【Traditional Culture】Local Chronicle Resources and the Construction of China's Independent Knowledge System‖ Chen Ye

Local Chronicle Resources and the Construction of China's Independent Knowledge System

Chen Ye

As an important part of the academic tradition of mainland China, local chronicles are the carrier and continuous presentation of Chinese civilization, and have distinctive and unique characteristics of Chinese classical scholarship. Through pragmatic dissection and in-depth research, we can empirically observe and analyze the concrete scenes, mechanisms and paths of the inheritance of Chinese civilization from the perspective of the tradition of cultivation and the internal history of the chronicles, so as to deeply understand the characteristics and forms of Chinese civilization, and extract historical resources that are conducive to the construction of China's independent knowledge system from the perspectives of thought, theory and method.

Chinese civilization has nurtured a distinctive tradition of Fangzhi

The Fangzhi tradition is rooted in the ancient Chinese agrarian society, and has an internal structure and basic characteristics that are highly compatible with the agrarian civilization. The self-sufficient production and lifestyle and the relatively closed regional and ultra-stable framework structure of the chronicles, the social governance mode that advocates etiquette and education and the official cultivation system of the chronicles, the solid historical concept, cultural form and the continuity of the continuous renewal of the chronicles, the emotional power required for the friendship and cultivation of the local feelings, the stability and economic support of the gentry class, and the internal logic of the transformation of the life of the big surname clan into public history through the chronicles, are all endogenous to cultural traditions.

As an informational document that comprehensively and systematically records the history and current situation of a place, local chronicles not only constitute the main historical record system of ancient China together with the genealogy of a surname and the history of a country, but also transcend the limitation of genealogy to record only family activities, and enrich the shortcomings of national history that neglect local realities. Running through the compilation system of local chronicles from provinces to counties to towns and villages, and a large number of chronicles at all levels, the administrative divisions, geographical shapes, and customs of a place are the foundation for combing and combing records. Adhering to the compilation tenet of "preserving history, governing information, and educating", the compilation ideas of "recounting and ignoring" and "not biography", and the compilation methods of "horizontal and vertical writing, complete categories", the cultivators not only comprehensively reflect the geographical conditions within the scope of the narrative with independent works, but also construct a text form with clear administrative hierarchies, up and down, clear regional boundaries and parallel interactions, and form a distinctive document system with distinctive characteristics.

In addition to literature, the deeper feature lies in its function. Regarding the function of Fang Zhi, Fang Zhixue emphasizes the government's appeal of "preserving history, governing information, and educating", while historiography attaches importance to its historical value. If we dig deeper, we can see its function of shaping and maintaining Chinese civilization. The so-called shaping refers to the immediate construction of cultural traditions and the description of chronicles. The "form" is formed, emphasizing the natural process of social creation and civilization accumulation, with objective accumulation as the main way, which is embodied in the cultivation of aspirations, that is, the comprehensive collection of objective historical materials; The "shaping" is shaping, emphasizing the integration process of artificial adoption and grouping, with subjective choice as the main way, which is embodied in the main body of the compilation of the chronicles, the compilation thoughts, the compilation behavior, and the collective consciousness. The so-called maintenance includes two aspects: conservation and transmission, and specifically refers to the diachronic process of cultural traditions and the expression of chronicles. The former emphasizes the integration and stability of internal elements such as genes, structures, and characteristics, while the latter emphasizes the dynamic continuation of cultural traditions. It is embodied in the chronicles, and is related to the compilation of its generation, the accumulation of texts, and the emotional and cultural identity of the people.

The local roots, purpose and concept, text form, document system and internal functions are gathered and integrated into a rich and distinctive academic tradition of Fangzhi with Chinese characteristics.

Local history plays a fundamental role in shaping Chinese civilization

Local chronicles have four characteristics: locality, comprehensiveness, continuity, and officialness. Locality: Based on a specific region, the multi-level base covers the whole area, the comprehensiveness enriches the internal structure with the category setting and content description, and the officiality takes political demands such as governance and education as the compilation purpose, and guides the integration of local culture based on the will of the state, so as to continuously produce continuous cultivation behaviors and chronicle text sequences. The organic combination of specific spatial areas, multiple connotation elements, core values and time continuity gives Fang Zhi a convenient path to accompany, observe, record and integrate into local social life for a long time in a specific area, and has made many achievements in the construction of cultural traditions.

The completeness of the setting of local chronicles gathers things in a place and shapes and maintains the local knowledge system. The extensiveness of the data collection synthesizes the documents of a place, shapes and maintains the local cultural heritage; The richness of the content description brings together the social activities of a place, shapes and maintains the local production and life order and the grassroots social operation mechanism; The continuity of codification connects the historical traditions of a place and shapes and maintains the local cultural identity. The utilitarian nature of the purpose and role of the compilation has created a spiritual observance of a place, shaped and maintained the mainstream ideological values; At the national level, the unification of the will is not only the transmission, indoctrination and guidance of the country's political philosophy, governance methods, and educational wills to the localities, but also the cultural governance method for the imperial court to control the local conditions, communicate the relationship between the central and local governments, and strengthen local cultural exchanges and integration. It plays a fundamental role in shaping Chinese civilization from the aspects of building a basic local knowledge system, strengthening the local cultural identity for the public, condensing the elite-oriented local cultural community, completing the integration of local culture from a national perspective, and delivering fresh ingredients and nutrients for Chinese culture. As Liang Qichao said: "The traces of the differentiation and development of various localities and their comparisons can be glimpsed by discerning people from this, and the reason why Si Ze Fangzhi is valuable." (Liang Qichao: "China's Academic History in the Past 300 Years")

Local history is a local way to construct China's independent knowledge system

The academic tradition of Fangzhi is rich in connotation, complete in form and distinctive in form, and is a local knowledge system with subjectivity, systematization and continuity, and is a historical resource that can be used to establish China's independent knowledge system.

The Shaping Mechanism of Knowledge Structure. In accordance with the principle of dividing things by category and compiling the method of "horizontal division and vertical description", Fang Zhi analyzes and sorts out the complex phenomena and combines them into a knowledge sequence and overall structure with a complete structure based on similar categories. For example, Wanli of the Ming Dynasty "Qiantang County Chronicles" is classified into categories such as Jijiang, Jisheng, Jiji, Jidu, Jiguan, Jishi, Jixian, Chronicle, Jiwen, and Foreign Discipline. The arrangement of the various disciplines is based on the inherent concepts of traditional society. The local knowledge system in Fang Zhi is not static. The additions, deletions, and revisions of historical materials in the re-revision and renewal of the chronicles show subtle and profound historical traces to varying degrees, forming the process and result of "accumulating" the knowledge structure, which can be called the source of the ever-changing knowledge system.

The dynamic mechanism of cultural production. In the activities of cultivating the Zhi, the practical operation of the imperial court based on the will to consolidate the royal power, strengthen local control, and implement the rule of etiquette and education embodies the will of the state with great unification as the core, which is the beginning and ultimate purpose of the compilation of the Zhishu. The local government has the motivation to major because of its responsibility to protect the land, follow the tradition and cultural accomplishment, especially the practical value of Fang Zhi in grasping the geographical conditions, collecting taxes, promoting the advantages and eliminating the disadvantages, etc. The local gentry and clan families maintained a continuous and abundant enthusiasm for cultivation for reasons such as mulberry love, personal prestige, and family interests. These three are comprehensively intertwined to form a thrust for cultivation. It can be seen from this that the production of the Zhishu text was deeply constrained by the will of the imperial court, the practical considerations of the local government, and the cultural discourse power of the local gentry clan, weaving a network of interests. In this process, the three stakeholders are entangled and interacted, wrestling, differentiating and integrating, forming a dynamic mechanism for the production of Fangzhi culture.

The recognition mechanism of value integration. As an official-led activity of cultivating the Zhi, the administrative power and conditions of governments at all levels have endowed the Zhishu with ideological connotation and political energy, which determines that it must be the bearer, disseminator and practitioner of the mainstream knowledge system of ancient Chinese society, such as the system of etiquette and law, morality and ethics, and social education. And on this basis, it is organically integrated to obtain a collective identity that condenses orthodox values. This kind of integration not only runs through the local chronicles at the provincial, municipal and county levels, but also the compilation of the unified chronicles at the national level is the most concentrated, which profoundly reflects the outstanding unity of Chinese civilization.

Transmission mechanisms for social applications. Along with the continuous tradition of cultivating aspirations, it is an important resource and way for ancient China to apply the knowledge system to cultivate and educate the society, which conserves and deepens the vein of local history, the friendship of the local mulberry tree, the love of the homeland and the homeland, and the identity of the village. Nie Xintang of the Ming Dynasty said in the preface to Wanli's "Qiantang County Chronicles": "Wei Feng Mo is greater than Dun Customs, Dun Customs Mo precedes teaching, compared to things, entrusting things to the police, reading is the editor, the inspector is so good, the wealth is so surplus and shrinking, the talent is so virtual and real, the household registration is so consumed, and the atmosphere is so extravagant. Clearly indicate the intention of using the application and transmission of knowledge to achieve a flexible and educational social atmosphere.

"Accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is, in the final analysis, the construction of China's independent knowledge system." In terms of its cultural origin, historical logic and academic foundation, it is necessary to go deep into the long and long ancient academic tradition, adhere to a scientific and rigorous academic attitude, start from the roots of the mainland as an independent, complete and mature civilization subject, retrospectively explore in the process of the creation and inheritance of Chinese civilization, analyze and refine the elements and characteristics with independent value with a professional attitude, and provide historical support and academic support for contemporary academic development and cultural construction.

Source: Guangming Daily, page 11, May 11, 2024

Author: Chen Ye (Researcher, Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, Zhejiang Xi Jinping Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)