历史地理学研究与西部大开发

Study of Historical Geography and Economic Development in Western China

我国的历史地理学萌生于 2 0世纪 30年代 ,在半个多世纪的时间里 ,通过老、中、青三代学人的不懈努力 ,针对西部、特别是西北地区历史时期环境变迁进行了开创性研究 ,为当今国家作出西部大开发决策提供了史实依据与理论支持。在新世纪国家大力推行西部大开发战略的形势下 ,历史地理学既迎来了新的发展机遇 ,也面临许多新的挑战。只有充分发挥历史地理学科文理兼通、时空交织以及可以更好地做到以古鉴今、为世所用的特点与优势 ,更好地充实完善自身的理论体系 ,更自觉地借鉴应用新的研究手段 ,进一步加强与相关学科协作 ,走综合研究的道路 ,才能既推动历史地理学科与时俱进 ,获得新的发展 ,又能对西部大开发的宏伟事业做出应有贡献。

It is more than half a century since historical geography was established as a separate discipline in China in the 1930's. Through consisten work of generations of scholars in this field, some breakthroughs have been made with regard to changes of historical environment in Western China, particularly in Northwestern China, which have offered historical grounds and theoretical bases for the present govornment's policy of the economic development in Western China. Under the situation of carrying out this strategy, historical geography faces as many new opportunities of development as new challenges. Therefore, only by giving a full play to such characteristics and advantages as being acorss both humanities and science and both time and space, using the past to improve the present and to benefit the present world, sunstantiating and perfecting the theoretical system of its own, introducing and applying new approaches of research, and further strengthening cooperation with relative disciplines for synthetical study, can historical geography gain parallel development to history and make compulsory contributions to the grand cause of the economic development in Western China.