Introduction to the History of Science

Author: Chief Editor: Ge Maochun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-09-01
Features: The Introduction to Historical Science is a foundational theoretical textbook for history majors in higher education institutions, commissioned by the Ministry of Education and jointly developed by the Department of History at Shandong University and the Department of History at Yunnan University. The main content of this textbook is an overview of the theories, methods, and general knowledge of historical science. Through the teaching of this textbook, students are helped to connect the practical aspects of historical research and gradually learn to apply the theoretical methods of historical materialism in studying history. At the same time, it enables students to master some knowledge and skills required for historical research. In simple terms, this textbook serves as an entry point or guide for history majors to enter the field of research. Teaching practice has proven that this course is highly necessary for history majors. A history major in university not only needs to possess a relatively rich knowledge of history but also must be able to independently analyze and research historical issues. This course plays a significant role in achieving this requirement. For many years, no such textbook has been published domestically, and it is very necessary for the Ministry of Education to fill this gap. However, due to our limited capabilities, we cannot yet fully satisfy expectations in this regard. We hope to receive more feedback during the use of this textbook to help improve it as soon as possible. Generally speaking, this textbook is best used in the second year of university. At this stage, students already have some knowledge of Chinese and world history, have taken some foundational theoretical courses, and urgently need to strengthen their ability to analyze and research issues. Offering this course at this time is very necessary. The recommended teaching hours are 36–54. Since this course has not been in place for long, and the textbook is newly compiled, it remains to be seen how best to proceed through gradual practice. The writing of this textbook began in 1978. The chief editor and deputy editors drafted the outline, solicited extensive opinions, and then revised it. Subsequently, the authors wrote the chapters according to the outline, with the chief editor responsible for the final compilation. In 1980, draft chapters were printed for soliciting comments. In 1981, a trial edition was printed and used in some higher education institutions. In 1982, it was formally published after unified revisions. When drafting the outline, reference was made to the Teaching Outline of Historiography compiled by the Historiography Teaching Group of the Department of History at Shandong University in 1965. During the repeated revisions, many experts and teachers from other institutions and research units provided enthusiastic support and active assistance. The Ministry of Education also organized two review meetings specifically to collect valuable feedback, all of which advanced our work. Here, we express our sincere gratitude to the leaders and colleagues. Appendix: Authors of Each Chapter:
Chapter 1: Xiang Guanqi (Shandong University. Section 2 was expanded based on the outline drafted by Jiang Yihua of Fudan University.)
Chapter 2: Xiang Guanqi (Section 2 mainly draws from Hu Shouwu’s The Formation of Historical Materialism at Renmin University of China.)
Chapter 3: Xiang Guanqi
Chapter 4: Ge Maochun (Shandong University)
Chapter 5: Xie Benшу (Yunnan University)
Chapter 6: Xiong Xiyuan (Yunnan University)
Chapter 7: Xiang Guanqi, Zuo Wenhua (Yunnan University)
Chapter 8: Pang Pu (Journal of History magazine)
Chapter 9: Ge Maochun
Chapter 10: Xu Wende (Yunnan University)
Chapter 11: Cai Kai (Yunnan University)
Chapter 12: Zhang Zhihan (Shandong University)
Chapter 13: Guo Shengming (East China Normal University)
After each chapter was completed, Xiang Guanqi assisted Chief Editor Ge Maochun in compiling and revising the entire textbook. Additionally, the following colleagues contributed significantly to this book: Wang Yusheng, Zhu Huirong, Gong Peihua of Yunnan University, and Cai Fengshu, Guo Jian’an, Li Zhi, and Li Jixiang of Shandong University. During the writing process, this book extensively incorporated research findings from relevant works, though they are too numerous to list here. We express our gratitude to all contributors.
Editors, November 18, 1982
Excerpt:
Humans also arise from differentiation. This is true not only on an individual level—developing from a single ovum cell into the most complex organism nature has produced—but also on a historical one. After countless millennia of effort, the differentiation between hands and feet, upright walking, and finally became established, thus distinguishing humans from apes. This laid the foundation for the development of articulate language and the remarkable growth of the human brain, creating an insurmountable gap between humans and apes. The specialization of the hand signifies the emergence of tools, and tools imply the unique activities of humans, the reaction of humans to nature, and production. In a narrow sense, animals also use tools, but these are merely limbs of their bodies—ants, bees, and beavers, for example. Animals also engage in production, but their production has no significant impact on nature. Only humans leave their mark on nature, not only by altering the positions of plants and animals but also by changing the appearance of the places they inhabit, the climate, and even the plants and animals themselves. The results of their activities can only vanish with the general death of the earth. ①
From this, it is clear that material production activity is the basic form of movement that gives rise to and develops human society. More profound than saying "humans are the masters of all creation" is Franklin’s famous remark: "Humans are tool-making animals." It is precisely on the basis of productive labor that human society has achieved such tremendous progress, enabling it to move from the difficult lives of primitive groups living in "huts to avoid harm" and "striking fire to transform foulness" to the modern society that has learned to utilize vast energy sources and master advanced scientific methods, placing nature increasingly under human control.
It is precisely to engage in productive labor effectively, continuously advance production, and seek to replace old production methods with new ones to better meet human needs for food, drink, shelter, and clothing that humans, with great struggles, have staged one after another of history’s most earth-shaking and magnificent scenes. Only through sweat and blood have humans created a vibrant, rich, and glorious historical content that nature can never match. Without productive labor, there is no human society; without the laws of the contradictions in productive labor, there is no scientific understanding of how human social forms have evolved in history. Thus, Stalin said: "The history of social development is primarily the history of the development of production, the history of the successive replacement of production methods over many centuries, the history of the development of productive forces and the relations of production between people." ①
Human history, characterized by production as its fundamental feature, is incredibly rich and complex in its layers. People engage in various activities within different social relationships, forming a vast, colorful, and organically interconnected system. The movement of this system is also the process of human history developing from low to high, from simple to complex. In class societies, various forms of class struggle, based on economic relationships of exploitation and being exploited, are most prominent and deepest, affecting all aspects of social life and advancing social history.
History is the history of human society, composed of people’s vibrant activities and realized within diverse social relationships. Horizontally, it is composed of people’s economic, political, ideological, and other relationships, with infinite richness in content. Vertically, it undulates, with waves rising and falling, moving forward endlessly.