古代印度原应是有历史的

Ancient India Should Have Produced Works of Historiography

印度是世界上最古老、最奇妙的文明国家之一,人们对她久远而神秘的过去怀有兴趣是很自然的。但是,当你走近她,希望通过时间的长河留在岸边的真实故事,对她做一番仔细的观察时,你会发现难以如愿。古代印度记载史实的文献实在缺乏,堪称史籍的著作少到几乎没有。结果是,不借助近现代的考古成就、碑铭石刻,以及爬罗剔抉后的古代传说。

This is the first instalment of the author′s recent treatise discussing why ancient India, in sharp contrast with ancient China and Europe, had produced neither historians in the true sense of the term nor genuine works of historiogra- phy. It compares the three ancient civilizations, pointing out that ancicnt India likewise had her own initial court 'historians', known as the s(?)tas, whose partial duty was to record royal activities, though historical science failed to develop due to various reasons——reasons to be discussed in the next inst- alment.