Study Of Zhou Muzhai’s Historiography

Zhou Muzhai(1910-1941)was a left-wing intellectual in the Republican academy,who,in addition to his critical classical miscellaneous writings on current affairs,produced such historical monographs as The Recent History of China,The History of Modern Chinese Political Development,A Short History of the Chinese National Revolution,The National Liberation Movement in the Far East,and Zheng Chenggong.By studying Zhou’s historical writings,it can be found that Zhou applied the materialistic view of history to his historical research,showing a progressive ideological tendency as well as the aim of applying the world to the world.In the 1930 s,when Zhou was active,his writings reflected a major ideological shift due to the control of the Nationalist government authorities and the Japanese counterfeiters.In his early work,A Recent History of China,he wrote academically on the Three Principles of people,but by the time Shanghai was reduced to an isolated island,Zhou had become a devoted advocate of Marxism,and in The History of Modern Chinese Political Development,he affirmed Marxism and Leninism,quoted from the writings of Chinese Communist leaders,and commented on historical events with a materialist dialectic.Zhou’s historical writings contain a distinctly nationalist historiographical Zheng Chenggong hopes to use Zheng’s image as a national hero to enhance the national honor of the people;A Short History of the Chinese National Revolution and The National Liberation Movement in the Far East use the history of national revolutions in China and abroad to inspire the people’s anti-Japanese enthusiasm and national sentiment.As a "non-mainstream" historical researcher,Zhou Muzhai’s historical achievements,although unable to reach the influence of "mainstream" historians,still have a special contribution to the development of modern Chinese historiography.