Historical data types

In the 1980s, Rong Mengyuan, a famous historian in China, divided historical materials into four categories, which is generally considered to be a more comprehensive and reasonable traditional classification of historical materials.

The first category is books and newspapers, including historical records, historical works, document compilation and group members outside the history department.

The second category is documents, including government documents, group documents and private documents.

The third category is physical objects, including production tools, means of subsistence and relics of historical events.

The fourth category is word of mouth, including memoirs, investigation records, mass legends and literary works. (1) Historical documents: Historical books written by people closer to the time to be studied are important historical materials for studying at that time.

The so-called literature, according to Ma Duanlin, a historian in the early Yuan Dynasty, said: "All narratives are based on historical books of past dynasties and books of hundreds of stories. If there is a sign in the channel, follow it, and if it is strange and suspicious, don't record it. The so-called literature also; Whatever you say, you should first take the comments of civil servants at that time, then take the comments of modern Confucianism, even the comments of celebrities and the records of officials. In a word, you can write allusions. If you prove the right or wrong of history, you can record it. The so-called support is also. "

Ma Duanlin believes that literature should include two parts: written materials and oral materials.

People usually divide the literature into the following parts:

(1) History class. Classics, history, philosophy and book collection are the criteria for dividing disciplines in ancient Warring States, and the category of history is books about history. History books are the richest and most concentrated treasure house of historical materials in China. The General Catalogue of Sikuquanshu divides the history department into 15 subheadings, with a continuous catalogue of ***27 14 and more than 37,000 volumes. Among the history books, the official history is the most important. It is a biographical history book specially written by feudal dynasty officials and non-governmental organizations, which records the historical development of each dynasty. People collectively call it the "Twenty-four History". Twenty-four History ***3249 volumes, about 45 million words, describes the history of more than 4,000 years from the legendary Yellow Emperor to Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (17), which is the most important document to study the history of China. In addition to the official history, there are chronicles such as Zi Tongzhi Jian, notebooks such as The End of Song History, miscellaneous histories such as Mandarin and Warring States Policy, and other various historical, biographical, record and political books. They are all supplementary records beneficial to the official history and have quite high historical value.

② Classic, Subordinate and Collection. The original meaning of the word "Jing" refers to the vertical line, which is the line for binding books. It has evolved into a general term for ancient books, and all principled works can be called classics. After the Han dynasty, it refers to several books taught by Confucianism. The era of Confucian classics should begin with Confucius' determination of the Six Classics. Zhang Xuecheng, a Qing man, put forward the view that "the six classics are all history". Among the classics, Shangshu and Zuozhuan are history books themselves. Zhou Li and Yi Li are important books to study the official system and social system in the pre-Qin period. There are many important materials reflecting the history of the Yin Zhou Dynasty and before the Yin Dynasty in the Book of Changes. Although The Book of Songs is a collection of ancient poems, its historical value is also recognized by people. Subcategory summarizes the works of a hundred schools of thought contending during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and is an important historical material for studying the history of philosophy, the history of ancient science and the social and historical changes at that time. Ji Bu's books are literary in nature, and do not specifically record historical events, but there are also many precious historical materials. For example, the poems of Du Fu, a realistic poet in the Tang Dynasty, have always been called "the history of poetry", and their famous Three Officials and Three Farewells vividly reflect the social conditions of Xuanzong, Daizong and Suzong dynasties in the Tang Dynasty. There are many contents in the book collection that can be mutually confirmed and supplemented with the history books, and even many contents are not recorded in the history books.

3 files. Files are divided into public files and private files. As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China established a national archives system, and all major events involving national politics, economy and military affairs were recorded and kept by specialized agencies. At present, the Palace Museum is the place with the richest archives collection in China, and many archives of the Ming and Qing Dynasties kept in the treasury of the Qing cabinet are here. The number of historical archives hidden in various places is also very considerable. In addition to public files, there are a large number of private files, such as private letters, notes, genealogy, contracts, account books, business names, documents and so on. It is very valuable to study the economic situation, patriarchal clan system and class relations in various historical periods and regions.

④ Local chronicles. Local chronicles are books that record social life, historical changes, geographical evolution, local customs and so on in various periods and regions. China has always attached importance to the compilation and revision of local chronicles, which is rare in the world because of its wide coverage and rich content. Local chronicles are generally divided into general chronicles and local chronicles. Tongzhi is a national local chronicles, such as Yu Gong and Shan Hai Jing in the Warring States Period, and the Great Unity Annals in the Qing Dynasty. Local chronicles are extremely rich, and provinces, prefectures, counties and counties generally have their own chronicles, with detailed records and extensive contents. They are the first-hand materials for studying local history and have extremely important value.

(2) Thought or academic works: reflecting people's thoughts, concepts and academic development at that time. For example, people's thoughts in the Warring States period can be seen from Mencius, and ancient medicine and human body in China can be learned from Huangdi Neijing. Confucian classics in the Qing Dynasty reflected the political and social thoughts and problems of the people in the Qing Dynasty.

(3) Literary works: Although the contents of literary works are fictional, they can often reflect people's lives, thoughts and concepts at that time, and contribute to the study of cultural history, ideological history and social life history. For example, we can see people's thoughts and life in the Six Dynasties from Shi Shuo Xin Yu, people's thoughts and life in the Yuan Dynasty from Yuan Zaju, and people's culture and life in the late Ming Dynasty from Jin Ping Mei.

(4) Newspapers and magazines: Ordinary newspapers, as important historical materials of modern history, can help to understand the development of some events and people's understanding of things from different angles, while entertaining newspapers can observe people's culture and life at that time.

(5) Handwritten legacy in daily life: including ancient farmers' calendars, account books of shops, land contracts, private letters, etc. Because most of these things are not deliberately handed down, they can often reflect the actual life and thoughts at that time more truly.

(6) Foreign writings. There are many valuable people in foreigners' records about the history of China. For example, The History of Mongolia in The Travels of Kyle Polo and Persia Raster is an important document to study yuan dynasty history. Korea's Li Chao cheats are very helpful to study the history of pre-Qin. Since modern times, with the increasingly frequent exchanges between China and foreign countries, foreigners have expressed more and more about China, which has become an important source of information for studying the history of China. Oral information refers to human words and deeds passed down from generation to generation. Liang Qichao once vividly said: "Ten mouths pass down from ancient times", which shows that oral materials are also an important form of historical materials. As the saying goes, "the population on the road is like a monument" and "everyone knows it", which also proves that the role of word of mouth has the same value as the inscription. Before the invention of writing, word of mouth was one of the basic forms of retaining historical materials. The use of oral materials for historical research has a long history in China. Confucius compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals, using a lot of oral materials. Sima Qian also used a lot of oral materials when compiling Historical Records. In recent years, various oral recordings, memoirs, etc. , are popular, are the performance of oral information. But compared with oral materials, written materials are undoubtedly more important because of their richness and integrity. China has a long history, and the written materials left by predecessors are also extremely rich.

It is mostly used in the study of modern history. By interviewing and dictating people who were still alive at that time, we can gain a more direct and in-depth understanding of history. Including inscriptions, epitaphs, genealogy and so on.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions and epigraphy. Oracle Bone Inscriptions wrote it on tortoise shells and animal bones in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Shang and Zhou bronzes are the main inscriptions on bronzes. They are precious historical materials for studying Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Guo Moruo's Textual Research on Two Weeks Inscriptions and The Complete Works of Oracle Bone Inscriptions are a collection of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Stone carvings include stone scriptures, statues, epitaphs, memorials, etc. The historical materials of the memorial are of the highest value, and they often record important historical facts that are unknown. For example, in the second year of Tang Dezong Jianzhong (78 1), the Nestorianism "Chinese Monument" which was popular in Daqin recorded that Christianity was introduced into China from Europe and preached in Chang 'an during the reign of Emperor Taizong. In the third year of Changqing in Tang Muzong (823), the Tang-Fan Alliance Monument built by Tubo Zambo recorded the close relationship between the two peoples in both Chinese and Tibetan languages.

Images: such as paintings, murals, embroidery patterns, etc. It is helpful to understand people's life and aesthetics at that time. The most famous historical image is The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, which is helpful to study urban life in Song Dynasty.

Physical objects: including ancient buildings, furniture, clothes, utensils, ornaments, coins and tombs, used to explore people's lives and concepts at that time. Most of these historical materials were excavated by archaeology.

Custom category: Based on the observation of current popular custom culture, it is the basis for discussing historical phenomena. For example, by studying the folk belief rituals left over from today, we can understand the ancient situation. Or from the study of primitive people that still exists today, we can infer the lifestyle of early ancients.