Peking University Centennial Collection of Chinese Classics -- Historiography Volume

Author: Research Center for Traditional Chinese Culture, Peking University
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-04-01
Features: Opening this book, readers can see the trajectory of the development of traditional Chinese studies over the past century from one perspective. It is not difficult to find that compared to the past, contemporary traditional Chinese studies have undergone tremendous changes in both the scope of research and the concepts, methods, and approaches. When Zhang Taiyan wrote A Brief Introduction to Traditional Chinese Studies, it was divided into five parts: "A Brief Introduction to Philology," "A Brief Introduction to Confucian Classics," "A Brief Introduction to History," "A Brief Introduction to the Schools of Thought," and "A Brief Introduction to Literature," all of which covered the academic traditions of China's thousands of years. Now, compared to that time, the scope has far expanded, the concepts have been updated multiple times, and the methods have become more scientific and systematic. Taking philology as an example, the original goal of studying it was to understand the Confucian classics, but it later evolved into a discipline focused on describing the developmental patterns of language and characters. Especially with the discovery of oracle bone script, this field underwent significant transformations. Over this century, some emerging disciplines (such as Dunhuang studies) have entered the realm of traditional Chinese studies, while new archaeological findings have brought about major changes in historiography. All of these have given traditional Chinese studies a fresh appearance. These changes, which have occurred while inheriting tradition, are sufficient to justify calling contemporary traditional Chinese studies "New Traditional Chinese Studies" and distinguishing them from the traditional version.