German Medieval History - Politics, Economy and Society, and Others - Beijing Normal University History and Literature: Politics, Economy and Society, and Others

Author: Hou Shudong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-02-01
Features: This book discusses the political and socio-economic history of medieval Germany. However, it is not a comprehensive and complete account of medieval German political and socio-economic history; it only examines several issues within a specific time frame. Nevertheless, there are inherent connections between the chapters on political history and those on socio-economic history. The first five chapters trace the development of the German monarchy in the 10th and 11th centuries as the main thread, discussing the early political history of medieval Germany. The last five chapters take the German Peasants' War as the main thread, exploring the socio-economic history of Germany in the 15th and 16th centuries. The final chapter is a lengthy book review, assessing a representative work on the German Peasants' War published in the contemporary West. The term "medieval" in the title of this book follows the convention of Chinese academia, which includes the "early modern" period.
The book Medieval Germany—Politics, Socio-Economy, and Beyond discusses the political and socio-economic history of medieval Germany. However, it is not a comprehensive and complete account of medieval German political and socio-economic history; it only examines several issues within a specific time frame. Nevertheless, there are inherent connections between the chapters on political history and those on socio-economic history. The first five chapters trace the development of the German monarchy in the 10th and 11th centuries as the main thread, discussing the early political history of medieval Germany. The last five chapters take the German Peasants' War as the main thread, exploring the socio-economic history of Germany in the 15th and 16th centuries. The final chapter is a lengthy book review, assessing a representative work on the German Peasants' War published in the contemporary West. The term "medieval" in the title of this book follows the convention of Chinese academia, which includes the "early modern" period.
Since the reform and opening-up, research on medieval Western Europe in China has made significant progress, but the development of this discipline still faces many challenges. The reasons for these difficulties are both objective and personal. Our disadvantages in language preparation, access to historical materials, updating methods, understanding current trends, and information exchange are evident. However, lamenting the difficulties will not help; we must take things step by step, starting from the realities of the situation. Under the current conditions, we should contribute to the study of our own Chinese history and culture, and we should apply the perspective and vision of Chinese people to the study of Western history and culture.
From this perspective, the aforementioned disadvantages do not mean we cannot make any contributions. Under the current conditions, it should be feasible to collect as much relevant literature as possible, fully draw on Western academic achievements, and conduct a relatively in-depth analysis of these achievements, thereby articulating some preliminary views. This is also the basic attitude I adopted when examining certain issues in medieval German history. This book is compiled and revised based on academic papers, some of which have already been published in relevant journals. During my studies and research on medieval German history, I received meticulous guidance from my advisor, Professor Kong Xiangmin. His discussions on major issues in medieval German history provided me with profound inspiration. I also received encouragement and guidance from Professor Pang Zhuoheng of the History Department at Tianjin Normal University during my studies and research. I am deeply grateful to both professors for their teachings. Professor Zhu Xiaoyuan of the History Department at Peking University also provided me with guidance and assistance during my studies and research. I sincerely thank him for his support. I also extend my gratitude to Mr. Zhu Jiong of the Commercial Press for his hard work in publishing this book.
I am fully aware that the discussions in this book represent only a preliminary attempt, and there will undoubtedly be many shortcomings and even errors. I welcome criticism and corrections from.