A Comprehensive Revision of the Outline of National History (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Qian Mu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-02-01
Features: This book is a concise history of historiography. Written based on lectures, the author outlines the emergence, development, characteristics, and existing problems of Chinese historiography from the perspective of disciplinary history, using a selective approach to present a comprehensive picture. Through a comparison between Chinese and Western historiography, he reveals the spirit and essence of Chinese historiography and even Chinese thought and scholarship. This book is a classic legacy of Mr. Qian Mu, written during the War of Resistance. It follows the format of a university textbook and differs greatly from any current popular general history of China. This is also the greatness of Mr. Qian Mu—reading it brings a sudden realization and helps readers understand what historical truth truly is. Specific content is not elaborated here; only the author's warning at the beginning of the book is quoted, which reflects the author's spirit in historiography (the content in parentheses is the author's self-note):
When reading this book, please first hold the following beliefs:
1. Any citizen of a nation, especially those who claim to be above the level of knowledge, should have a basic understanding of their country's history. (Otherwise, they can only be considered knowledgeable individuals, not truly knowledgeable citizens.)
2. Having a basic understanding of one's own country's history must be accompanied by a sense of warmth and respect for it. (Otherwise, it is only like knowing some foreign history, not truly knowing one's own history.)
3. Having a sense of warmth and respect for one's own country's history means at least not holding a radical nihilism toward it (i.e., viewing one's own past history as having no value and no aspect that satisfies them). It also means at least not feeling that we are standing at the pinnacle of past history (this is a shallow and arrogant view of progress). Instead, we should not blame ourselves and our weaknesses on the past. (This is a seemingly plausible self-criticism of culture.)
4. A nation must wait until its citizens generally hold the above conditions before it can hope for further development. (Otherwise, its improvements are no different from those of a conquered country or a secondary colony, and it has no relevance to its own nation. In other words, such improvements are a form of cultural conquest, a shrinkage and destruction of its own culture, not a transformation and flourishing of its culture.)
Qian Mu, styled Binsi, was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu in 1895 and passed away in August 1990. He served as a professor at Yanjing University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Southwest Associated University, West China Normal University, and Jiangnan University, and founded the Hong Kong New Asia College. He authored over 60 books, including An Introduction to Chinese Learning, Chronology of the Pre-Qin Philosophers, Introduction to the History of Chinese Culture, Outlines of Chinese History, New Interpretations of the Analects, Collected Annotations on the Zhuangzi, Essays on the History of Chinese Academic Thought, Late Learning Blind Words, and Recollections of Teachers and Friends.
Outlines of Chinese History: A Self-Introduction
In the autumn of the 22nd year of the Republic of China, I began teaching "General History of China" at Peking University. This course was held four hours a week and completed in one year. I reflected that teaching general history is not difficult to be exhaustive, but concise and clear is particularly challenging. If one seeks exhaustiveness, then the 25 Histories, the 10 Compendia, and the vast number of books stored in libraries are all available, and scholars can engage with them day and night, achieving exhaustiveness. However, this cannot be accomplished in one week and four hours, let alone one year. To seek conciseness and clarity, one must first make choices among the vast amount of Chinese history. Moreover, one must first establish a systematic perspective as the standard for making these choices. One must first establish a "body" to determine what to include or exclude. The breadth and length of what is included or excluded should be proportionate to this "body." However, speaking of it is easy, but this is indeed the profession of specialists. Otherwise, one can endlessly gather and stitch together materials, leading to a situation where, in the process of stitching, one tries to balance the proportions and lengths, which is merely like compiling a narrow sense of an encyclopedia, not the practice of historiography.
Generally, in this course, I used two hours for one lecture, completing one topic per lecture. Over the year, I completed more than 40 lectures, covering more than 40 topics. To roughly and clearly narrate the general outline of Chinese history in the Republic of China in these 40 lectures, I put great effort into the titles of each lecture. Teaching general history is not easy. Without a learned and erudite scholar like Mr. Qian Mu, who could undertake this responsibility? After one year, from the autumn of the 22nd year to the summer of the 23rd year, the students found it difficult to follow, and they all asked me to provide lecture notes. I said, "Teaching general history is a major undertaking, and I dare not do it lightly. If I must, it is better to read Western books, which are more enjoyable and familiar. As for the meaning and essence of the text, it is hard to grasp, and as for the names of people, places, officials, institutions, and historical facts in the historical records, I am completely lost, which is even more challenging." I then planned to select relevant materials from the textbook and add annotations to them. However, annotating involves research, and I also had to consider the students' level of understanding, making it very difficult. Due to the heavy workload and limited time, I was unable to complete this.
Thus, it has been four years since the autumn of the 22nd year.
From the autumn of the 22th year to the summer of the 26th year.
In the autumn of the 26th year, the sudden outbreak of the Japanese aggression at the Lugou Bridge forced the school to move south. I hid several notebooks of my lecture notes in a suitcase and took them with me. Passing through Hong Kong, I went to Changsha and then to Mount Lu. Later, I followed the school as it moved to Yunnan, passing through Guangxi and Vietnam to reach Kunming. The College of Liberal Arts was temporarily set up in Mengzi, and by April of the 27th year, we had finally found a temporary stop after much wandering. I felt that my long escape had been in vain, and I decided to teach Chinese history to the students, which only deepened my sense of sorrow. After the school's relocation and hardships, there were few books, and the students were inspired by my lectures but suffered from the lack of supplementary reading material. Therefore, I reconsidered continuing the outline of the previous three years to assist classroom teaching. In the summer of the 25th year, I began drafting it from the Wei and Jin periods onwards, and students who were interested in it helped to copy it. In the autumn, the school moved back to Kunming, and as I had not finished the draft, I stayed in Mengzi, hoping for some quiet time to think. However, in September, air raid warnings became frequent, and my home was next to the aviation school. Every morning, I had to carry my draft out into the wilderness and return only in the afternoon, which was very burdensome. Therefore, I moved to Xishan Rock Spring Temple outside Yiliang and completed my work. However, the school's classes had already started, and as Kunming was noisy and cramped, I had to travel between the two places. After each week's class, I would spend three days in the mountains to continue my unfinished work. Lacking reference books and constantly traveling, I could not find more than four days of tranquility. The life of scholars during the War of Resistance was extremely difficult! However, the scholars of that time (represented by the professors of Southwest Associated University) created unprecedented great achievements, the significance of which deserves deep reflection!
I once wrote to a friend, saying, "This book is difficult to complete, but it is not to my satisfaction. Why? With meticulous attention to detail, I struggled with the lack of reference books, but with bold and decisive action, I regretted my lack of mental strength." This reflects the actual state of writing the book. When the draft for the Wei and Jin periods was nearly complete, I reread the old draft for the Han Dynasty and earlier periods and found it too simplistic in terms of format, tone, and detail. It was only suitable as notes for the students, so I revised it. From then on, I compiled an outline for each lecture, keeping only the essential structure and cutting out unnecessary details for easy review. However, I was afraid that students might become too accustomed to this and think that studying history could be done without substance. Historiography must first be the study of historical materials. Those who study history must remember the four characters "seek truth from facts" and ensure that every word and sentence in their arguments has a source. I selected another reference material to match it. All materials related to my lecture outlines were excerpted from historical texts or the research and writings of previous scholars to help students verify and understand them. The outlines were compiled up to the Han Dynasty, but I found them too brief and did not continue. I also said that the main ideas of the lectures could be noted by the students, and I would provide the reference materials separately.
This went on for another year, from the autumn of the 23rd year to the summer of the 24th year. I realized that the reference materials were scattered and disorganized, lacking a framework to connect them. They were like scattered coins without strings, and students would receive them in a haphazard and colorful manner, which was pleasing but not useful. Therefore, I changed my plan and compiled a general history textbook for students to read outside of class. I also instructed the students that studying general history must prioritize a "system," but this system must be based on "facts." While systems may differ based on individual perspectives, the fundamental facts remain consistent. Without understanding the facts first, seeking a system is like holding an empty string without money—it loses its meaning. University courses are already heavy, and even with the Zizhi Tongjian, students struggle to finish it. In middle school education, the trend is also to emphasize organization, but not to pay attention to the actual facts. In university history courses, it is even more important not to focus solely on individual facts. If this is the case, students will only gain systems and organization but no historical facts. In the end, the systems and organizations they learn will be empty talk and personal opinions. Empty talk and personal opinions can vary greatly, but historical facts are always true. Therefore, I again selected the Zizhi Tongjian, Continuation of the Zizhi Tongjian, and Ming Zizhi Tongjian to compile a textbook, summarizing the essence and key points to prepare students for further study in general history. This went on for another year, from the autumn of the 24th year to the summer of the 25th year. From the Qin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the textbook amounted to over a million words. The selection and arrangement of the textbook were primarily based on correspondence with classroom lectures, but the details and emphasis differed greatly from the Annals of Events by Events by Yuan Ke. I believed that if students studied this book outside of class, it would not only cure their superficial understanding but also open the door to exploring the original historical records.
The problems in today's middle and high school history teaching are too numerous, and the biggest issue is the lack of attention to actual facts. Mr. Qian Mu's words are truly a remedy for this problem.
After another year, I found that students' proficiency in their own language was too weak. Although the textbook was concise, it was all excerpts from historical texts, and students found it difficult to read, as it was like entering a foreign land. Therefore, I revised it again. By June of this year, the entire manuscript was finally completed, and it had taken over thirteen months in total.
However, although this book is brief, the purpose behind it is worth informing the nation. Therefore, I wrote a preface. The words are too long to be omitted, and readers should understand its meaning. As for the hopes of the preface, this book may not fully meet them, and readers should judge for themselves. This book is compiled from notes I carried with me, and the notes were often hastily written, with many omissions. Generally, I did not note the sources and forgot the chapters and volumes. This book has omitted them entirely, not even mentioning them; occasionally, I included some sources, which became exceptions. The works of contemporary scholars, which I recently acquired, were also not fully detailed, but I aimed for consistency, not to claim credit for others. The book was completed in a hurry, and the only person who read it and discussed it with me was Mr. Tang Xiyu, a professor at Peking University and an expert in the Buddhist history of the Wei and Jin periods. He often read one or two chapters and had discussions with me. In my life, I have never dared to publish my writings lightly. I have always believed that with my slow and ignorant nature and my isolated views, it is better to keep them hidden and wait for my opinions to be settled. Although they may not benefit the world, I can at least ease my conscience. As for this book, it is different. If I keep it secret, even after ten years, it may not be settled. Moreover, with the rampant aggression of the enemy and the constant air raids, there was always the fear of fire, so I decided to publish it hastily. The attitude of Mr. Qian Mu toward writing books is pious and rigorous, a model for modern scholars to follow. For readers of this book, whether in major or minor details, if there are any omissions or errors, if you can inform me, even a single word is better than ten thousand chapters. How can I not humbly accept your kindness and sincerely pray for it.
June 12, the 28th year of the Republic of China, recorded by Qian Mu at the Rock Spring Temple on Xishan, Yiliang.