跨世纪的中国社会史研究

Chinese Social History Study at the Turn of Century

本文回顾了1996年至2006年十年间中国社会史研究的状况。认为社会史理论的探讨具有开放性与多元化,具体分析了学者界定社会史看法的改变,新的观点认为,社会史的学科体系是多元化的,社会史研究不能过分依赖社会学,社会史是研究对象与研究视角的统一。还分析了"跨区域研究"、"重提政治史"与社会史区域研究以及社会史整体性的关系,指出应当对区域社会史研究的有效性有充分的认识与自信,同时也应当对区域社会史研究的限度进行深刻的反思与自觉。还指出社会史史料学讨论的重要性。认为中国社会史研究具有探索精神,并取得了丰硕的成果,特别表现在社会史的综合研究、婚姻家庭、家族宗族、社会分类与结构、民间信仰、社会风尚、城市、乡村与社区、生态环境、救灾与慈善事业、人口问题等方面。还认为社会史研究赢得了机遇并面临挑战,社会史研究的特点是研究者能够从多元视野看问题,加强社会史与各人文社会科学的对话。近年来人类学影响社会史最大,甚至可以说社会史发生了人类学的转向。融合疾病、环境等多种因素的医疗社会史研究起点很高,思想吏与社会史的结合出现了一些很有影响的著作,地理学与社会史的关系越来越密切。社会史研究多采取地域社会史的研究视角,认为地域是认识中国历史的有效途径,各区域社会史的研究取得了重要成果。社会史与文化史的融合已成趋势。展望未来,作者指出更新观念与跨学科的研究视野仍是应努力的目标,社会史应保持自己学术研究的人文关怀,社会史对于书写大历史应有独特的贡献。

In retrospect of Chinese social history studies in the last decade from 1996 to 2006,the author argues that dis- cussion of theories of social history has the characteristics of being open and pluralistic and analyses changes in academic definition d social history.New viewpoints focus on that disciplinary system of social history should be pluralistic,that social history study should not depend too much on sociology,and that social history should be a integration of object and approach.This paper reviews relations between'cress-regional study','recall of political history',regional social histo- ry study and holism of social history,points out that effectiveness of regional social history study should be given full un- derstanding and self-confidence,that limitation of regional social history study should also be introspected deeply and re- alized,and that discussion d documentary data study of social history should be attached importance to.The author con- siders that Chinese social history studies are explorative and fruitful,especially in comprehensive study of social history, marriage and family,family and clan,social classification and structure,popular believes,social morals,city,village and community,ecological environment,disaster relief and charity,as well population.He also points out that social history studies have both opportunities and challenges,that one of the characteristics of social history is scholars having pluralistic perspectives and paying much attention on dialogue between social history and humanistic social sciences,that anthropology has such a great influence on social history recently that social history has an anthropological turn,that med- ical social history combining elements of disease and environment has a very high starting point,that some influential scholarship integrating history of thought and social history have been published,that relations between geography and so- cial history become closer and closer,that social history studies are mostly approacbed from a perspective of regional so- cial history,that it is a effective approach to understand Chinese history from a regional perspective,that there are impor- tant achievements in regional social history studies,and that it is a trend that social history emerges with cultural history. Looking ahead,the author thinks that targets are still concept innovation and cross-disciplinary perspective,that social history should keep its own humanistic care of academic study and that social history should have its unique contribution to big history.