历史研究中人类学方法的利用和误用

The Use and Abuse of Anthropological Methods in Historical Research

在中国 ,历史学的学科史比人类学的要长得多 ,传统中国史学有自己成熟的理论和方法。不过 ,当代历史研究完全有必要借鉴人类学的方法。然而 ,人类学传入中国以来的百年间在学科本土化过程中 ,已经演化为有别于西方定义的一门学问 ,它和历史学、民族学的关系也在不断变化 ,不能简单套用西方的学理来界定或理解中国的人类学。在学界同行中讨论人类学方法在历史研究中的应用 ,有必要首先明白什么是人类学方法的主要特点 ,哪些是可能对于历史学有借鉴意义的方法 ,两门学科又有哪些交叉领域等等。然后 ,本文在此基础上结合一些具体的研究实例 ,探讨我国学者在历史研究中对于人类学方法的利用和误用。

In China the study of history has its own traditional way. The disciplinary saga of history is longer than that of anthropology. It is necessary that the contemporary study of history make best use of anthropological methods. However, after a century's effort to 'indiginize' the discipline, anthropology in China has become different by definition from the West. Ideas and definitions from the West should not be indiscriminately used in a Chinese cultural context. Therefore, in the first part, the author gives his understanding and interpretation of the main characters of anthropology, the methods that are meaningful to the study of history, and the intersubjectivity of these related disciplines, etc. The second part deals with some case studies in China, which would lead us further into the question of the use and abuse of anthropological methods.