当代中国口述史学透视

1948年哥伦比亚大学口述历史研究室的建立 ,正式标志着现代口述史学的诞生。经过 50多年的发展 ,口述史学成为历史学中一支举足轻重的分支学科。但是 ,到底中国有没有口述史学 ?这个问题很少被人问及 ,也很少有人做出明确的回答。口述史学在中国的发展和普遍流行将是一个必然的趋势 ,甚至在随后的几年内会有一个发展高潮。那么未来中国口述史学将如何发展 ,以一个怎样的高度作为起点呢 ?要解决这个问题 ,笔者觉得应该了解中国口述史学的渊源和现状。本文集中探讨当代中国口述史学的发展状况。

An Overview of Oral History in Contemporary China

This paper describes the development of oral history in China,and it asks whether,in fact,contemporary China has a true oral history.Modern oral history in China can be traced back to the 1950s,when researchers recorded oral accounts of the Taiping Rebellion.In the early 1960s there was also a major oral history project to record participants in the Boxer Uprising in Shandong and Tianjin,and there were also oral history studies of Chinese rural life.But these initial efforts were extinguished by the Cultural Revolution.After the end of the Cultural Revolution,and especially in the 1980s,there was a resurgence of oral history,with new projects and courses emerging. The paper describes these efforts,and stresses the importance of authenticity and audio recording to further advance the oral history discipline in China.It also argues that the development and spread of oral history in China will develop strongly over the coming years.