史学地理化与中国现代史学——以姚从吾早年学术活动为讨论中心

The Geographical Trend of Historiography and Modern Chinese Historiography——Discussions Centered on Yao Tsung-wu's Early Academic Activities

地理学尤其人地学在中国史学科学化进程中扮演重要角色,其科学的学科属性和传统史家对地学的既有知识储备,使得地学成为历史学追求科学化的最佳模仿对象。姚从吾早年虽身处北大史学系,却对人文地理甚感兴趣。五四前后,史地分科意识尚不明显,北大史学系不受重视,加之受到蔡元培、朱希祖等人提倡社会科学和张相文的影响。在邵可侣、亨廷顿等西方地理学说影响下,他不仅对传统史地学者做出新的评价,还借此作为研究具体问题的圭臬。近代许多史家都有从偏爱地学到回归史学本业的经历,更有建设历史地理学的成功尝试,个中缘由值得深究。

Geography,especially the theory of human geography,plays an important role in the process of the scientization of Chinese historiography. Its scientific disciplinary property and the existing knowledge reserve of Chinese traditional historians,make geography the best model of pursuing the scientization of historiography.Yao Tsung-wu is famous for methodology of history and the history of Liao,Jin and Yuan dynasties. However,although he was in the department of history in Peking University at his early age,he tended to focus on human geography. Around the May Fourth Movement,there was no obvious distinction about the discipline between history and geography. The department of history in Peking University was not valued. In addition,influenced by Cai Yuanpei,Zhu Xizu,etc,who advocated the social sciences and the geographer Zhang Xiangwen. Besides,influenced by lisée Reclus and Ellsworth Huntington who are representative of western geography theory,he not only made new evaluation on traditional history and geography scholars,but also used it as guidelines when studied specific problems. In modern times,many historians have a preference for geography at first,but return to historiography at last,and make a successful attempt to construct the discipline of historical geography,and reasons therein are worth deep study.