Historiography and Historical Interpretation

Author: Kang Le / Peng Minghui (Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: This series is a compilation of classic works by Taiwanese scholars in the field of Chinese history over the past fifty years, divided into thirteen topics and fourteen volumes, respectively:
(Historiography and Historical Interpretation);
(Institutions and the State);
(Politics and Power);
(Thought and Scholarship);
(Social Change);
(Economic Fluctuations);
(Cities and Villages);
(Families and Society);
(Women and Society);
(Lifestyle and Culture);
(Rituals and Religion);
(Life and Medicine);
(Art and Archaeology).
Professor Huang Kuan-chong, Xing Yi-tian, and Deng Xiao-nan of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, served as the overall editors. Each topic is edited by Taiwanese scholars with deep expertise in the respective field. Each volume includes a preface by the overall editor and an introduction by the volume editor. The purpose of the introductions is to summarize the internal and external contexts and development trends of Taiwanese Chinese history research at different stages, as well as to introduce the authors and papers in the current volume. Some introductions focus on introducing the included papers and authors or the reasons for their selection, while others emphasize global historiographical trends, and yet others center on the volume editor’s perspective on a particular field, each with its own.
After each article, a brief author bio and the original publication details are provided to facilitate further research for interested readers. The series gathers renowned works by many international scholars. Elderly scholars such as Yan Gengwang, Lao Gan, Fu Lecheng, and Dai Yanhui, contemporary historiographical masters like Yu Yingshi, Xu Zhuoyun, Lu Yao-dong, and Mao Han-guang, as well as mid-career scholars with strong Western academic backgrounds such as Chen Ruoshui, Yan Juan-ying, and Li Zhen-de are all included. The series represents the representative works of several generations of Taiwanese scholars over half a century, truly a gathering of renowned experts and outstanding works.
The general selection principle for the articles in this series prioritizes recently published works to showcase the latest trends and achievements. However, each volume has its own unique characteristics. Some volumes, such as Lifestyle and Culture, include nearly all papers from the past decade, while others, like Institutions and the State, feature more works from several decades ago. This reflects the shift in research directions and centers in Taiwanese Chinese history studies. Due to various limitations, exchanges between scholars across the Taiwan Strait, access to information, and the availability of relevant papers have faced certain difficulties. Domestic scholars and researchers have long called for timely access to the research of Taiwanese scholars, which has been the primary motivation for the publication of this series.
There are significant differences between Taiwan and mainland China in the study of Chinese history. Taiwanese scholars, deeply influenced by Western Sinology while being highly familiar with Chinese culture, bring more innovation and vitality. In terms of research topics, in addition to traditional subjects, Taiwanese historians have established unique themes such as medical history and body history, which have attracted international attention. The publication of the Taiwan Scholars’ Studies on Chinese History series should provide domestic historians with new materials, information, and points of focus, fostering very positive impacts on academic exchanges and interactions between the two sides.
The twenty-one articles in this volume reflect the attention of Taiwanese historians to historiography and historical interpretation: Volume Part "Reflection and Prospect" includes six articles that review and examine the various aspects of Taiwanese historiography since 1945; Volume Part "Methods and Methodology" features nine articles that illustrate the emphasis on methods and methodology in Taiwanese historiography; Volume Part "Historical Interpretation" contains six articles that generally reflect the focus on historical interpretation in Taiwanese historiography.
When reviewing the relevant works on historiography and historical interpretation in Taiwanese historiography since 1945, it is evident that the priority of methods and methodology over historical interpretation is clearly higher, demonstrating a trend toward narrower and deeper modern academic research. As a result, an increasing number of historians have adopted in-depth, specialized research approaches. Combined with the integration of social sciences and history, Taiwanese historiography has become increasingly specialized. This research orientation persisted until the 1990s before gradually changing.