The Theory and Practice of Historiography Ping (Chinese-Translated Classics)

Author: (Italian) Benedetto Croce / (British) Douglas Anslie / Fu Ren Gan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1997-01-01
Features: The author of this book, Benedetto Croce (1866—1952), was a renowned bourgeois idealist philosopher in Italy and one of the representatives of the New Hegelian school. The book was originally written in German and published in 1915. It was later republished in Italian in 1919. In 1920, the British Douglas Anslie translated the English version based on the Italian edition. This Chinese translation is based on the English version. Croce wrote extensively. Before this book, he had written works such as Aesthetics as the Science of Expression, Logic as the Science of Pure Concepts, and Practical Philosophy. Later, he combined these three books with this one, The Theory and Practice of Historiography, and named the collection The Philosophy of Spirit, with the volumes arranged accordingly. This book is the last volume. The four-volume Philosophy of Spirit expresses Croce's entire philosophical thought and constitutes his philosophical system. Croce's historical view was deeply influenced by Hegel but also incorporated the perspectives of Kant, as well as Mach from Austria and Bergson from France, giving it a compromising character. Croce's idealist historical view stands in stark opposition to the materialist historical view of Marxism. Croce took an openly reactionary stance against Marxism and frequently published articles opposing Marxism after the 1920s. The Italian Communist Party regarded the critique of Croce's philosophical thought as an important task on the theoretical front of Marxism. The publication of this book in Chinese is intended for the analysis and critique by China's theoretical and academic circles. Mr. Fu Ren Gan devoted great effort to translating this book, revising the translation multiple times to achieve both faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance. Unfortunately, when the proofs were being finalized, Mr. Fu had passed away and could not personally oversee the final proofreading. Here, we express our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Fu Ren Gan. This book is an important work by the renowned Italian historian Croce. It is divided into two parts and three appendices. Part I discusses historiographical theory, emphasizing the differences between history and chronology, natural history and history. It includes two chapters dedicated to "Pseudo-History" and "Historiography," as well as discussions on "The Humanity of History," "Historical Selection and Periodization," and "The Differences and Divisions of Specialized History." Part II narrates the history of historiography, covering Greek and Roman historiography, medieval historiography, Renaissance historiography, Enlightenment historiography, Romantic historiography, and positivist historiography, among others.