在微观与宏观之间——评王笛《袍哥:1940年代川西乡村的暴力与秩序》

Between the Micro and Macro——Comments on Wang Di’s “Brother Pao:Violence and Order in Rural Areas of Western Sichuan in 1940s”

第二次世界大战后西方史学研究有两次重要转折,一是新史学派批判传统史学只知宏大叙事不知日常取向;二是新文化史家指责新史学派片面夸大"长时段",关注宏观民众却不知独特个体。随着两次转折,史学研究的视角出现"微观"与"宏观"之博弈。《袍哥》是中国微观史的代表作,是中国微观历史研究的一次尝试,同时也是西方史学理论与中国本土文化结合的一次较成功的实践。

After the Second World War,there were two important turns in the study of western historiography. One is that the new historical school criticizes the traditional historiography,which only knows the grand narration but does not know the daily orientation;the second is that the new cultural historians accuse the new history school of exaggerating the "long period" unilaterally and paying attention to the macro people but not knowing the unique individuals. With the two turning points,there is a game between "micro" and "macro" in the perspective of historical research. "Brother Pao" is a representative work of Chinese micro history. It is an attempt to study Chinese micro history. It is also a successful practice of the combination of western historical theory and Chinese local culture.