A Study On The Theory Of Social Evolution In The History Textbooks Of The Early Republic Of China

The theory of evolution occupies a central position in Chinese intellectual circles.As a tool for constructing the concept of national history,the history textbooks in the early years of the Republic of China introduced evolutionary thoughts to interpret history,constructing evolutionary narratives with characteristics of the early Republic of China,and disseminated evolutionary thoughts and evolutionary history narratives to the general public.The establishment of the "axiomatic" world view and the unfolding of the revolution in historical theory was the ideological background.Shanghai became the publishing center of modern China.The fierce market competition in the textbook field by publishing organizations represented was the economic background.The imperial examination system came to an end,and traditional intellectuals gradually transformed into the modern ones.A considerable number of them entered newspapers,schools,publishing institutions and other new cultural institutions to earn a living,which constituted their cultural background.The reform of education governance,the change of educational purpose,the establishment of the Renzi·Guichou school system,and the establishment of the textbook editing and reviewing system was the educational background.The history textbooks of the early Republic of China contained rich elements of the theory of evolution.First of all,in terms of world view,the theory of evolution as an "axiom" has become the most insightful theory in explaining historical phenomena,and it drives the editors of textbooks to explore the universal "laws of history"."Groups" and nation-states are indispensable as the main body of the evolutionary process.Secondly,in the ideas of history,history is not a cyclical process,but a linear phased development process with final development goals.This course is considered to be an optimistic course that continues to evolve from the low-level to the high-level.The ancient times no longer represented the golden age.As a result,the compilation style of history textbooks has changed drastically.Third,in the ideas of civilization,the concept of "civilization" is combined with the idea of evolution,and the object of historical writing extends from politics and military to many aspects of society,such as institutions,academic culture,economics and industries,etc.The traditional writing of political history was also under the impact of the historical revolution,highlighting the evolutionary significance of the nation as the subject of evolution.Finally,in sense of values,history textbooks began to pay attention to the competition that played a key role in the evolutionary process.At the same time,textbooks changed the traditional focus on virtue and began to pay special attention to traditional martial arts.How to deal with the contradiction between the theory of evolution from the outside and the construction of the local national concept has become an increasingly important issue.Textbook editors are showing ambivalence on this issue.On the one hand,textbook editors used the concepts of civilization and evolution to transform textbook narratives.Chinese history has become a universal part of the world.European and American powers have become the top positions in the evolutionary sequence of civilizations;on the other hand,they have emphasized the cruelty Continuing the concept of national quintessence in the national competition in China,expressing the desire to establish a nation-state.The evolutionary narrative in the history textbooks of the early Republic of China has the following characteristics.Firstly,the means of history textbooks to convey the theory of evolution is not the common argument and deduction in newspapers and publications,but through narrative methods.Secondly,the evolutionary narratives in the textbooks,on the one hand,highlight the consciousness of salvation of the people of the time,and on the other hand,reflect the face of enlightenment in the adherence to the republican regime.On the negative side,the evolutionary narrative of history textbooks at this time has the transitional characteristics of the new and the old.