小人物的历史——读《袍哥:1940年代川西乡村的暴力与秩序》

The History of Common People——Comments on Violence and Order on the Chengdu Plain:The Story of a Secret Brotherhood in Rural China

在中国国内新文化史、微观史研究领域中,王笛的著作备受关注。在其最新著作《袍哥:1940年代川西乡村的暴力与秩序》一书中,王笛关注的是以雷明远为代表的四川袍哥的故事。作为一部优秀的微观史著作,该书并不仅仅满足于为我们提供精彩绝伦的故事,在叙事技巧,在秘密社会研究中材料的使用,以及小人物的微观历史如何关照宏观历史方面,该书都给我们深刻的启示。

In the field of new cultural history and microhistory studies,books written by Professor Wang Di have attracted much attention.In his latest book Violence and Order on the Chengdu Plain:The Story of a Secret Brotherhood in Rural China,Professor Wang tells the stories of Paoge in Sichuan Province by focusing on a common people—Lei Mingyuan.It is an excellent book which not only offers us with wonderful stories but also gives us profound inspiration with its narrative techniques,the using of historical materials in secret societies studies as well as how to reflect macrohistory from the perspective of microhistory on common people.