Yuan from different angles, from the perspective of Asia and even the world, has become a hot topic for a while. Some scholars' discussions and responses have been collected and published as "Retelling the History of Mongolia and Yuan" (edited by Zhang Zhiqiang, Sanlian Bookstore, 2016). In addition, the status of the Yuan Dynasty in the long river of China's historical development, and what changes have taken place in Chinese society at the turn of the Song Dynasty and the Yuan and Ming Dynasties are also issues that need to be re-understood. Although some scholars have begun to pay attention to this, a consensus has not yet been formed, and there are still many problems that need to be solved. For another example, the "four-class system" of the Yuan Dynasty used to be a consensus in the academic circles, but in fact, from the current materials, we cannot find any official regulations of the Yuan Dynasty. How exactly did the "four-class system" come about, did it apply only to certain specific regulations, or did it affect all corners of Yuan Dynasty society? In recent years, many scholars have questioned it.
The fourth is the expansion and deepening of research perspectives. Historical things are universally interconnected, and the complexity of this connection is often beyond people's imagination, and as the perspective of research changes, even the old research field will release new academic value. Therefore, in the way to promote the continued development of metahistory, the expansion and deepening of research perspectives is also one of the most important ways. "Expanding" and "Deepening" represent two academic paths, respectively. First of all, "expansion" can be divided into two ideas: "time" and "space". The "expansion" of time mainly refers to the inclusion of the Yuan Dynasty in Chinese history for a long period of investigation, and the most feasible is to put the Yuan Dynasty and the previous Southern Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty periods and the subsequent Ming Dynasty under the "through-line" research vision. In fact, each generation of Chinese history often has its own very mature problem awareness and research methods, which are not the same as each other. However, the evolution of history is gradually followed, so if the mature perspective and consciousness of the field of Yuan history are put into the historical investigation of the Mengjin, Song, Yuan, and Yuan and Ming dynasties, it may awaken many important issues hidden deep in the depths of these historical periods. The "expansion" of space is to place the yuan history under the pattern of world history in the 13th and 14th centuries, and attach importance to the interpretation and comparison of historical materials in multiple languages. Although this line of thinking has received great attention at the beginning of the birth of the discipline of yuan history in modern China, it will become possible under the favorable situation of China's increasing opening up in the new era. Secondly, the "deepening" of the perspective is even more "upgraded and updated" in the old field of metahistory. As mentioned earlier, there is still room for deepening the thematic areas of metahistory, but this "deepening" is more likely to be the growth of "quantity" or the "compensation" of the unvisited areas, and it is difficult to improve the research level of metahistory from the "qualitative". Therefore, if you want to "go to a higher level", the introduction of a "structured" research perspective may be an inevitable choice, that is, to find out the relationship between different thematic fields and examine the history of the Yuan Dynasty in a three-dimensional way, just as the real Yuan Dynasty China in history is indeed a "three-dimensional thing" composed of various historical things interrelated with each other.
The fifth is to continue to strengthen international academic exchanges, keep abreast of the research situation of foreign academic circles, and cooperate directly with foreign countries. As a branch of Orientalism, Mongolian studies covering Yuan history has always been an international prominent science in the 18th and 19th centuries, and to this day, there are still many scholars around the world who are committed to this kind of research, although their research angles and concerns are not the same as those of Chinese scholars, and some views are not accepted by Chinese scholars, but this does not prevent the two sides from communicating with each other and learning from each other's strong points. The study of Chinese Yuan history at the beginning of the 20th century can be said to have developed under this influence, and it is precisely for this reason that Yuan history has been called "not Chinese and not Western" by many scholars in China. After the founding of New China, due to well-known reasons, our academic exchanges with foreign countries have gone through a tortuous road, and our long-term self-closure has made us almost ignorant of the dynamics of academic research in the foreign world. It was not until the reform and opening up in 1978 that this situation improved. In the future, we will continue to strengthen academic exchanges with foreign countries, broaden our horizons, and continuously absorb the research results and research methods of foreign counterparts. Only in this way can China's yuan history research truly walk in the forefront of the world. Moreover, China and the world are now under the background of a new era of great opening up and cooperation, and the integration of China's yuan history research into the world is just in time, and there are great achievements!
About author:Xiao Liu, Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The original issue of the article: Trends in Chinese Historical Research, No. 1, 2018.