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Zhang Taiyan, a scholar in the Republic of China, on reading history: if you don't read history books, you can't be patriotic.
Mr. Zhang Taiyan (1869 1936) is a master of modern Chinese studies, and Hu Shi called him the last "general who supported the rear" in Qing Dynasty. In his life, reading, revolution and speech are the main lines. When it comes to revolution, he was "hunted down seven times, imprisoned three times, and his revolutionary ambition was unyielding". He was called the founding father of the Republic of China and praised by Mr. Lu Xun as "the spirit of the sages and the model of future generations". When it comes to reading, he is well-read, knowledgeable and rich in knowledge, which was unparalleled at that time. And teaching is his profession. He concentrated on lectures four times in his life. In his later years, he held a seminar on Zhang Guoxue in Suzhou. His students spread all over the world and achieved fruitful results.

Zhang Taiyan's expertise in the study of Confucian classics, especially in primary schools, has won the essence of the dry school and surpassed it. As a scholar, Zhang Taiyan's academic attitude is "learning from time to time, not seeking practicality" and "learning for academic sake". But he also saved the world as a revolutionary, which naturally made him pay attention to the reality of his home country, the reality of the world and even the reality of life, and have both. In this discussion, talking about history and anecdotes is a main content.

Out of concern for the future and destiny of the country, he encouraged the people of China, especially young people, to study history in many speeches. He himself respected Gu, Huang Zongxi, Wang Fuzhi and others in the late Ming Dynasty. It was in the process of reading their works that he came up with revolutionary ideas, that is, the so-called "revolutionary seed history". At that time, many people thought that he was "like a ghost in the late Ming Dynasty". For example, Mr. Cai Yuanpei said in his elegy: "It has been more than 200 years since Taichong Yan Wu was late. It is better to drive the Tatars back to China and steal the old." Zhang Taiyan praised their spirit of unity of knowledge and action.

In Zhang Taiyan's view, "you can't be patriotic without reading history books". "In the past, people read history and paid attention to the rise and fall of a generation. Today, the situation is different, and their eyes must change. We should pay attention to the rise and fall of the whole country. This is the essence of reading history. " Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that in yenching university1March 24, 932, Qiu Li, who was on the verge of death after the "September 18th Incident" at that time, deliberately emphasized that "what is the most important thing to learn today? Shi Ye. " He said to the young students, "Today's young people should know when they came, when it is now in China and what responsibility they have for the country. All this can be clearly answered in the historical records. " He believes that reading history can "make readers know the reasons for the strength of a country, the far-reaching reasons for the victory or defeat of a war, and the changes in the rise and fall of a nation, all of which are indispensable to life." He compared history to a "chess score". Play chess according to the points, make good use of the points, and you will win. If you are familiar with history and apply it, it will be unfavorable. He hated that some people at that time were ignorant of historical facts and had the argument of "abandoning the three northeastern provinces": "The vassal state is different from the inherent territory, and the history has been told in detail. Unfortunately, today, the three northeastern provinces are regarded as princes, and the argument of "abandoning the three northeastern provinces" is sung. This is the reason why the historical records are unknown ... The three northeastern provinces were originally the inherent territory of China, which was called Turkic in the Han Dynasty and Liaojin in the Song Dynasty. Han has come a long way today. Regardless of it, it is the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the three eastern provinces of Ming and Qing Dynasties are the inherent territory of China. Now it is more harmful than not reading the classics because of unknown historical records. " To this end, he pointedly pointed out that for China people, history is "my anecdote, my genealogy, it is useless for others to get it, but I have to be prepared. If I want to serve my country, this ancient genealogy must be studied ",and" young people now know that historical records are very important, so just look at it as a newly discovered treasure day and night! " "

History is so important, how to read it properly? Directly related to practical application, Zhang Taiyan believes that "attention should be paid to the evolution of institutional and regional changes and the causes of confusion. It's easy to read, and you can get a sentence from one sentence. If the strategy of running the army goes hand in hand with training, it will be easy to achieve. " Judging from his understanding of everyone, reading history books is naturally much easier than reading classics. However, the average reader's level is limited after all, so he thinks that if he thinks Historical Records is too complicated, then at least reading Zitongzhijian is simple and easy. Besides Tong Jian, Tong Kao (written by Duan Lin), Tong Dian (written by Tang Dynasty) and Minutes of Reading History and Geography (written by Qing Gu Zuyu), which describe the geographical evolution of past dynasties, are also very important to him (but he doesn't think he can read Tong Dian). He himself benefited from the "three links". He once said: "I can't write any books such as General Canon, General Examination and Zi Jian", and for example, "Learning politics must have profound meaning in history", "Being well-known in past dynasties without scholars, I am as close as Zeng (Guo Fan) and Zuo (Zuo). The "three links" add up to 500 volumes. According to him, "If you read two volumes a day, you can graduate in 250 days. "It's really straightforward. The true nature of a scholar also makes us think deeply. Many leading cadres are busy with their work and study little, but in fact they often become excuses.

Or some people say, is history too professional and difficult to get started? Zhang Taiyan's answer is just the opposite. In his view, "learning history should be self-study and not suitable for teaching". Because there are so many historical records, it is far from enough to just give lectures. Even if you talk about general history and historical research methods, there is no foundation without looking at them yourself. Therefore, the knowledge of history, in addition to teaching the necessary historical laws and regulations in schools, depends more on self-study. Moreover, "the arts and sciences of history are simple, unlike classical exegesis" and "it takes three years to read all the twenty-four histories", so he repeatedly explained: "This course is suitable for self-study and not for lectures." Let's not discuss whether history is suitable for teaching in the school lecture hall, but the spirit of solid reading advocated by him, especially pointing out that reading history can be achieved from reality and by self-study, is still very educational and dispels all kinds of fears hidden in our hearts. Of course, the present situation is far from that of Sun. Reading history has added more updated contents, and under the guidance of Marxist theory, our reading and understanding of history are therefore more advanced than those of our predecessors. However, his honest academic style is always worthy of our admiration, which is probably not out of date.