新国史书写之“道”与“术”——评姚中秋著《国史纲目》

“Ruling Ideology” and “Rulership” in New Historical Writing:A Review of Yao's Outline of Chinese History

在《国史纲目》一书中,作者承继朱子、钱穆等前贤之志,借鉴现代社会科学精神,尝试建立一种兼具价值根基与理论深度的国史叙事。"精神—秩序"、"观念—制度"的二元互动视角,使之具有文明价值的自觉担当,构成对史学研究碎片化倾向的反拨;而以现代社会科学视角进入对经史典籍的理解,则使之能够以治理典范的转变为中心而梳理出对中国历史演进轨迹的独创性解释。上述两者,分别在"道"、"术"二维中体现出国史书写的新典范意义。如何在贴近华夏文明之道的前提下充分吸收现代研究成果,完善历史书写技艺,同时借鉴经史互证、载道求真的古典学术传统,实现史、论之间的合理平衡,是为新国史书写在知识与价值层面立定自身的关键所在。

In his book,An Outline of Chinese History,Yao models on the works of Zhu Xi and Qian Mu while at the same time absorbing the methodology of modern social science in an attempt to construct a Chinese historical narrative with a solid value foundation and deep theoretical insight. The dualist visions of'spirit vs. order'and'idea vs. institution'endow the book with self-imposed obligation of civilization and value and make it an antithesis to fragmentation in historical study. Moreover,by putting classic texts in the perspective of modern social science and by taking the paradigm shift of governance as the centerpiece,the book provides a unique interpretation of the evolving trajectory of Chinese history. As such,the book represents a new paradigm of Chinese historical writing in the aspects of'ruling ideology'and'rulership.'In order to get established in terms of both knowledge and value,new historical writings should fully absorb the fruits of modern studies while remaining true to the essence of Chinese civilization,perfect writing skills,take lessons from the tradition of classical scholarship characterized by mutual corroboration between philosophical and historical writings and a combination of truthfulness and pragmatism,and try to strike a reasonable balance between facts and ideas.