螺蛳壳里“筑”道场——读罗新《漫长的余生:一个北魏宫女和她的时代》

Build a Grand Temple in a Tiny Space——Reading Luo Xin’s The Rest of a Long Life: A Palace Lady of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Her Times

《漫长的余生:一个北魏宫女和她的时代》以一方墓志铭讲述了一个北魏宫女的故事,描绘出一个动乱时代的历史画卷,同时为那些在典籍中被遮蔽的小人物(特别是底层社会的女性如王钟儿)作传。该书作者罗新将他多年力倡的新史学观有效地付诸实践,身体力行地筑起了一个可作示范的研究平台,为后学跟进提供了难得的范例。对该书的解读是为“新”解蔽,在新史学的广阔视野中逐一剖析其历史叙事的演进策略,在方法论的层面上揭示以“小人物”暨“普通人”为中心的史学研究是如何进行、如何成立的。

The Rest of a Long Life:A Palace Lady of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Her Times tells the story of a palace maid from the Northern Wei Dynasty through an epitaph.It contrasts the historical picture of a tumultuous era,and simultaneously serves as a biography for the lesser-known individuals,particularly women from the lower strata of society like Wang Zhonger,who were previously overshadowed in classical literature.The author of the book,Luo Xin,effectively put his newly advocated historical views into practice,personally establishing an exemplary research platform and providing a valuable precedent for future scholars.The crux of this paper is to unveil the“newness”,to systematically dissect the evolutionary strategies of historical narratives through the expansive lens of New Historiography,and to elucidate how historiographical research,centered on“minor figures”and“everyday people”,is conducted and legitimized within the methodological framework.