在印尼发现历史——评范·勒尔《印尼的贸易与社会》

Discovery of the History in Indonesia

范·勒尔在《印尼的贸易与社会》一书中 ,第一次运用韦伯式社会学和经济史理论与方法来分析早期印尼及亚洲的贸易与社会 ,以广阔的视野对东西方贸易作了比较研究。他力图打破当时在西方广为流行的欧洲中心观 ,主张从亚洲自身来观察当地的经济和文化发展 ,提出每个地区都有着自身的不能为别的文明所取代的文明 ,同时各个文明之间有平等的价值和地位 ,从而为印尼及整个东方历史的重新解释找到新的途径。

In his works, Indonesian Trade And Society: Essays in Asian Social and Economic History, J.C.van Leur analyzes the history of trade and societies of Indonesia and all of Asia with Max Weber' theory. He compares the trade with the Orient and the Occident and insists that we should explain the development of economy and culture in Asia from Asian viewpoint. He augured that there is a unique civilization every place in the world and they could not displace each other. The different civilization is equal in the world. His theory is the new way to study the history of Indonesia and the orient.