Chapter 27 The Definition of Historiography (March 10, 1902)

If you want to innovate historiography, you must first understand the definition of historiography; if you want to know the definition of historiography, you must first understand the scope of history.Now please analyze its organization and discuss it. First, historians describe the phenomena of evolution.What is the phenomenon?The change of things also.There are two kinds of phenomena in the universe: one is called the cycle, and the other is the evolution.What is a cycle?Its evolution has a certain period, and the period is repeated, such as the changes of the four seasons and the movement of celestial bodies.What is evolution?Its changes have a certain order, whether it grows or develops, just like the phenomena in the biological world and the human world.Those who circulate are those who go and come back, and those who stop but do not advance; any knowledge that falls into this category is called "natural science".Those who evolve are those who go and never return, and those who go on to the infinite; any knowledge that falls into this category is called "history".Everything in the world is in space and in time. (Space and time are translations of Buddhist scriptures, which are still used by the Japanese. According to the ancient Chinese meaning, space is the universe, and time is the universe. The language is inexhaustible, so the translation is used. Language.) And the natural world and the historical world, in fact, occupy the scope of the two.Natural scholars are those who study the phenomenon of space; historians are also those who study the phenomenon of time.If you observe the universe in the natural world, you will see that it is immutable and eternal, so its body is complete, and its image is like a circle; in the world of history, you can see that it grows endlessly, progresses without knowing the end, so its body is It is not complete, and its progress is not a straight line, or it may step back and forth, or it may rise and fall, but its image is like a spiral.Those who understand this principle can know the truth of history.

From this point of view, all studies belonging to the field of history (politics, group studies, equivalence studies, religion, etc., are all close to the scope of the field of history.) Its research is often difficult; all studies belonging to the natural world, ( All astronomy, geography, material science, chemistry, etc., are within the scope of the natural world.) Its research is often relatively easy.Why?In the natural world, things that have already been perfected come and go frequently, can be calculated, have a certain state, and can be tested.History, even if it is not complete, is still growing and flourishing today, and history cannot be consummated unless it catches the end of the universe.My life has a limit, but this study has no limit.This is why the origin of natural sciences is very ancient, and now it has achieved great success; while the sciences about history appeared very late, and it is difficult to complete them.

Once this definition is established, we know that all things that grow, develop, and progress belong to the scope of history; otherwise, they cannot belong to the scope of history.Another example is that in a certain period, although there is growth and development, and at the peak of the period, it will go back to the beginning, and it still has to be reincarnated.Just like animals and plants, like human beings, although they come into existence in a certain order, they will fill their limits in one year, or ten years, or a hundred years, but they will reverse their beginnings.One life and one death is the phenomenon of the real cycle.Therefore, physics, physiology, etc., are within the scope of natural sciences, not within the scope of history.

Mencius said: "The world has been born for a long time, and it is ruled and disordered." This is also a misunderstanding of the historical truth.When there is no end to chaos and chaos, then the phenomenon of history should be a cycle, equal to nature, and history will not be established.Mencius's words were confused by the shape of the spiral, and he mistakenly thought it was a circle. He did not look at the general trend of thousands of years since the existence of human beings, but also to see where its true direction is; It may rise or fall, so I think that the actual state of history is like this.For example, if a river flows eastward to the sea, its general trend is also; it may be seen in one part, and occasionally there are places where it flows backwards or meanders. How can we know the nature of rivers and rivers! ("Spring and Autumn" family saying, there are three traditions, there are three generations. The three traditions, the image of the cycle, the so-called three kings, if the cycle is repeated, it is also the same. The three generations, the phenomenon of evolution, the so-called chaos, peace, peace, and the world Gradual progress is also true. The three generations are the state of history, and the three unifications are not the state of history. The meaning of the three generations is that those who have ruled cannot resume chaos. If there is one rule and then another chaos, the so-called rule must not be true rule. Therefore, historians should follow the righteousness of Confucius, not Mencius.) The reason why China has no good history for thousands of years is because of its evolution The phenomenon is unknown.

Second, historians describe the phenomenon of human evolution.The meaning of evolution is established.Although, the principles of evolution are not limited to human beings, even animals, plants, and even the inorganic world often have evolutionary existence.However, what is recorded in popular history is often limited to categories, so why?This is nothing more than our own selfishness.Human beings are the ones who are at the extreme of evolution, and those who change in thousands of shapes are endless.Therefore, in the broad sense of history, it cannot be completed if it is not all-encompassing; in the narrow sense, it is only bounded by human beings.Although the scope of history can be limited to human beings, the facts of human beings cannot be included in history.Human beings are just one kind of animal ears, and their life and death are inevitably cycled. Even their daily diet, speech and deeds are roughly the same, and there is no evolution at all.Therefore, the trace of evolution must be found in the crowd.If everyone can analyze and be independent, evolution will never be expected, and history will never start.Those who cover the evolution of human beings can advance by a group, not by one person.If there is only one person, then today's people must not be farther than the ancients.Talking about its physique, the limbs and five sense organs are as old as today;In terms of its spirituality, the intellectual abilities of ancient Zhou, Confucius, Bo (Plato), and Ah (Aritodo) must not be let down by today's people, and the world recognizes it.However, there are often principles that Zhou, Confucius, Bo, and Ah could not understand and things they could not do, but today's milk-smelling children know and can do it, why?Without him, eat the blessings of the group, enjoy the benefits of the group, use the strength of the group to compare each other, compete with each other, compete with each other, fight with each other, maintain each other, pass on from generation to generation, and wisdom will advance, and talent will advance. Yan, but morality advances.Progressives are a group of personalities and extraordinary individuals. (Whether the natural ability of human beings can gradually increase with the evolution of civilization is a difficult question to decide. Take a child in a civilized country who is not allowed to receive education or be influenced by society. If he is immersed in the grace of civilization, he will grow up Is it possible to have children who are different from barbaric countries? Probably not. Because the evolution from animals to humans is the pinnacle of physiological evolution. From children to adults is the pinnacle of physiological evolution. However, a human being is almost impossible. Evolution also: the evolutionary, don’t be more than a personality above the individual, that is, the crowd.) However, what history should pay most attention to is the matter of the crowd.If the matter has nothing to do with the crowd, although it is absurd and different, it must not be enough to enter the scope of history.

In the past, historians often regarded history as if it was passed on by people.The relationship between the husband and the characters is solid in history, but the relationship is also said to have an influence on a group of Yuner.The most important thing is in a group, not in one person.However, Chinese historians are totally opposed to this purpose, and often use the establishment of good biography as their glory and favor.There are so many articles, listing the words and deeds of people who have nothing to do with the fate of the world, making readers want to lie down and want to vomit. Although there are thousands of volumes, they still cannot know the general trend of this group. .

Thirdly, the historian is the one who narrates the phenomenon of human evolution and obtains its axioms and common rules.All knowledge must have objective and subjective realms.The objective one refers to the thing being studied; the subjective one refers to the mind that can study this thing.Also known as "Suo Jie", "Neng Jie", "Neng" and "Suo", the translation of Buddhist scriptures is often used as a noun. ) and combine the two concepts, and then the knowledge will emerge.The object of historiography is the facts of the past and the present; its subject is the philosophy cherished in the minds of those who write and read history.If there is objectivity but no subjectivity, then the history has soul but no soul, which is called non-history. (Those who tend to be more subjective than objective, although there are good books, are just a family saying, and cannot be called history.) Therefore, those who are good at history must study the phenomenon of human evolution, and seek its axioms and common rules. Therefore, there are so-called philosophers of history.Although history and the philosophy of history are different subjects, if one does not have the ideal of philosophy, one cannot be a good history, and there is a decisiveness.Although, it is not easy to seek the axioms and common rules of history.For example, natural scientists have complete materials and limited scope, so their principles are easy to come by.Such as astronomy, such as material science, such as chemistry, the indelible axioms and common laws that have been obtained are already numerous; while political science, group science, religious science, etc. are far behind, all due to the complexity of phenomena. Not yet to the end.But although it is difficult, it is imperative for scholars to deal with it.Most of the former historians can't get what they want, because they cover two ends: one is to know a part of history, but not to know the whole history of human beings since the beginning of time.Either in one place, or in one era.For example, the history of China, its status is only to describe the ear of the country, and the phenomenon outside our country is unknown (the former is also the same for the history of other countries).Its era, from the beginning of the book and the deed, down to the end of the Sheng Dynasty;If one desires the truth about the evolution of human beings, one must compare it with the whole of human beings, and observe it through the boundaries of ancient and modern literature and wild.The corporations of the inner villages and townships (where the people gather together to form a group with one personality are called corporations and legal persons. Legal persons are regarded as no different from a person in law. The state assembly of a state, The city council of a city, even a school, a guild hall, and a company are collectively called corporations.) From the outside to the overall situation of the five continents; from the history of stones in ancient times, (geologists examine the evolution of characters from underground dead rocks The traces of history are called stone history.) Down to the news of yesterday and today, which one should be based on materials that are not objective.In general, how to seek its axioms and common rules, although it is not complete, but the income must be too much.Ask the historians of the past, are there any capable ones?The second is that people only know that there is historiography, but they do not know the relationship between historiography and other studies.Geography, Geology, Ethnography, Anthropology, Linguistics, Group Studies, Political Science, Religious Studies, Law Studies, Equilibrium Studies (so-called economics in Japan), All of them are directly related to history; others, such as ethics, psychology, logic, and essays, which belong to the scope of philosophy, and astronomy, material science, chemistry, and physiology, which belong to the scope of natural science, often have indirect relations with history. Relationship, whoever is not subject to rely on.Taking the axioms and common rules of various studies and joining them in the army, although they are not fully applicable, the income will definitely be more.Ask the historians of the past, are there any capable ones?

The reason why the husband must seek its axioms and common rules is not to think that the theory is beautiful, but to put it into practical use, and to benefit those who come.The history is the one who guides the evolution of the future through the evolution of the past.Our generation enjoys the blessings of today's civilization because of the rights we have acquired from the ancients; and to continue this civilization, increase this civilization, and breed this civilization is also an inexhaustible obligation to future generations.And the way historians fulfill this obligation is to seek the axioms and common laws of the previous evolution, so that future generations can follow the principles and follow the examples to increase happiness in the boundless.History is almost history, its responsibility is the heaviest, and its achievement is the most difficult.There are no real historians in China before, so why blame it!And there are no real historians, which is one of the reasons for the slow evolution of our country.I would like to work with my compatriots and citizens to open up this way.The above mentioned "definition" actually.The author studies historiography at the beginning, and has very little insight. If he feels that his definition is still incomplete, he will make corrections based on the evolution of my study in the future.Author knowledge.