从《古史辨》前三册看“古史辨”运动的一个转向

时下学界对“疑古”思潮的反思,仍大多局限在“疑古”派的某些早期的观点和对中国文化传统的破坏上。这是作为“意识形态”的“疑古”思潮,只是它的一个层面。本文认为,从《古史辨》第一册到第二册之间,面对考古发现和新材料不断涌现的挑战,“疑古”思潮发生了一个重要的转向,即从意识形态的思想冲击到学术典范的建立,从而把它的视角主要集中在人们观念中的“上古”。《古史辨》第三册反映了顾颉刚“疑古”方法论的逐步完善,回到文献考订后,“层累造成古史”理论得到了发展。     

跨越疑古思潮 重建黄帝世系

以古史辨派为代表的疑古思潮,认为黄帝世系是“层累地造成的中国古代史”,是战国秦汉间的人所伪造。并认为大禹以前纯为神话时代,毫无历史可言。在此观点影响下,出现了各式各样的华夏形成多元论,成为当今史学界压倒的观点。本文批驳了古史辨派的观点,认为夏、商、周同祖同源的中国古史黄帝世系是不可否认的史实。     

现代性与“古史辨”

顾颉刚在“古史辨”中以进化史观作为怀疑古史的理论基础,以科学理性的认知观作为疑、信古史的基本准则,以由进化观念演变而来的历史演进法作为考察古史的思维工具,并以假设与求证的方法作为考辨古史的主要方法,这在历史认知与解释层面上鲜明地体现出现代性特征,并使得顾颉刚的史学观念、思维方法在学术理念与治学方法上大大超越了以清代汉学家及疑古学者、晚清今文家为代表的中国传统疑古辨伪之学,将中国的古史研究推进到一个新的高度。同时,顾颉刚在运用其具有现代性的史学观念、方法时,因应其进化论的预设而过度使用“默证法”,在历史演进法的使用上囿于“一元单向”演进模式的窠臼,在假设与求证中未能严格遵循实事求是的原则。这些都影响到“古史辨”理论与方法在古史研究中的有效性。     

饶宗颐的“三重证据法”及其实践——论饶宗颐古史研究的贡献北大核心CSSCI

饶宗颐最初与古史辨派阵营有较多接触,后来他的古史观发生改变,转而反思疑古运动存在的问题。饶宗颐的古史研究,旨趣近于“罗王之学”,走的是“新证”一派的道路。在王国维“二重证据法”的基础上,饶氏将出土材料分为有文字材料与无文字材料两种,提出“三重证据法”及“五重证据法”。饶氏致力于通过传世文献、出土文献及考古遗存等材料进行古史重建。他重新思考古史的时代框架及其传说流变,并就古地理开展了一系列新的讨论,体现了对“三重证据法”的实践。     

饶宗颐的“三重证据法”及其实践——论饶宗颐古史研究的贡献

饶宗颐最初与古史辨派阵营有较多接触,后来他的古史观发生改变,转而反思疑古运动存在的问题。饶宗颐的古史研究,旨趣近于“罗王之学”,走的是“新证”一派的道路。在王国维“二重证据法”的基础上,饶氏将出土材料分为有文字材料与无文字材料两种,提出“三重证据法”及“五重证据法”。饶氏致力于通过传世文献、出土文献及考古遗存等材料进行古史重建。他重新思考古史的时代框架及其传说流变,并就古地理开展了一系列新的讨论,体现了对“三重证据法”的实践。     

古史辨派的史学遗产与中国上古史体系的建设

以顾颉刚为首的古史辨派是我国20世纪20-40年代古史研究的主要派别,对我国史学尤其是上古史研究影响深远。疑古精神、对进步史观的积极追求与接纳的态度、对古史资料考信而后用之的原则、注重历史与考古研究结合的治史方法,以及建设新古史体系的设想,是古史辨派留给我们的史学遗产。新古史体系的建设道路并不平坦,搞好新古史体系建设较为根本的对策就是在总结和继承古史辨派优秀史学遗产的基础上,坚持理论创新,切实加强考古学家与历史学家的沟通与合作。     

顾颉刚的"疑古辨伪"思想与胡适的学术影响

20世纪20年代,顾颉刚提出"层累地造成的中国古史"学说,对封建古史观念提出了大胆的怀疑和批判,在学术界引起了极大的震动.顾颉刚的"疑古辨伪"思想,深受胡适的学术思想和学术方法的影响.     

顾颉刚的沿革地理研究与“古史辨”关联发覆

顾颉刚的沿革地理研究与其"古史辨"宗旨一脉相承。20世纪30年代,顾颉刚对古代地理问题的征实性考证,并非转向"建设"或"释古"的表现,而是其辨伪视角在历史演进方法基础上的调整,即顾颉刚研究沿革地理,乃是要利用比此前所用思想、观念等历史演进系统,更为客观可靠的古代地理知识为依据,来拆解传统古史说与客观上古史的关联,进一步坐实其战国、秦、汉造伪说。围绕顾颉刚及"古史辨"而出现的诸如"破坏"、"建设"、"疑古"、"释古"等概念,都有其特定的时代内涵,不宜仅取其字面意思随意使用。     

日本“疑古”思潮与“古史辨运动”

"古史辨运动"的兴起是否受到了日本"疑古"思潮的直接影响,近年来逐渐成为学术界共同关注的一个话题,时至当下尚未盖棺论定。从现有资料来看,"古史辨运动"兴起之际的胡适、钱玄同、顾颉刚虽然通过间接方式对日本"疑古"思潮中的一些情况,如《崔东壁遗书》新校印本的出版、白鸟库吉的"尧舜禹抹杀论"、先秦天文历法论战以及内藤湖南的"加上原则"有所了解,但了解并不等于受其直接影响。要之,"古史辨运动"与日本"疑古"思潮之间并不存在实质性的学缘关系。     

顾颉刚与考古学

顾颉刚先生从中国考古学兴起时就非常熟知考古学的发展状况,并且擅长运用考古学的最新成果论证古史辨派的观点,甚至继王国维之后提出了"三重论证"的理论,在此基础上他倡导古史辨派与考古学"在学术界中应当分工",并以古史辨派的辨伪学研究作为考古学的必备基础,表明古史辨派与考古学的关系尚有其复杂的一面。这种情况一方面导致了古史辨派学者古史研究中的若干缺憾,另一方面由顾颉刚先生所提出的疑难问题亦足以引起考古学界的关注,至今仍不失其一定的积极意义。     

"The Ancient Economy": The Problem and the Fraud

Periodically since about 1860 the debate about "The Ancient Economy" has raged vehemently as oikos controversy , Bücher-Meyer debate , primitivists versus modernists or simply as the Moses Finley debate . Therefore, Hopkins rightly remarked: "The ancient economy is an academic battleground. The contestants campaign under various colours--apologists, Marxists, modernizers, primitivists Even within schools, there are sects." This still seems to be the case, although the author of this article does not belong to any school or sect but is looking for an anti-ideological controllable scientific truth. Whatever that may be it is, certainly, a critical venture where "fraud" is at stake. In 1986, by symbolic accident the year of Finley's death, he dared to start a new period in the debate and at present the controversy with all its usual tricks seems at its zenith again. Did the bell toll for the last round in this beloved controversy? After 150 years of debate, one can never be sure about that, but we will try again. The subject matter is no less important than the question "to whom belongs antiquity?" or "for what purposes does one study its history or culture?" The following article wants to introduce the debate in a few sentences, question its present relevancy as the Moses Finley debate and provoke readers into another one.     

Geoarchaeology of Beirut's ancient harbour,Phoenicia

This paper presents geoarchaeological results from the ancient harbour of Beirut (Lebanon). As at Sidon, knowledge of Beirut's ancient tell has advanced significantly over the past decade, thanks namely to redevelopment of the city centre and excavations centred on the modern port. In spite of this research, understanding of the city's coastal palaeoenvironments during antiquity is poor. Buried Iron Age harbourworks presently 300 m from the sea attest to pronounced coastal changes during the past 3000 years. These processes have been significantly accentuated during the last two centuries by redevelopment of the port, which remains in use some 5000 years after its foundation. Here we elucidate the coastal stratigraphy east and west of the Bronze Age tell to yield new insights into the evolution of the Beirut seaboard, in addition to the complex history of human–environment interactions. These chronostratigraphic data are subsequently used to (1) precisely locate the main anchorage haven during antiquity; and (2) propose a chronology for its evolution.     

No laughing matter: Antiquity in Greek political cartoons

Abstract

This article discusses the deployment of antiquity in Greek political cartoons covering the period from 1974 to the present. It argues that in order to function cartoons must rely on preconceptions and widespread popular beliefs; they thus can be seen as an important source for the investigation of popular stereotypes of antiquity. Moreover they engage actively in the construction of visual memory through the visualization of abstract notions. Greek political cartoons are shown often to use the most easily recognisable themes from antiquity and rely on its moral authority (stemming from the position of antiquity in the national imagination and public discourse) in order to critique and ridicule policies and politicians. The authority of antiquity itself, however, is rarely questioned. Cartoons and antiquity are not involved in a simple relationship of representation; theirs is rather a relationship of engagement, a relationship of veneration and submission which constructs a reality where the dividing lines between the past and the present are blurred, a reality which is structured by the powerful symbolic order of national memory.     

Les Ombres Portées et la Renaissance. Un Trait Culturel Peut-Il Revivre ?

The history of art reveals that painters have rarely tried to depict projected shadows. They appeared in the art of ancient Greece, in Greco-roman art, and then disappeared until the 15(th) century. None can be found in Asian art or any other non European art. Yet to date, no scholar has reflected on this troubled history, one that provides a specific link between the Renaissance and classical antiquity. This paper seeks to fill this gap by studying projected shadows as "cultural markers" with a specific history.     

Footpaths Marked by Changes in Geological Clasts as Indicators of Mobility in Tenerife,Canary Islands

Studies on the mobility of past populations are useful in the interpretation of trade and lifestyle. Preservation of ancient paths is uncommon. In Tenerife, a volcanic island of the Canary Archipelago, ancient paths are still preserved, due to the dry climatic conditions and the presence of extensive lava fields in inhospitable areas of the Island. The Guanches who inhabited this island before the Spanish conquest, those surviving in the highlands after the conquest, and modern goatherders, utilised a still identifiable net of paths to access the central mountains. Clasts in the beds of these paths have suffered variable abrasion, depending on the time during which the path was used and on the number of people and/or animals that have walked on it. We estimated roundness of 1819 clasts collected at different parts of the net of paths crossing different lava fields of known antiquity. Significant differences in roundness of clasts among different parts of the paths allowed an inference about the relative importance of each of the paths constituting the net. Therefore, assessment of roundness of the clasts of the beds of paths may aid in the understanding of the migrations of people.     

DRAMATIC ELEMENTS IN POLYBIUS' GENERAL HISTORY: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON THE MODEL OF THE CONNECTIVITY OF THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLD

The Histories composed by Polybius is the only extant historical work from the ancient world which directly criticizes the historical tradition "tragic history." Modern researchers generally agree that the reflections and criticism of Polybius on tragic history is one predominant feature of his "objective history." Nevertheless, in the structure of general history in The Histories, Polybius himself also uses certain dramatic elements, such as stage props, selection of historical materials, fictional asides and the tragic theme of tyche, to rationalize Romans' dramatic conquest of the whole Mediterranean within fifty-three years. Polybius' failure to exclude dramatic elements from The Histories reflects the limitation of the historiographic thoughts of Greek historians as well as the complex relationship between literature and history in the Hellenistic cultural context.At present, Global, Entangled and Transcultural History are commonly used key words in modern history, and also ancient history has partly taken over their ideas and concepts. With the present bibliographical survey of recent literature on the topic with regard to antiquity, the chances and challenges of conducting research under this perspective are examined.     

Antique nation? 'Hellenes' on the eve of Greek independence and in twelfth-century Byzantium

Abstract

The Hellenic nation, as constituted in the early nineteenth century, is a recent construct; its name and the traditions to which it lays claim are ancient. In the context of modern debates about the antiquity of nations, and particularly the work of Anthony D. Smith, this paper sets out to make a comparative examination of the contexts and semantic field(s) in which the term 'Hellene' came to be revived by Greek-speakers, as a term of communal self-designation, at two widely separated turning-points in their history. All Greek quoted in the main text is also given in my own translation.     

Creation,Virginity and Diet in Fourth-Century Christianity: Basil of Ancyra’s On the True Purity of Virginity

Shaw explores the connections between dietary theory, Christian ascetic fasting, gender and the ideology of virginity in late antiquity, especially as represented in the fourth-century treatise on virginity by Basil of Ancyra. With its remarkable attention to the practicalities of embodiment and sexual renunciation, Basil’s treatise is distinctive in its genre. After discussing Basil’s treatise of creation, the nature of male and female sexual attraction and physiology, the control of bodily passions and the value of ascetic fasting for reducing desire, Shaw sets these topics in the context of ancient medical theory, gender and the theology of paradise.     

HOW NINETEENTH‐CENTURY GERMAN CLASSICISTS WROTE THE JEWS OUT OF ANCIENT HISTORY

This essay considers why Jewish antiquity largely fell outside the purview of ancient historians in the Germanies for over half a century, between 1820 and 1880, and examines the nature of those portraits that did, in fact, arise. To do so, it interrogates discussions of Jewish antiquity in this half‐century against the background of those political and national values that were consolidating across the German states. Ultimately, the article claims that ancient Jewish history did not provide a compelling model for the dominant (Protestant) German scholars of the age, which then prompted the decline of antique Judaism as a field of interest. This investigation into the political and national dimensions of ancient history both supplements previous lines of inquiry and complicates accounts that assign too much explanatory power to a regnant anti‐Judaism or anti‐Semitism in the period and place. First, the analysis considers why so little attention was granted to Jewish history by ancient historians in the first place, as opposed to its relative prominence before ca. 1820. Second, the essay examines representations of ancient Judaism as fashioned by those historians who did consider the subject in this period. Surveying works composed not only for the upper echelons of scholarship but also for adolescents, women, and the laity, it scrutinizes a series of arguments advanced and assumptions embedded in universal histories, histories of the ancient world, textbooks of history, and histories dedicated to either Greece or Rome. Finally, the article asserts the Jewish past did not conform to the values of cultural ascendancy, political autonomy, national identity, and religious liberty increasingly hallowed across the Germanies of the nineteenth century, on the one hand, and inscribed into the very enterprise of historiography, on the other. The perceived national and political failures of ancient Jews—alongside the ethnic or religious ones discerned by others—thus made antique Judaism an unattractive object of study in this period.