Danto, History, and The Tragedy of Human Existence

Philosophy of history is the Cinderella of contemporary philosophy. Philosophers rarely believe that the issues dealt with by philosophers of history are matters of any great theoretical interest or urgency. In their view philosophy of history rarely goes beyond the question of how results that have already been achieved elsewhere can or should be applied to the domain of historical writing. Moreover, contemporary philosophers of history have done desperately little to dispel the low opinion that their colleagues have of them. In this essay I argue that Arthur Danto is the exception confirming the rule, for Danto's philosophy of representation may help us understand how texts relate to what they are about. The main shortcoming of (twentieth‐century) philosophy of language undoubtedly is that it never bothered to investigate the philosophical mysteries of the text. The writing of history is a philosophical goldmine and we must praise Danto for having reminded us of this.     

The Structure of the Deuteronomistic History

The author of Joshua-Kings structured his history after a land-monarchy-centralized worship rubric. Joshua-Judges and 1-2 Kings bracket the books of Samuel as parallel panels: just as the Deuteronomic promise of land is realized in Joshua only to be compromised in Judges, so the Deuteronomic promise of centralized worship is realized in 1 Kings 1-11 only to be compromised in 1 Kings 12-2 Kings 25. 1 and 2 Samuel is an extended chiasm, the pivotal concern of which is the Davidic monarchy. The Samuel chiasm is itself tied to the parallel panels.     

《北洋军阀史》的撰写缘由

我虽是历史专业出身,但在读大学时对北洋军阀史却了解很少,仅仅只在课余读过一本丁江所写的《民国军事近纪》,约略知道一点袁世凯北洋军和直皖奉三系军阀的情况而已。1949年9月,我结束了在华北大学的政治学习后。被分配到由该校副校长范澜教授主持的历史研究室,当一名研究生。研究室分通史和近代史两个方向,我被指定到近代史方向。     

The Eslington Sword and the Kingdom of Northumbria

NEW DISCOVERIES may indicate the location of a previously unknown early medieval burial ground in central Northumberland. Objects discovered during the course of metal-detecting include an assemblage with a folded, pattern-welded sword and zoomorphic shield mount. Excavation indicated near total destruction of deposits as a result of post-medieval land-use and only Bronze-Age burials inserted into bedrock remained intact. Three putative early medieval burials are identified here, with the largest assemblage associated with a high-status male. The sword and shield mount from this assemblage are comparable with finds from high-status burials in southern and eastern England. Together with the landscape context of the site, the assemblage provides evidence for the burial practices of an emerging Northumbrian elite in the late 6th century ad.     

国际权势格局的当今变动与相关的理论、历史和现实思考

主要出于几方面的基本原因,“ 9·11”事件以来美国的权势有了最新的更进一步增长,其霸权性优势的支配或严重影响范围出现了新的跃进式扩展,无论就地理范围还是就问题领域来说都是如此。这一事态以差不多空前的尖锐程度,提出了一个头等重要的问题,那就是在可以明确预见的一个未来时期里,能否在世界政治总体及其各主要局部上真正成功地制衡美国的过大优势和强权政治?历史实例考察和理论分析都提示,答案是否定的。在此情况下,中国不要“当头”,不要冒失,而需要认真考虑、试验、采纳和优化总体制衡以外的大战略选择。与此同时,中国必须发展改革,加强国力,后一方面特别包括下决心全面和大幅度地改善和建设军事力量。我们在这两方面需要做的一切,除了其他根本性的目的以外,是为了准备迎接在较长远的未来必定会到来的总体制衡的大历史时机。     

Climate,History, and Culture: The Power of Change

Global climate change and its consequences for humankind opens up a research field for exploring the diverse dimensions and forces of change through time. Chief among the objects of inquiry is how climatic shifts impact on ecological and social structures and developments and what human agencies are able to unfold under given conditions. Conclusions from such reciprocities can help to deliver a differentiated approach to the inroads of anthropogenic climate change. Central to this enterprise are such analytic perspectives as the discipline of anthropology can bring to researching the impact of climate change on human societies.     

环境史：历史、理论和方法

环境和生态危机是当今世界最引人关注的突出问题之一。它不但促成了席卷全球的环保运动，还引起哲学、经济学、政治学、法学，社会学、人类学、伦理学等学科的广泛兴趣，历史学也不例外。环境史的形成和发展已成为国际史学界70年代以来最引人关注的新领域之一。我国早已把环境保护定为基本国策。其他学科研究环境问题的成果层出不穷，历史学的反应却相当迟缓。本文将从全球视野对环境史的兴起、发展、理论、方法及其存在的问题进行初步的分析。