Speaking of modern Chinese history, I have to mention a book, that is, Mr. Jiang Tingdian's "Modern Chinese History", after all, in the field of old Chinese historiography, almost half of the writings on modern China and the history of modern China's foreign relations are "due to the inheritance" of Jiang Tingdi's historical views. This book is also known as the "famous little book in history", with high academic content, and is still a classic in modern history. This book not only laid the foundation for Jiang Tingdi's academic position in the field of modern history research, but also reflected his unique understanding of Chinese culture and China's future and destiny among scholars who were affected by the Western tide.
Everyone's view of history is inevitably influenced by its own political tendencies, but only by "knowing people" can we "discuss the world." Let's first understand Jiang Tingdi and his people, and then discuss his academic value and academic influence. A general history in the true sense is by no means an objective description of objective historical events, but an effort to explore the internal links of historical changes.
Everyone can express their opinions, but do not condemn them, just personal opinions!
Jiang Tingdian was born in 1895 (the twenty-first year of Qing Guangxu) as a farmer with farm property, who has been engaged in agriculture and business since his grandfather, and the family has also had small assets. At the age of 4, Fa Meng was taught by a private teacher, and at the age of 6, he entered a private school to receive an old education. In October, due to the Qing government's cessation of the imperial examination system, he entered a new-style school and began to gradually contact the new learning and learn English. During his time at the school, he was immersed in the idea of democratic revolution and had the intention of exploring and seeking knowledge and studying in the United States. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, the school was closed and dropped out. The following year, with the help of the school principal, he entered the Parker Academy in the United States as part-time work and part-time school. The 3-year half-time work and half-study career here not only exercised his will and strong body, but also made him sincere and unforgettable when the American gave him a serious illness.
From 1914 to 1918, Jiang attended university at Oberlin College in Ohio, majoring in history and taking a number of natural science courses. In his 20s, he became interested in exploring the various problems caused by warlord strife and scuffles in his homeland, hoping that through studying history classes, he would gain knowledge and experience in political work in China in the future. Outside of class, he also read many works on German and Italian history, and admired German-Italian politicians such as Bismarck, Cavour, Mazzini, and Garibaldi. This had a great influence on the establishment of the socio-political concept of history in china, which later broke away from the medieval state of China and strived to build a nation-state.
In 1919, Jiang entered the Columbia Institute to pursue a doctorate. At first, he wanted to be a journalistic tycoon who could influence China's political arena, but later he felt that he had to understand politics in order to influence the political arena, so he entered the Institute of Political Science to study political science, and then found that political classes were all about theory rather than practice, and turned to history, learning from the famous political history professor Carlton Hayes, learning the "new historiography" of the United States.
This school of thought is based on positivist philosophy and attaches importance to the social function and practical value of historiography. It is believed that all human past activities should be included in the scope of historical research, and that the tradition of "old historiography" that is limited to political history, such as dynastic rise and fall, military conquests, diplomatic conspiracies, and even palace scandals, should be ruthlessly challenged, and that historical development is not only a motive of political factors, but a movement with many factors of economic, geographical, cultural, and social psychology. Historians must pay attention to the connection between historiography and other disciplines, do comprehensive and multidisciplinary research, and observe and study history from Darwin's evolutionary point of view.
The function of history is to understand the past, to serve the present, and to speculate about the future
The theme of the discussion in the book "Modern Chinese History" is "The Chinese nation in the past hundred years has only one question, that is, can China be modernized?" Can you catch up with the Westerners? Can science and machinery be harnessed? Can we abolish our family and hometown concepts and organize a modern nation-state? If we can get the words, the future of our nation is bright; if we can't get the words, our nation has no future."
This view of history is the insight gained from the teacher, the study and practice of the evolutionary view of history that comes from the cornerstone of the "new history of learning".
In 1923, at the age of 28, he received a doctorate in philosophy, and his 11 years in the United States made him American in his thinking and life, and aspired to American-style liberal democracy. Later, he returned to China and became a professor of history at Nankai University, where he studied the history of modern Chinese diplomacy in addition to teaching. During his six years in Nankai, he collected and identified relevant historical materials, took advantage of vacations and lecture opportunities, visited various places to visit and study, and used scientific methods to study China's problems, creating a precedent of "China's modern diplomatic history".
In 1929, he served as the head of the History Department at Tsinghua University, and for the reform of the History Department of Tsinghua University, he introduced young professors, opened new courses, and equipped a first-class camp. At the same time, we pay attention to discovering and cultivating talents, encourage outstanding young people to enter the Tsinghua Research Institute, learn the languages of relevant countries, and try to recommend them to study abroad. During this period, he published two volumes of "Compendium of Materials on the History of Modern Chinese Diplomacy" and published academic papers such as "Qishan and the Opium War" and "History of Foreign Troubles in Northeast China in the Past Three Hundred Years". From the study of diplomatic history, he felt that it was difficult to explain clearly from diplomacy alone, and that it must be traced back to nationality, social mentality, and even social organization, and economic changes, which prompted him to think about the overall history of China in the past hundred years since the Opium War.
In 1931, the "918" incident occurred, Jiang Tingdian and other professors discussed the issue of peace and war, and everyone insisted on the main battle, and he chose the main peace. Later, when the Japanese army occupied the northeast and infiltrated into Pingjin, surrounded by wars of aggression, he began to change his concept and advocated preparing for war. If you want to do something for the country, you choose to create a journal to "discuss and raise the problems facing China", and intellectuals composed of Hu Shi, Jiang Tingdian, Ding Wenjiang, etc. founded the "Independent Review", which covers politics, economy, diplomacy, history, culture, education and other aspects, with the purpose of arousing social discussion on current politics and related issues.
In 1935, Jiang Tingdian abandoned his studies to enter politics and began to serve the Kuomintang government. Until his retirement in 1965, he spent 30 years working for the Kuomintang bureaucracy, from a scholar to a bureaucrat of a political party, a component of the state apparatus, and he could never return to the old dream of free deliberation in the era of the Independent Review.
The "Modern History of China" was written in 1938, which was the era when the country and the nation were at a critical juncture in the War of Resistance Against Japan. The book was also a stop to his academic career, after which he wandered around the official arena and had no time or energy to do research.
In his later years, Jiang Tingdi