Preface to the Critique of Ancient History

Author: Gu Kedi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
Features: In 1926, with the publication of the first volume of The Discernment of Ancient History, the preface of over 60,000 characters also caused a sensation in academia. In this lengthy autobiographical preface, Gu Sir explained the reasons behind his insight of "the layered construction of ancient history" and his methods of studying ancient history from perspectives such as the times, personality, and circumstances. The preface is well-structured, fluent in writing, grand in tone, and possesses a unique charm. In his later years, Gu Sir wrote in an article titled "How I Wrote The Discernment of Ancient History" that this preface was "one of the longest and most enjoyable articles I have ever written" and that it "expressed everything in my heart in an open and boundless way." At the time, Hu Shi called this preface "a self-account never seen before in the history of Chinese literature" and stated that "everyone must read it." Arthur W. Hummel described it as "the best record of the changing of the past thirty years in China" (both cited from the second volume of The Discernment of Ancient History). This preface not only became a primary source for studying Gu Sir's academic work but also a primary source for studying the New Culture Movement. Therefore, after its publication, it was soon translated into English and Japanese overseas and widely disseminated. Simultaneously, it was included in The Great Series of New Literature published in the 1930s and in various other collections in later years, attracting increasing attention. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the publication of the first volume of The Discernment of Ancient History. To commemorate this occasion, Zhonghua Book Company has specially published a facsimile of the preface manuscript. Originally, part of the manuscript in Gu Sir's notes discussed how the story of the Lady Meng Jiang changed over time and across different regions, serving as evidence for his research methods on ancient history. However, due to its length of over 30,000 characters, it was described as "afflicted with the disease of a bloated belly, separating the text" (as quoted in the preface), and thus had to be omitted from the preface and published independently as A Study of the Story of Lady Meng Jiang. Now, this facsimile has restored the original form of the preface. After the publication of the first volume of The Discernment of Ancient History, Gu Sir personally copied several letters and preserved them in the "Materials for the Discernment of Ancient History," which were never published. Given the historical value of these letters, they are appended at the end of this book.