断代史学批评史研究的开拓之作——评刘开军著《晚清史学批评研究》

A Pioneering Work of the Study on Dynastic Historiography Criticism: A Book Review on A Study in Historiography Criticism in the Late Qing Dynasty by Liu Kaijun

刘开军的《晚清史学批评研究》是国内第一部近代史学批评史专著。作者紧扣时代脉搏,将晚清史学批评的发展置于新旧中西学术交融、碰撞的时代背景下予以考察,提出了来华传教士与史学批评、近代报刊与史学批评、新学书目提要与史学批评、新史编纂与史学批评等新命题,冀图展现晚清史学批评与传统史学批评的差异及其趋新特点。然而,作者并未将视野囿于新学一线,同时深入发掘了晚清史家在正史考论中蕴涵的史学批评,认为传统史学批评在晚清时期虽呈式微之势,但仍然按照惯性在发展。《晚清史学批评研究》一书对于晚清史家品评正史之外传统史籍的研究,较为薄弱;对于来华传教士的史学批评在晚清史家中究竟引起何种反响,还可再作深入探讨。但这并不影响该书在断代史学批评史领域的开创性与原创性。

A Study in Historiography Criticism in the Late Qing Dynasty written by Liu Kaijun is the first monograph on historiogra-phy criticism of modern China at home. The author examined the development of historiography criticism in the Late Qing Dynastyin terms of blending and collision of eastern and western as well as new and old scholarship. He has advanced a series of new propo-sitions such as missionaries and historiography criticism, modern press and historiography criticism, bibliographies of modernscholarship and historiography criticism, compilation of new historiography and historiography criticism, hoping to reveal the char-acteristics and differences between historiography criticism in the late Qing Dynasty and traditional historiography criticism. How-ever, the author wasn＇t constrained by the new historiography. He found that historians in the late Qing Dynasty hid historiographycriticism behind the textual research and comments of official history and thought that traditional historiography criticism still de-veloped according to inertia although it went into a bit of decline in that period. On the other hand, the book is relatively weak inthe study of comments on other traditional historical classics from historians in the late Qing Dynasty. Besides, the repercussions ofmissionaries＇ historiography criticism in historians in the late Qing Dynasty should be studied in more depth. Nevertheless, thesefactors can hardly have negative effects on its innovation and originality in the study of dynastic historiography criticism.