Abstracts of Major Articles

The Images of Modern China in British History Textbooks in the Past Thirty Years （ZHANG Lijuan）

Mastering Modern World History has been widely used in British schools from 1982 to the present. By analyzing the narrative of Chinese history in these textbooks, we can get a sense of the British representation of China in the past thirty years. China is portrayed as a troublesome country filled with foreign interference, civil war and disintegration from 1840 to 1949. China after 1949 is the focus of the textbooks. The image of“red China”and“the awakening dragon”are both represented in them.

The Image of Reformed China in French High School History Textbooks （YANG Shan）

China’s contemporary reform period has become a major focus and hot-debated issue in history textbooks for French high schools. By analyzing some critical theoretical and practical problems during the reform period, these textbooks have constructed a coherent historical narrative about China. As textbooks are under direct guidance of the French government, they have inevitably imposed the authoritative interpretation of historical achievements and limitations of China’s reform on young students, which caused some misunderstandings. Meanwhile, the selected materials and compilation principles for these textbooks also reveal the underlying value and cultural orientation of France.

China as Subject of the History Textbooks of the Federal Republic of Germany: Characteristics and Trends from 1970 to the Present （MICHAEL Wobring）

This paper attempts to provide an overview of the characteristics and changes in the representation of China in German history textbooks from the 1970s to the present. The focus here is on the handling of Chinese history in the context of contemporary history. The subject of the study is a selection of textbooks from the last five decades（Grammar School or Junior High School, five textbooks per decade, 9th and 10th grade）. In addition to a quantitative study, special features and characteristics of the representation of China are also highlighted and explained in quality-related terms.

“Ancient China”in the History Textbooks of Current Middle Schools in Mongolia （LIU Dinan）

On the whole, in Mongolia's current middle school history textbooks which introduce the ancient Chinese history from the Xia Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, ancient China emerges as a nation with long history and diverse culture, being the center of settled agricultural civilization. Meanwhile, it is obvious that Mongolia's current history textbooks pay special attention to the relationship between northern nomadic tribes and the Central Plain Dynasties when it comes to the history of ancient China. The comments on Yuan Dynasty’s influence in the history and those negative remarks on Qing Dynasty’s policies in Outer Mongolia imply the ideology of Mongolia, which can exert long-lasting and substantial influence in Mongolian citizens, especially in the young generation. Considering the deep impact of history textbooks on the youngsters’stereotype to another country, China and Mongolia should have more exchanges and cooperation in terms of history textbooks in order to reach mutual-beneficial collaboration while eliminate misunderstanding.

Inter-ethnic Politics of the Former Qin Dynasty and the War along the Feishui River （ZHOU Ying）

In the process of state-founding and its battle against the Yan state, the Former Qin Dynasty whose ruling class belonged to the Di ethnic group, absorbed a large number of xianbei and qiang ethnic groups and granted the latter huge amount of power in the court. This resulted in great hostilities against the two ethnic groups in the government, reflecting the inter-ethnic tensions. When Fu Jian decided to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he was confronted with an obvious ethnic division between his supporters and opponents; The armies were split among ethnic lines during the military campaign as well. Inter-ethnic politics had a great impact on the war along the Feishui River.

Shanghai University and the Leadership Training System during the Early Development of the Chinese Communist Party （LI Jian）

Shanghai University was founded in 1922 and lasted till 1927 when the Chinese Communist Party（CCP）and Kuomintang （KMT）were in harmony. Its primary goal at the time was the leadership training for the CCP. During the five years, Shanghai University played a major role in training a significant number of outstanding cadres for China's revolution. It was creative and effective in its training methods. It showed the inspiring“Spirit of Shanghai University”.

Chen Yinke and Tangutology （SUN Yida）

At the beginning of the 20th century, with the discoveries of a large number of Tangut literature, modern Tangut studies became popular in many countries. Chinese scholars, including Luo Zhenyu and his sons,took the lead in participating. Chen Yinke studied philology and ancient oriental languages, including Tangut, during his studies abroad. After returning to China, he provided Zhu Xizu and others with the international scholarship on Tangutology. In 1929, the National Library of Peiping rescued massive Tangut literature. Chen reviewed the collection, conducted preliminary research, and published two articles. Although he did not continue the research since then, the vision and methods he employed were of great significance.In addition, Chen also trained his student Wang Jingru in Tangutology and encouraged him to communicate with the international academic community. Wang gained international reputation and became the founder of modern Tangutology in China. Chen Yinke played a key role in the development of Tangutology, while his contribution in Tangut studies has not been fully discovered by the current scholarship.

Zhu Xizu and the Research on Shitong （QUAN Qingbo）

How to critically inherit and carry forward the theoretical achievements of traditional historiography was a major task that the Chinese historiography must face in the modern era. Zhu Xizu's research on and theoretical reference of Liu Zhiji's Shitong was an example in this respect. In his teaching practice, Zhu was particularly eager to learn more about Shitong’s views on the genre of history books, the official historian and the Bureau of National History. Zhu kept some old teachings, and also made new explorations. An in-depth examination of Zhu’s views not only helps to understand the historical methods employed by him,but also helps to recover the value of traditional historiography and its evolution in the modern transitional period.

Tutor and Opponent: The Double Images of Guo Moruo in Hou Wailu's Eyes （CHENG Pengyu）

In 1930, Guo Moruo published The Study on Ancient Chinese Society, marking the birth of Chinese Marxist historiography. In 1932, Hou Wailu read Guo Moruo's epoch-making work which strongly attracted his interest. Since then, he began to study the Chinese history and put forward his own criticism. In 1941,when Hou Wailu wrote Chinese Classical Social History and officially changed his study from economics to history, he not only regarded Guo Moruo as his model, but also tried to surpass Guo in the future. Hou Wailu considered Guo Moruo as both a tutor and an opponent. Hou’s academic attitude in line with dialectics well reflected the Chinese Marxist historiography and promoted its development.

Fang Dongmei from the Post-May 4th Perspective （YAN Chunchun）

The hotly debated question in the academic field about Fang Dongmei was whether he could be classified as a modern Neo-Confucian. In so far as his ideas are concerned, his life could be divided into two parts: 1930s and 1960s, respectively representing his early and late life. He could not be regarded as a Neo-Confucian in Hong Kong and Taiwan until the 1960s. Before the 1960s, he had enthusiastically advocated the combination of aestheticism and classicism. Aestheticism opposed ethics-centralism but supported the New Culture Movement, while classicism opposed both instrumental reason and the New Culture Movement. Therefore, Fang Dongmei during his early life could be considered as a post-May 4th person introspecting the May 4th Movement. In addition, he had proposed cultural progress by opening to the outside world, and advocated reconciliation of diverse civilizations. However, in his late life, he was devoted to the promotion of interior virtue and regarded Chinese culture as the core, which showed the inherent conflicts in his philosophy.

From Historical Knowledge to Common Sense: Bai Shouyi’s The Outline of General Chinese History（LI Juan）

Making historical knowledge common sense is one of the important ways in which historical research is related to daily life. The Outline of General Chinese History edited by Bai Shouyi helped the construction of the common sense among the Chinese people. The work has three major points: the dominant idea of Marxist historical materialism, the Chinese nation as a unified multi-ethnic country, and class struggle as the driving force of historical development. The first two points have become the core components of Chinese common sense. By analyzing The Outline of General Chinese History, we can find that the change from historical knowledge to common sense is the result of the interaction between academic research and the society, between the author and the reader. Furthermore, making historical knowledge stories and the emotional resonance among readers are of great importance to the process.

The She Documents in Zhejiang Province and the Studies of Regional Social History（WANG Lei, FENG Xiaocai, LI Shizhong）

The She documents are those produced and preserved by the She people, which include contracts, account books, tax receipts, licenses, certificates, daily-used books, genealogy, religious ceremony books, lyrics and scripts etc.. Up till now, more than 10,000 She documents have been found in Zhejiang province, and the potential quantity could reach 100,000 in total. Previously, scholars mostly used the She genealogy to discuss the origin of the group, their ancestor worship, and so on. In the last decade, more kinds of She documents have been discovered and published, especially a large number of economic documents like contracts and account books, which made the research field much broader. Socioeconomic issues such as the property right and the livelihood of the She group could be investigated more deeply. The She group could either be examined in the regional social history or brought into the larger national framework.

The Transformation of Contemporary Russian Historiography （MA Longshan）

The contemporary Russian historiography refers to the over 30-year historiographical development from Gorbachev's reform period to the current Putin period. Its main research object includes the historiographical reform and transformation triggered by the political crisis and the formation of the new history. To counter the discussions that avoid the Russian historiographical transformation, this article claims that such transformation was comprehensive. It not only changes the historical theory, methodology, but also changes the writings on specific historical affairs. Our research should not be confined to the so-called “history of contemporary Russian historical reflection”, but should focus on the whole transformation process.

The Reasons of the Byzantine Migration Policy in the Greek Area in the Early 9th Century （CHEN Yue）

In the early 9th century, the Byzantine empire began the intensive migration in the Greek region.Theophanes believed that the reason of the migration was the economic greed of Emperor Nikephorus I.Considering the hostility of Theophanes toward Nikephorus I, this paper argues that the migration policy of the Byzantine empire in the Greek region had more political and cultural reasons than the economic one. It was a strategic measure to stabilize the western frontier of the Byzantine empire when the emperor was confronted with the reality of the two empires. The policy filled the power vacuum in the Greek region by forcefully importing registered Byzantine subjects to the place. It enhanced the political and cultural influence of the Byzantine empire, and realized its effective control over the Greek region.

One Side of Japan's China History Studies during the Wartime: An Investigation on the Chinese History under the Alien Rule （WANG Meng）

An influential book Chinese History under the Alien Rule, which was written by the Japanese historian Miyazaki Ichisada, et al, and compiled by the East Asian Institute, was published in the latter period of the Pacific War. In order to attract the young China historians to work for the militarism, the Japanese military and political authorities entrusted some academic projects to the historians. They were given enough fund for the projects, and the research outcomes were used for militaristic policy-making. The personal networks between the Japanese political, military and academic circles had closely connected the intellectual elite to the militarism, which should not be ignored when talking about the China Studies in Japan in that era.

The Johnson Administration’s Responses to the Indian Nuclear Development （BAI Youchun）

As China had developed its nuclear weapon and conducted the first nuclear test successfully during the Johnson administration, the U.S. worried that India might also develop its own nuclear weapon due to the security concern. In order to prevent India from obtaining nuclear power, the Johnson administration tried to eliminate its motives by assuring India’s security. However, the U.S. government gradually discarded this idea because of the internal disagreements. Moreover, the Johnson administration did not support India's proposition that it should have a joint safety guarantee from the U.S. and the Soviet Union through The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In the end, the Johnson administration could not solve the Indian security problem, which made India start its own nuclear development.

The Criticisms against the Federal Judiciary in Early U.S. History （LIN Bin）

From the perspective of the modern state, the existence and expansion of the American federal judiciary is taken for granted. The improving national judicial system would satisfy various needs of the nation.Meanwhile it could maintain the rule of law and guarantee fairness and justice. Such historical process was usually called progress and somewhat worthy of praise. However, the actual history was much more complex and uncertain. In the ratification debates, the opponents of federal constitution were very suspicious of the federal judiciary. They believed that the federal courts would promote the centralization of power. Furthermore, it was difficult for ordinary citizens to completely comprehend the language of law. They also could not directly control Supreme Court judges. In general, opponents were afraid that the federal courts would injure both the rights of people and state sovereignty. Though with fierce resistance, they finally failed to prevent the establishment of federal judiciary. Since then, the state governments opposing the judgments of federal courts became the new form of struggles. By studying the criticisms from opponents, we can understand the federal judiciary of the early U.S. history from a different angle.

Peace and Anarchy: Reexamination on the Expansion of the Roman Republic （WANG Yue）

Military conquest in Republican Rome is one of the intensely debated subjects. The aggressive pattern has been well accepted by the academic world since the 1980s, based on two main factors: the economic profit and the military culture. The structural arguments always appeared with inadequate factual arguments to explain the Roman expansion. However, the character and effects of the wars appeared to shift from the 2nd century BC. Roman peace came into being in Italy and inner provinces, with its profound transition from military society to civilian society. But the ancient international situation was far more complicated,such as the anarchy and competition in the Hellenistic World. As long as wars among Hellenistic dynasties and their ideology of conquest were well-maintained, Roman expansion was not an exception.

Making the Past Serve the Present: The Use of Ancient Roman History in the American Revolution（ZHAO Xinyang）

Since the British colonies were founded in North America, classical culture had been implanted into the New world. The U.S. founders was influenced by the classical culture, and used it to promote the independence during the American Revolution. The history of ancient Rome was much emphasized by the founders. Under the influence of the cyclical view and tranlatio imperii, the founders evaluated their situation by comparing it to the ancient Roman history. They regarded the British Empire as the embodiment of the Roman Republic, and claimed they were the followers of the Roman Republican spirit. The founders used Roman history to justify the revolution, shaped the revolutionary ideology, and influenced the emotion of people in the colonies. In addition, the ancient Roman history was later instrumental to the American nation building.

Aristotle’s Regime Based on the Difference Between the Rich and the Poor （XIE Guangyun）

Aristotle's regime, meaning the functional organization of the polis, whose core was a civic group composed of executors of the supreme ruling power of the polis. Different regimes have different arrangements of power. The polis often had fewer rich people and more poor ones. Based on the power of the rich and the poor, Aristotle divided the system into monarchy, nobility and authentic republic, as well as the deviation from the authentic republic: tyrant, oligarchs and civilian regime. The tyrant regime was despotism, treating the people like slaves. The oligarchy regime was controlled by those with large properties. The civilian regime, on the other hand, was ruled by the poor mass. According to Aristotle, the most authentic regime was the fairest one. It must follow the majority of civilians, and serve the interests of the whole.