Study On Gu Jiegang's Views On The Historian's Quality

Gu Jiegang,as a famous historian in contemporary China,has much insight into the historian's quality.Historian's quality is a seemingly simple but overall factor in Chinese historical theory.If a historian's mind is not good,the foundation of his studies is unstable.With the development of Liu Zhiji and the perfection of Zhang Xuecheng,the theory of historian's quality has formed a complete system covering "four long historians".I read through Gu Jiegang's Letters Collection,a newly published historical material in mainland China,and find that Gu Jiegang has a new understanding on the historian's quality.Firstly,Gu Jiegang advocated that historians should have the spirit of suspicion of the ancients and be able to find problems in their correspondence with Hu Shi;when he communicated with Qian Xuantong,he pointed out that historians should not be superstitious about the ancients,but should have the courage to break down the obsolescence;when he communicated with Fu Sinian and others,he suggested that historians use advanced western scientific methods to textualize ancient history and promote the interaction between Chinese Learning and Western.Secondly,in his communication with Qian Mu,Gu Jiegang advocated that historians should carry on their later studies and cultivate talents for the historiography circle;in his communication with Bai Shouyi,he suggested that historians should teach students in accordance with their aptitude and give specific guidance to different young scholars;and in his communication with Tong Shuye,he pointed out that historians should have the capacity to accommodate different academic viewpoints.Finally,Gu Jiegang in his correspondence with Yang Xiangkui called on historians to assume social responsibility and save the nation and the nation in the time of national disaster;and in his correspondence with his family,he advocated that historians should disseminate popular historical books,stimulate the national sentiment and sense of resisting insults,and make the popularization of history a lifelong career.Looking at Gu Jiegang's views on the quality of historians,they are different from those of his predecessors and contemporaries.He inherited his predecessor's theory of historian literacy,and developed and attached importance to the role consciousness of historians.Compared with his contemporaries,it was extraordinary that he advocated historians should dare to doubt ancient times and stay away from the politics,but he did not know western historiography theory deeply because of his limited horizons.Gu Jiegang's views on the historians' s quality have both shining points and shortcomings,which are closely related to his personality,academic attainments,geographic factors and the environment of the times.