Historiography And Literature

The relationship between historiography and literature was revealed as three forms or paradigms in history. Historiography and Literature were inseparable and reciprocally include each other for the traditional historians. From the perspective of modern Historiography, however, they were completely separated with each other. But for the post-modern Historiography at the end of 20th century, history was recognized as cognate with literature. This kind of idea echoes the traditional way of understanding of the relationship between them. The reason for the evolution of the relationship between them in historiography is that the designation and understanding of the essence of Historiography is vary for the historians in history, particularly in view of the inclination and pursuit of the scientification of historiography, which is main cause for the forming of tensions and conflicts between historiography and literature. More specifically, these conflicts are all about the question of how these two elements live in a compatible way in the historical narrative, namely, the pursuit of the scientification of historiography and the artistry of literature. The absolute persistence of scientification of historiography makes itself on the road far way from literature. The negative impacts of this kind of thinking were reflected in the era of post-modern Historiography. This kind of reflection or rectification, however, at some point, is another type of abnormal knowledge of relations between historiography and literature.The turning point of people’s knowledge about relationship between historiography and literature parallels to the transitional period from traditional historiography to the modern one. One important issue to inquiry in the development of the scientification of historiography is the relationship between historiography and literature. The Chinese modern historiography, whether it be the historical school which gives its emphasize on the ideas or the historical school which focus on the historical materials, gives its own interpretation to the issue from different views. Generally speaking, historians’view of the relationship between literature and historiography in this period is more scientific and modernity than the view of tradition historiography, and more objectivity and rational than the view of Post-modern historiography. Chen Yinque and Hu Shi are two key figures of the historical material school. They were known for their theories about "investigating history" instead of "editing history". The investigation of the relations between history and literature for this school is thus limited in the circle of the study of historical materials. The school of Historical Materialism, however, not only values the historical material in the literary, but also focus on the investigation of its value from perspectives of social history. This investigation based on the theoretical construction of relations between historiography and literature, and the research of the literary from such views as conception of history, historical method, and historical thoughts. The school thus reveals its explicit character of modernity. "Interpreting history" and "editing history" are the mainstream in the historians of the school of Historical Materialism. This allows them to give great importance on the valuable role of the artistry of literary played in the historical narrative. And this point is precisely the focus and impetus of the relation between history and literary in the category of historiography.Jian Bozan, who is a prominent Chinese Marxist historian, also a famous representative in both history and literature, lives in this transition period. He himself has a deeply heritage of traditional culture, and was heavily influenced by the traditional historiography in his research. Meanwhile, he insisted that the historical materialism is the foundation of historical philosophy in his study. Thus we can see that the deeply influence of modernity in his thoughts. As an outstanding historian, he extended his research beyond the field of historiography. The literary studies, historical prose, historical comments, political essays, travels prose, and poetry are all his academic concern. And he left with us works about them. In his writings, the relations between history and literature were talked about. And through this, the integration of traditional historiography and new one was clearly exhibited. This becomes the main characteristic of his historical narrative.Jian Bozan’s work of An Outline of Chinese History(2 Vols) which guided by the Historical Materialism, is a classic of historiography. As a historian who lives in the period of transition from traditional historiography to the modern one, Jian Bozan skillfully combined the traditional narrative with the modern historiography in his historical narrative. That is to say, Historical Materialism is his guidance in his writings, plentiful materials of history is the foundation on which his works based. These character reveals his style of historical narrative, which is, "the combination between historiography and literature ". This character was vividly shown in his works of prose, the way of novel he used in the description of historical events and figures, the imagination of the historical scenario based on the sound historical material, and the artistic expression of the historical thought.In the matter of the relationship between literature and historiography, Jian Bozan valued much the historical materials kept in literary works, which attitude was manifested most significantly in his studies of dramas. His studies of dramas bore a characteristic of using dramas as a confirmation and supplement of histories. He believed that the history reality in literary works is the basis of art reality, therefore in his studies he would correct the historical faults of dramas, thus bearing another characteristic of using histories as a confirmation of dramas. Jian Bozan wrote every comment of dramas as a historian, as a consequence of which, his studies have a particular value which differs from literary critics, that he not only used principles of historical materialism and historism in his drama studies, but also explain its ideology from the point of view of a historian. His enthusiasm for drama study has went beyond historian’s utilitarianism, and had a literary insight, especially for chronicle plays, he paid attention to history reality as well as the aesthetic features of dramas, which confirmed to the nature of drama that drama is drama rather than history.It’s also the characteristic of Jian Bozan’s study for novels that appling historical theories and thoughts when studing literature. As the same as Li Xifan, Deng Tuo,et al, Jin Bozan’s study for A Dream in Red Mansions applied class conflict to the investigations of the whole society, by which he was classified into those scholars who support "citizenism" by Hongloumeng scholarship circle, yet he differed from the latters which earring a clear aim in mind focused in class criticizing and citizen ideology, he wielded historical materialism more maturely during the study of A Dream in Red Mansions. Though his study of A Dream in Red Mansions was a critique of Hu Shi’s textual research, both of the two took historical opinions and methods, but different from Hu Shi who summarized the theme of the novel as a history of a family, he argued that A Dream in Red Mansions was an epitome of Chinese history during the first half of 18th century. In the study of The Scholars, he combined "confirm history by literature" and "explain literature by history", expounded the imperial examination system and bureaucratic establishment, which was a revelation of the dark reality of the society then made in terms of superstructure.Apart from history works, Jian Bozan’s literary endowment devoted him to create literary works, which became a carrier of his explainations of the relationship between literature and historiography, in other words, his literary writing was a practice of his notions of literary history. His prose writing became a tool for recording the history of his time, we can tell today that his memorizing proses, political essays and Travels have precious value for historical materials. He used literary writing as a way of realising his aspiration of the pratical use of historiography, he showed a strong sense of duty as a historian in his works, his historical essays were "insinuating history" before the founding of the PRC, after that, he wroted historical essays for researching race relationship. It is worth to mention Jian Bozan’s historical prose Visting History in Inner Mongolia, which is a model in the conversion of traditional history proses into modern ones, the revelation of this article for writing historical proses is the explaination that the unique charm and value of historical proses style and text lie in the respect of history itself.There are profound intention of the relationship between literature and historiography in the works of Jian Bozan, form the point of view of historiography, whether it is historical revivification, historical narration or aspiring for the pratical use of history, historiography can not be divided thoroughly from literature. Jian Bozan’s view of the relationship between literature and historiography, formed in the harmonic of the tradition historiography and modern historiography, has illuminating value to shift the historical narration deviate from the historical objectivity which interference by Post-modern historiography.