李玄伯与民国时期古史研究的文化人类学路向

Li Xuanbo and the Cultural Anthropological Orientation in Research on the Ancient History During the Republic of China

李玄伯(1895—1974)是中国现代史学名家;其治史的理念,早先倚重于考古学,后转向文化人类学。这既得益于他早年文化人类学知识的积累,也与20世纪二三十年代历史研究社会科学化思潮密切相关,而催化剂则是他翻译古朗治《希腊罗马古代社会研究》时所获得的灵感:三代之世,去古未远,保存了若干初民社会的文化遗迹,在后世的文献中屡有体现,得自初民社会的文化人类学知识对于解释先秦时期的神话传说、生命礼仪、社会组织、亲属称谓、宗教信仰等问题颇有助益。此后,他不仅从理论上阐述了借鉴文化人类学知识的必要性与可能性;并亲力亲为,为上古史的研究补充新材料、提供新看法;还从学科建设的高度,对史学借鉴文化人类学的限度进行了深刻反思。值此历史人类学方兴未艾之际,深入研究李玄伯在借鉴文化人类学知识领域的成就,不仅有助于丰富我们对中国现代史学史的认识,对于当代的史学跨学科研究也具有深刻的启示意义。

Li Xuanbo(1895-1974) was distinguished in the research of ancient Chinese history in the Republic of China. Li's historical views shifted from relying on archeology to cultural anthropology. The transition benefited from Li's accumulation of knowledge in the early years and the social scientific trend of historical research from the 1920s to the 1930s,and the catalyst was the inspiration from translating ancient Greek and Roman social studies: the knowledge of cultural anthropology on the primitive society contributed to interpreting some problems as the myths and legends,rites of life,societal organization,kinship terminology,and religious belief in the preQin period. Li not only made theoretical explanations of the necessity and possibility of the reference to cultural anthropology and proposed some new ideas and replenishing new materials to the research on ancient history but also made a profound reflection on the limitation of the reference from the height of disciplinary construction. It will not only help to enrich our understanding of modern Chinese history,but also bring profound enlightening significance for contemporary interdisciplinary research of historiography to explore Li Xuanbo's achievements in the reference to the knowledge of cultural anthropology on the occasion of the burgeoning of historical anthropology.