| The emergence and development of social historiography in China is closely associated with transitions of Chinese historiography. At the beginning of the 20 century, the modernization process of Chinese historiography started. With all the scholars' joint efforts in that generation, such as Liang Chichao, the neo-historiography gradually developed. Although it was pushed to the edge by the neo-sinology, the social scientific path created by the new historiography had become an unstoppable trend. The most important achievement of the study on social scientific process by history is the birth of Chinese social history study. With the guaranteeing of the western history theories and the prestige of the big debates, Chinese social history study in one fell swoop held a domination position in China's history which was under the influence of the textual criticism school. China's history field gradually developed into the textual criticism school and the historical materialism school. The former emphasizes the historical data collection and textual research; the latter, which has a certain relevance with the early Chinese social history study, studies the Chinese history mainly under the guidance of Marxist theory. Under the confrontation and controversy of the two schools, the style of the practitioners of Chinese social history study laid foundation for future rising.After 1949, with the change of regime, the historical materialism school, which was close to the new regime, stepped from the edge to the center gradually, while the textual research school was forced from the center to the edge. Around 1955, the historical materialism school gained a complete dominate position, which would be able to promote the process of the Chinese social history study. However, the historical materialism was closely associated with politics, which devoured the academic. History study, seriously distorted, reduced to a vassal. The traditions of social science, which was an important source of Chinese social history study theories and methods, was interrupted. Chinese social history study could only continue in the cracks, which mainly embodied in the study of peasant wars and Chinese social and economic history. The study of peasant wars, due to the concern of the Party and state leaders, and explanation of the new regime's legitimacy and rationality, became the most brilliant one of the "five golden flowers". Although there were many problems among the study of the peasant wars, it made important achievements as well, especially its concern about the underclass, and exploration to the social history data of the underclass, which was not only consistent with the later orientation of social history, and laid a solid foundation for its development in the future. Although Chinese social and economic history was mainly displayed in the debate on the sprouting of capitalism, the debate on the sprouting of capitalism promoted the deep exploration on the social and economic history data and the analysis of the industrial and agricultural development in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The strong political orientation in the study could not cover its contribution to the developing of the Chinese social and economic history, which could be said a continuing concern by the new historiography to the social and economic issues, and the preservation and extension of the Chinese social and economic history study.In the 1980s, domestic politics returned to a normal state and the academic world was reintegrated. After the reform and opening up in China, the nation and social relations were changed, and social vitality began to appear; later after the great debate over truth criterion, the humanitarianism and reform and opening up, the ideology and culture field also became increasingly active; the "culture upsurge" emerged, and a large number of western culture books were published, so the scholars' view was enlarged and the study of cultural history became the eminent study in the history research; during this period, domestic thoughts and theories had a trend of diversification. Marxist doctrine reoriented, liberalism revived, cultural conservatism appeared, scientism developed, and post-modernism creped into China. These changes brought immeasurable promotion to the Chinese academic. The import of overseas historiography theories and methods, especially the widely introduction of the almanac paradigm, enlarged the domestic scholars'view, so the original revolutionary paradigm was gradually replaced by a modern paradigm. In the context of a new era and under the influence of the western history theories and methods, historiography encountered an unprecedented "crisis". "Historiography crisis" required reforms in Chinese historiography, which needed to find a new approach in history research; the early 1980s, social science reconstructed, and the social scientific research process of the history study restarted, the mid-1980s, the Chinese social history study, which was closely related with the historical materialism, revived. The Chinese social history study concerned about the social structure, social organization and social life changes, which demonstrated a broad field of study before the majority historians; social history study conformed to the social scientific trend of the international historiography world. It emphasized the interdisciplinary studies, began to show vitality, and became the most important research orientation. In the 1980s, a major theme in the Chinese social history study was the theoretical framework. The first question is the answer to what is social history study. To this question, the scholars varied form person to person, forming the general history theory, specific history theory, paradigm theory, the new social history theory and other various points of view. The Chinese social history study drew on the theories and methods of other social sciences and humanities. Many theories of other subjects were put into practice in the Chinese social history study, such as sacrifice cycle theory, marriage cycle theory, cultural power of network theory, market system theory, the state and social theory, family theory, clan theory, endemic knowledge theory, regional social theory, the gentry theory, gender theory, theory of civil society, the mid-range theory, post-modernism theory and so on, all of which affected the theory and methodology system of the Chinese social historiography. Social history study reflected "unity of historiography standard and social science oneness". In the 1980s, the core of the Chinese social history study was the study of social structure. The rank, clan and family,etc. became the important exploring objects to the researchers. After the 1990s, post-modernism began to affect the Chinese social history study. Post-modernism represents some of the revolt and separation with modernism. The purpose of modernism history study is to reveal the historical development trend, that is, historical development and progress theory; it regarded the center, elite as the main object of study, that is, the western social center theory, western elite history, western nation-state history, etc. Post-modernism historiography mainly breaks the historical line evolutionary history, focusing on non-central, non-elite and non-rational activity. Modernism historiography epistemology based on positivism, which with the premise of strict distinguish between subjectivity and objectivity to advocate "scientific historiography", "objective historiogrphy", etc. Through the theory of "discourse transition", "linguistic transition",etc. Post-modernism denied the "scientificalness" and "objectivity"of modernism historiography, redefined the nature and significance of history study, and redifferentiated the relationship between the historiography and other disciplines. Under the influence of post-modernism, the Chinese social history study showed the so-called "regional history steering", which is related with the changes of theories and methods in the American, Japanese and Chinese academic world, among which are the rising of China centered approach in America, the impact of market location theory, and "regional social history theory" in Japan. Meanwhile, it is consisted with the endogenous development of the Chinese social historiography. The Chinese social history always pursued the integrity. The pursuit of such a specific practice increasingly focused on regional society. Although the region identification in regional social history study was not consistent, its theories and methods were gradually developed and improved in the practice. Meanwhile, it greatly promoted the progress of the Chinese social history study and academic standards. The study of regional history and rural society became a new academic growth point in the Chinese social history study. Region study gradually revealed its shortcomings. Whether the practice was contrary to the integrity of the Chinese social history? Whether the inharmonious region researches and repeatability in topic selection would cause a great waste of resources? Some scholars even criticized its "village study orientation" caused "fragmentation" in the Chinese social history study. Confronted with changes and criticism, regional social history study headed to inter-regional cooperation study, regional comparative study, and "reversion to political history study", in order to achieve the unity between the local and global, so to exceed the existing problems, and revert to the pursuit of the general history.At the turn of the century, the Chinese social history study emerged the "history anthropology steering", which adapted to the regional and international requirements, and accessed to vitality. The formation and development of the history anthropology was due to the historical perspectives in anthropology study both at home and abroad, and the references to the anthropology theories and methods by the western and eastern historiography academic world; the history anthropology study in China emphasized the structure analysis, concerned about the combination of long periods with society changes, stressed the cultural analysis, focused on the study of the low society, explored the micro-social research, adopted the field survey methods, to stir up wave and after wave shocks in the Chinese social history study field. The increasingly important clan research in the Chinese social academic world gradually shifted from a modern perspective to the history anthropology method which focused on history construction. The impact of the history anthropology in the Chinese social history study gradually expanded, and became one of the most important research trends in the 21st century. However, the history anthropology study in China was one of the achievements of social-scientification of history study, and similarly faced with many challenges brought by social-scientification. The plight of western theories in China, limits of field operations, loss of historiography standards, conflict between the edge and center, tensions between the small communities and the big society, and the shelter of people by structural determinism,etc. badly shaken the roots of history anthropology. Especially in the context of the steering of social cultural history in western history academic world, history anthropology in China needed a new breakthrough.The Chinese social history study emerged some new tendencies in recent years. Social and cultural history orientation appeared. under the impact of western post-modernism, with great difficulties encountered by the scientific history represented by social history and cliometrics, the correction needs of history anthropology paradigm, and cultural history traditions, it was gradually developed. Social culture history already became relatively stable theory and method in the west. Compared with the annales school, it emerged the changes from structure analysis to culture interpretion, reversion to the study of human and emphasis on the psychology analysis of historical figures, from objective historiography to cultural relativism, and from historical data the evidences of history study to historical data the text. Social cultural history perspective greatly expanded the field of the Chinese social history study. The rising and development of women study, expansion of body research and medical social history, from the hydraulic society to study of hydraulic society, exploration of the social memory study, and reversion to the study of political and cultural history meant the formation of a new research trend. At the initial stage of the Chinese social culture history, that in the west was already the flower of yesterday. Social culture history encountered many restricts, such as criticism of the constructivism, broad culture concept, and "fragmentation" of history study. There was "beyond the cultural turn" in the west, while it was just started in China. At the same time to avoid the existing problems, it led to new prosperity in the Chinese social history study.The early 21st century, with the accumulation and precipitation of the Chinese social history study, historical data study in China also constructed. As the study objects and methods differed from other branches of history, its historical data study construction was also different. Social historical data study covers annalistic style, biographical historical data, administration historical data, concordances and series historical data, local chronicle data, anthology historical data, biographical information, notes, inscription data, a variety of archaeological data, data of fieldwork, contract documents, and so on. Historical data categories were roughly the same, but had different emphasis. Historical data of social history study put more emphasis on "folk literature", while the local chronicles, genealogy, contract documents, field survey data and other studies in the Chinese social history study played a fundamental role.After nearly 30 years'development, the Chinese social history study gradually became mature in the aspects of academic tradition, theories and methods, research features, platform and so on. Social history school began to appear. South school, north school, and the new social history school represented the main trend of the Chinese social history study. The various schools, within and between, were also undergoing the process of differentiation and integration. As the on-going big adjustment in history academic world, the Chinese social history academic world is also constantly adjusting the way forward. The adjustment is mainly reflected in the boundaries adduction of the Chinese social historiography, establishment of the history anthropology academic status, the rising and development the new socio-culture history, beyond post-modernism, the generation of localization problem consciousness, etc. The Chinese social historiography has already become a relatively opening disciplinary system, and embarked on a steady development. For a considerable period of time in the future, the fact that social history study is the most important research orientation in the Chinese history study will not change.
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