The outline of national history is difficult to read. First of all, its vertical layout tests people's patience. Secondly, its fine notes, some of which are more difficult to understand than the text, are simply a kind of "torture" for those of us who are not good at classical Chinese. Regardless of the content, his typesetting is very tiring and challenging, which is also very helpful to his classical Chinese level. Although he didn't finish reading this book, he learned a lot from it, gained a lot and had a lot of feelings.

This book is a brief history of China, which is different from previous history textbooks. I'm afraid everyone is familiar with what history textbooks look like. Taking the staged social evolution history as the vertical line and the class struggle as the axis, from political radiation to economic, cultural and educational aspects, although the entries are clear, the words are dry. Then we students learn by rote, don't question books and don't think independently. This is not studying history at all, but forcing ideology into people's subconscious. Such rote memorization has no reflection on history. Even if I memorize the whole textbook, I don't know how China came into being, how it prospered and how it fell behind. Like the Boxer Movement, the book only talks about how patriotic and vigorous the movement is, but it doesn't mention how ignorant and cruel the group members are. Patriotism education is important, but if it can't be treated rationally, it will easily become populism. We only know the evil of imperialism, and we don't know how we gave it an excuse. From simplicity to complexity, the book outlines the history of China from ancient times to the present, focusing on the economic, political system and ideological situation of each dynasty, with the emphasis on the above-mentioned influences. The whole book highlights his thought of deeply understanding the individuality and characteristics of national traditions and cultures. This book shows China's strength and sickness. The Outline of National History, like Prosperity, highlights various ills in China's history, including some morbid and irrational things in politics, economy and thought, such as the conflicts and abuses between the central and local governments after the middle Tang Dynasty mentioned in the book.

As for the structure of the book, Mr. Qian Mu also put forward his own ideas, combing the social changes from three aspects: political system, economic situation and ideology and culture. Economy is the foundation, political system and ideology and culture are the superstructure, the economic base determines the superstructure, and the superstructure reacts on the economic base. This statement is ok at the macro level, but it is easy to entangle at the micro level. As far as the evolution of political system is concerned, in the long agricultural economic era, the economic base has not changed much, but the political system has changed greatly. In the book, it comes down to such a clue: before Qin dynasty, there was no division of family and country, the royal family was the political power, and the ministers were all private ministers; From Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty, the imperial power regime gradually separated, and the royal family was above it. As the leader of the imperial court, the prime minister is the highest official of the regime. After reading it, he was somewhat under the illusion of constitutional monarchy. Since the Song Dynasty, the centralization of monarchy has intensified, but the prime minister is still recognized as the leader. It was not until he took the initiative to abolish the Prime Minister and took charge of the six ministries that the royal family and the political power merged into one, and Mr. Gu said that "the collapse of my government began with Mao's abolition of the Prime Minister". On the other hand, the autocratic government restricted the growth of the private economy for its own benefit, otherwise the seeds of capitalism would have appeared in the Ming Dynasty. By the same token, the autocratic regime clamped down the people's thoughts with eight-part essays, and there was no possibility of a master in the ideological circle from now on. The history of the Ming dynasty shows that the question of who decides who in politics, economy and culture is far from clear as the conclusion shows. In this regard, Mr. Wang seems to hold mixed views. At a certain period, he focused on a certain part of it. During the Warring States period, the ideological flow was the core, during the Han Dynasty, the institutional changes were the core, and during the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the ideological and economic changes were the core. In a certain period, one part will occupy a dominant position, affecting the other two parts and forming the main characteristics of that period.

Mr. Qian Mu advocated improvement and thought that the revolution was extreme and overcorrected. I don't quite agree with this view, because the so-called revolution must have a struggle, so such a struggle must be both sides. Mr. Qian's idea is a bit unrealistic. Take the struggle between our party and the Kuomintang for example. If there is no revolution, can we save the people from the quagmire? Obviously not. And if only one party is in favor of a peaceful solution to the problem and the other party is not, then the peaceful party will not fight, and his end will only be destroyed by the non-peaceful party.

Whether the revolution is correct or not, people from different positions have different conclusions, but what is certain is that the sustained progress of society cannot be promoted by revolution alone. George W. Bush famously said that the greatest invention of mankind is to put politicians in cages. Now I'm standing in the cage talking to you. The emergence of mature politics depends on the consensus of social rationality. Only by finding the root cause and prescribing the right medicine can we make continuous progress. From this perspective, Mr. Qian Mu's rational and positive attitude is commendable.

It is understood that the outline of national history was during the 37-year Anti-Japanese War. Mr. Qian Mu was afraid that once the war failed, China would be completely extinct, so he wrote it with the tragic mood of writing the last historical data of China people, and his arrogant nationalism was reflected between the lines. The whole book "Outline of National History" is emotional and conveys Mr. Qian Mu's hope for China and the Chinese nation. This is valuable in all historical works. An emotional book is far more interesting and meaningful than a blunt book. The function of the Outline of National History is mainly at the ideological level, and its main purpose is to "invent its mutual influence and its successive evolution and development for the reference of Chinese people in dealing with various events in modern times". This shows that the author's main intention is to record history in order to influence current events and future generations. Mr. Qian Mu wrote the outline of national history with good intentions. Through this book, he expressed his confidence and hope for the country and the nation. In the introduction of this book, he expressed his historical view, cultural view and method. He pointed out: the purpose of studying and writing history is: (1) to clearly show people the truth of the evolution of our national culture and provide necessary knowledge for people interested in understanding China's past political, social and cultural thoughts; (2) It should be able to reflect all kinds of complicated and thorny issues in China today in the historical integration, which is a necessary reference for those who are interested in innovating reality. I can't understand these two purposes well, but I also know that Mr. Qian Mu has good intentions. On the one hand, he actively explored the source of saving the country and returned to historical reflection; On the other hand, it lists the shortcomings for the world's reference. He also pointed out that China people should not be lazy to find their own way to save the country, and should not blindly learn or even follow others; He also emphasized the particularity of China's history and pointed out that we should study the current situation of China and find a way out under the guidance of China's history.

In the preface of the book, Mr. Qian once wrote: if you can't treat national history rationally, you can't be regarded as a person who understands history, and if you don't understand history, you can't be regarded as a knowledgeable citizen. But we need to understand and remember history, but we can't always immerse ourselves in history and live in the past.