The Important Position of Historiography in China Traditional Culture

First, the lofty position of historians in social and historical life.

Historians appeared very early in the history of China. As early as the primitive society, our ancestors confused gods and shamans with history. Historians not only assumed the responsibility of "history", but also played the role of "witch", which was an extremely important political role at that time and became a special person to communicate between God and king. They presided over sacrifices, divined good and bad luck, guided rulers with God's will, and became indispensable politicians around the king. According to legend, Xia Dynasty, historian died, Yin Dynasty and historian was loyal. "Only the ancestors of the Yin Dynasty had books and codes." At that time, "books" and "codes" were written by historians. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the ranks of historians were expanding day by day, and the division of labor tended to be obvious. Some of them record historical events, some draft official documents, and some are in charge of documents. It is recorded that the Emperor gave Zhong Ding to princes or officials, and often sent historians as representatives to award prizes.

The Lost Duke of Zhou has been seen dozens of times in Zhong Dingwen. Moreover, Zhou's "lines are reserved for history books, and words are reserved for history books", which shows that the status of historians at that time was very high. Historians from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties inherited the traditional professional model and engaged in religious superstitious activities such as compiling books, divination, astrology, observing the sky and interpreting dreams. They communicated with God and man, and mastered all kinds of affairs between heaven and man, which can be said that they were handed over to heaven and succeeded to the king, and played an indispensable role in the decision-making activities of the ruling group. Since the Tang dynasty, the system of setting up a museum to revise history has been formed. Throughout the dynasties, the compilation of national history was regarded as a national event, which was strictly managed and private history compilation was prohibited. People who write and edit national history are usually elites inside and outside the imperial court. They were well versed in history and rich in knowledge. They were celebrities in the society at that time and were favored by emperors of all ages. As Liang Qichao said: "Until the Qing Dynasty, the editor of the National History Museum must be the editor of imperial academy. The Hanlin Academy is a very noble place, and its talents are also the best choice-its dignity cannot be found in foreign countries. " It can be said that the first-class talents in the country have become historians. Therefore, the great historian Mr. Fan Wenlan clearly declared that China culture is "the culture of historians", which shows the importance of historiography in traditional culture.

Second, the classification of historical books in classical bibliography is in a secondary position.

Another historical phenomenon that shows the important position of historiography in traditional culture is the classification of historiography in classical bibliography. Bibliography is regarded as the academic value of "distinguishing chapters and studying mirrors" The classification and ranking of various disciplines in bibliography reflects the degree of social attention to this discipline at that time and the historical evaluation of its status and value.

From the classification of China's classical bibliography, we can see that after Li Chong's "A New Book of Zhongjing" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty established the order of four parts: classics, history, books and collections, all the historical books compiled by various countries in the past dynasties classified historical books into the second category. The private book collection promoted by engraving printing in Tang and Song Dynasties was also listed in the History Department after the classics department. It shows that historiography is highly valued in traditional academic culture.

Third, the importance of history in people's minds.

Archaeology calls historical sites and relics cultural relics. The author thinks that in terms of time and nature, relics and other remains can also be called "historical remains" or "Shi Cun" for short. Shi Cun not only attracts the attention of academic circles as the object of archaeological research, but also is favored as a humanistic tourism and learning base to commemorate the ancestral heritage, remember the past, think about ancient feelings and cultivate supreme spirit in people's daily life.

For example, since the Qin and Han Dynasties, emperors or literati have paid homage to the remains of sages such as Huangdi Mausoleum and Kong Li; Su Shi, Fan Zhongyan and other social celebrities visited the ruins of Battle of Red Cliffs and Yueyang Tower, and created nostalgic masterpieces "Red Cliff Fu" and "Yueyang Tower"; Ordinary people also regard ancestral things as Bobetga's treasure. At present, all items and places marked with the words "past" and "history" are mostly included in the scope of cultural relics protection and protected by the state, which shows their great value and significance.

The important position of historiography in traditional culture is inseparable from China's tradition of attaching importance to history and the strong support and advocacy of the rulers. These in turn promoted the development and perfection of China's historiography.