Works of Lin Ganquan

Author: Lin Ganquan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: The development of academic endeavors is like the Yangtze River, with waves following waves, endless and flowing. It is also like the passing of the torch, with each generation succeeding the last, with ever brighter brilliance. Later scholars must understand the work already done by their predecessors, inherit their achievements and experiences, and build upon them to move forward. The Academic Committee of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has gathered dozens of senior experts from dozens of disciplines within our institution. They have decades of research experience in their respective fields and have made significant contributions in their areas of expertise. The published series features representative works selected by each expert from their academic careers, bringing them together for publication. This not only showcases their diligent academic paths but also reflects the partial achievements and developments in various fields of philosophy and social sciences in China over the past few decades, especially since the reform and opening-up. It is a very meaningful endeavor. The articles included in this book cover three aspects: the socio-economic history of the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, the theory of optics, and the historiography of the 20th century. These are all previously published works that generally reflect the main directions of the author's historical research over the past 50 years. The several essays included in this book have some exploration, but they are somewhat fragmented and superficial, or may be inevitably one-sided in perspective, and rely on the guidance of the respected teachers. A significant characteristic of China's feudal society is that commodity economy was relatively developed as early as the Warring States and Qin and Han periods, which was quite different from the self-sufficient natural economy of European medieval manors. This characteristic even led some historians to conclude that China's feudal society was clearly difficult to accept, with the issue being how to correctly understand the natural and commodity economies of China's feudal society. The articles included in this book on historiographical theory and the history of contemporary historiography, the most controversial ones are likely the two on historicalism and class perspective.