After meeting Yan Fu in Tianjin, Xia Cengyou made an oath to "fully understand the meaning of evolution theory and then write it down as a book", but he didn't get it. Until his later years, he praised Yan Fu for "a few volumes, and all strange things are present" and praised Yan's translation evolution theory. Therefore, at the beginning of the textbook, he mentioned Darwin's theory of origin, and thought that although the theory was "based on the investigation of contemporary organisms and stratigraphic fossils", it was "analyzed in detail, and things and stages evolved." It is believed that this theory can break the old idea that God creates history. In the section of Shennong, he clearly pointed out that the evolution of any civilized country must be from a fishing and hunting society to a nomadic society, but it is too late to cultivate crops. In the section "Social Changes in the Late Three Kingdoms", it is clearly affirmed that the principle of survival of the fittest is a common practice in the world. When analyzing specific historical issues (such as the reasons for the extinction of Rangers), he always tries to explain that "natural expression has a reason." Moreover, he further believes that the phenomenon of historical evolution cannot be measured by moral standards. In the section "Politics and Education of Yu", he clearly wrote: "Take Yu as the way to inherit. The right to cover autocracy is gradually consolidated, which is also caused by the progress of the world movement. It doesn't matter if the virtue is changed. "
Interestingly, Xia Cengyou believes that the evolution of history is guided by ideology and academics, and other historical factors can only follow. For example, the section "The Warring States changed to Ancient Times" said: "In the major case of the evolution of ancient and modern people, we must first open the theory and then open the politics." He also believes that not all historical things evolve, and some historical things not only do not evolve, but also degenerate. The section "Origin of Literature" says that Shuowen contains as many as 9,000 famous things, but only 2,000 in modern times, which shows that today is not what it used to be. The more intensive the knowledge, the more complicated the names used. After the Han Dynasty, China's knowledge was degenerating. This conclusion is of course ridiculous. In fact, noun terms also have their historical significance. New things and new ideas emerge one after another. When the old language concept is not enough to express, new terms will appear, and the old language will naturally be eliminated, which is the performance of knowledge progress. Shuowen appeared in the Han Dynasty, but of course it can't completely summarize the language phenomenon after the Han Dynasty. How to judge its future academic status according to the number of famous things it collects?
Xia once revealed the theory of historical cycle. In a letter to Song Shu, he said: "Heaven circulates and goes back." "The Rule of the Old Emperor of Huang Wendi" analyzes the alternation of peace and revolution in the history of China, which is actually saying that there is a cyclical precedent in the history of China.
Adapting to the above thought is the thought of historical function and historical cause and effect. Xia once said, "Wisdom is greater than knowledge. How can we know? As usual, I thought it was just a push. So historians are indispensable for people to learn. " This is his attitude towards the role of history.
Xia Cengyou also believes that there are historical reasons for the development and changes of the real society. Therefore, if we find the historical reasons, we will find the basis for realistic changes. In other words, today's flowers and fruits are all due to the seeds sown by the ancients. This shows that he affirmed the continuity of historical development and expressed his views on the relationship between history and reality. The textbook Syria says: "When the sports meeting is held, people will change. The fruit of today's food is not proved by the ancients, that is, ignorance of the future. " The second volume "Essentials of Reading Today's History" says: "As far as today is concerned, people in the world meet all over the world, and everyone has his own culture and is the same as the next person. It is the victory of the losers, and it is the responsibility of today's people to eat their ancient reports. " Therefore, "China's future can also be measured by taking the Qin and Han Dynasties as its career and achieving today's achievements."
This view is a bit like advocating karma. If pushed to the extreme, it will become the so-called "historical basis", defending some unreasonable phenomena in reality and weakening people's confidence in changing reality. The Origin of the Initial Outline of Constitutionalism puts the responsibility of China's failure to implement the constitutional system as soon as possible in history, saying, "If it is too big to cover, it will be moved later; If the founding of the people's Republic of China is ancient, then the old school will be faithful. If you accumulate late, your constitutionalism will be at the end of the world. This is natural and there is nothing strange. " He believes that the historical and cultural background of his country must be taken into account when transforming or changing reality. He once made a special exposition on "the reform must be based on history", which is correct, but he defended reality based on his understanding of historical functions, which is very harmful.
Xia Cengyou acknowledged the existence of objective historical laws. The article "On Sino-Japanese Relations" said: "There are natural trends in the world, which cannot be escaped by human beings. Thousands of years later, god and light are on and off, and the ending still belongs to this natural situation. This is why I lament that heaven is inevitable. " The so-called "nature" refers to the laws of nature. There are also laws similar to Heaven in history, that is, "public rules". He said: "There is a common law in history." This kind of common law is composed of cause and effect, so the Origin of China Society says: "There is no cause in the world." It's easy to feel that everything is worth it.
Because Xia Cengyou believed in causality, he always looked for the deep reasons when describing or analyzing historical phenomena. For example, "Religion before Confucius" narrates many "magical things about ghosts and gods", pointing out that the reason why the ancients believed in ghosts and gods lies in their perception of people and ignorance of some natural phenomena, which can be described as a wonderful exposition of Xia. The explanation of "the origin of various theories" in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio and the explanation of the reasons for the rise and fall of the three Confucian schools are all examples of explaining specific historical phenomena according to the causal thought.
From the textbook, what Xia Cengyou admires most is his thought of historical stages. We can't help but sigh that Xia's macro grasp of the pulse and clue of historical development is very strong and rich in historical abstraction. This is prominently reflected in his division of historical development stages. Textbooks "Ordinary Cases" and "A Brief Introduction to Ancient and Modern Changes" are his works that highly summarize the history of China. After his division and generalization, complex historical phenomena and historical development process are clear at a glance and easy to grasp. The ancient, medieval and near-ancient patterns he adopted also broke through the pattern that China's traditional historiography completely divided history according to the dynasty system. Xia Cengyou was able to regard history as a whole and try to grasp the historical trend as a whole, which was really first-class historical knowledge at that time.
When Xia Cengyou discusses the history of a certain stage in detail, he often divides it into more details and weaves it into a net. For example, Yu Zhi's Politics and Religion considers the history of Zhou people to be ancient and modern, Zhou Zhi's Relationship divides the history of Zhou people into three periods, Spring and Autumn Annals lists the Warring States as ancient and modern, Letter to Song Shu focuses on the pre-Qin dynasty, The Appearance of Qin distinguishes the ancient and modern worlds with Qin, and The Rebellion of Liangzhou Generals regards the Three Kingdoms as the hub of the change of the times. The administrative organs of the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and Sui Dynasties proposed that the changes of ancient and modern administration were not in harmony with the development of religion, politics, scholarship and folk customs, and should be treated separately. Social Changes in the Last Years of the Three Kingdoms gives another definition according to the characteristics of the special social group "scholar". These are the essence of Xia's works.
Nowadays, when talking about the viewpoint of evolutionary history, many people emphasize its difference from Ram III. In fact, this is a layman's practice. In Kang Youwei's and Xia Cengyou's view, these two things are basically the same. Otherwise, how can they knead them together? It can be seen that the study of history must proceed from the existing facts. Of course, evolution is not the same thing as what Ram III said. However, it goes without saying. What needs in-depth analysis is their similarity in form, and how Confucian classics and modern literary schools raise the banner to make tiger skins. In Xia Cengyou's works, the thought of Confucian classics is very obvious. The Six Classics of Confucius clearly stated that "modern literature is the foundation" and that "the division of Confucianism and alchemy is the source of Taoism" and even bluntly said: "People who are thirsty for knowledge and thoughtful believe in modern literature, and this edition also respects modern literature." This is consistent with the concept of evolution in Xia's "Layer Tour".
Xia Cengyou's historical thought is first manifested in the choice of historical objects. He did not record all the historical objects in any order, but chose and focused on them according to his personal understanding. The textbook "Ordinary Cases" says: "In every era, we should pay more attention to its special matters and ignore ordinary matters. For example, in ancient times, it was more detailed in myth, Zhou was more detailed in school, Qin was more detailed in political art, and so on. " Below this level, there are different priorities. For example, Zhou people "discuss their rise and fall first, then their religion, etiquette, politics, literature and art", so what is "distinctive"? We should not only look at its actual role in history, but also look at its influence on today's society. For example, the battle of the Yellow Emperor Chiyou was the beginning of national competition in China, that is, "our society is established today", so it is described in detail.
"On Reform Must Be Based on History" puts forward that geography, people's livelihood, customs and religion are the basis of national politics, and religion is particularly important. "Changing the Warring States into Ancient Times" said: "Religious reform is the origin of social evolution, that is, the three things of being old, Confucius and Mo." Religious problems are mainly manifested in two aspects: one is the relationship between religion and species, and the other is the relationship between religion and external oppression. As for the relationship between teaching and species, he believes that the two complement each other, the first law is the second law, and vice versa. He believes that the relationship between religion and foreign oppression is the foundation of the country. Xia's book aims to clarify the relationship between external coercion and religious influence, and then explore the foundation of the country. His so-called "religion" or "doctrine" has a wide range of meanings. Not only Christianity and Buddhism are "religions", but also Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism and some primitive beliefs, which are mixed with some academic, customs, education and ethnic-related contents. He always said, "Every time there is a big change, talk in detail and don't follow the trend." It can be seen that "teaching" is both "teaching" and "enlightenment".
Ethnic issues are related to ethnic minorities, so Xia Cengyou attaches great importance to ethnic minorities in history and regards them as important historical objects. The second textbook, the outline is divided into three parts, and the second part is "About foreign nationalities, such as Xiongnu, Western Regions and Xiqiang". No matter big or small, as long as there is negotiation, it is an abbreviation, so it represents. "Therefore, frontier geography has received great attention. Attaching importance to the relationship between the Han nationality and ethnic minorities and the historical geography of the frontier constitute an obvious feature of Zhu Xia.
Politics, as the product of geography, life, customs and religion, is also regarded as an important historical content by Xia Cengyou. The so-called politics mainly refers to "related to the royal family, such as the change of the court and the war of heroes", and also includes "thieves", that is, the peasant uprising. He attributed the history of the Han Dynasty to four kinds of courtiers: eunuchs, consorts, alchemists and scholars. For the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the rebellion of the Queen Jia, the rebellion of the Eight Kings and the rebellion of Wang Dun, they all wrote a lot. The debauchery and cruelty of rulers are also exposed and criticized from time to time. For example, "The Warring States Becomes Ancient People" said: "The punishment of the Warring States cannot be called the national law, and the people are arrogant." "The Relationship between Qin and China" said: "The husband is autocratic, so he is rich, but he is extremely poor and unattainable. The yuanshi county family can serve as a warning to the royal family. " Relatively speaking, Xia Cengyou has made little or no reference to economy, culture and science and technology. For example, in the Han Dynasty, there was neither the historiography of Sima Qian and Ban Gu, nor the literature of Han Fu, nor the scientific and technological achievements of Zhang Heng.
"The Origin of the Publication of the Original Constitutional Outline" says that the history of China is only the rise and fall of a family, and there is no history of the whole nation. This is of course consistent with Liang Qichao's New History. "The Rule of Confucianism in Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty" said that Emperor Gaozu was only the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and Qin Huang and Hanwu were the emperors of the 24th dynasty in China. At the beginning of the third volume of the textbook, the history of China is attributed to the history of Confucius, Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi. "The Rule of Emperor Jingdi's Name and Law" is a masterpiece about the "decisive role of history" of Qin Huang Hanwu. These, and Liang Qichao, Chen and others advocated the idea of "writing people's history", which seems to be very uncoordinated. It was during this period that Chen tried to put the idea of "folk history" into practice.
The characteristics of historical cognition depend on the characteristics of historical objects. "The Origin of the Department Attached to the Seal of this Museum" said: "The ancients died, and the ancients and those who could not be passed on died. The color is not connected to the eyes, the sound is not connected to the ears, and the clothes, sticks and shoes are not connected to my hands and feet. " In other words, the characteristics and essence of historical objects are that they disappear forever and cannot be experimented, and the knower cannot face the object of knowledge.
So, through what to understand history? What has passed down history? He said, "But how do you know there are ancient people? In ancient times, people did not rely on language before words, but on words after words. Take the story of the ancients, and the words it contains are called books. " In other words, the ancients relied on the "book" composed of language and words, so they can only know the ancients through the intermediary of "book". "The Origin of China Society" further states: "The study of this Shen Gao Ao area east of Kunlun, its sailing year, its animal and plant traces, its species rise and fall is unclear, and the stone has not come out, and it is also unclear. Today, we rely on archaeologists, but books keep us alert. " That is to say, as an intermediary of historical understanding, besides books, there are also means such as geoscience and epigraphy.
But, first of all, there are different kinds of "books": the subject of books refers to history, the subject of books refers to history, and the subject of books refers to people who don't necessarily have it. This is called history. "These two books are chronicles." Secondly, the authenticity of "books" is often unreliable, because "ancient books, painted with pens, are difficult to transfer; If the simple strategy is heavy, it is difficult to protect Tibet; If you change the official seal, it is difficult to send a letter; If you burn pits one by one, it will be difficult to prepare. " In terms of records, "before the pre-Qin period, its records were also ambiguous;" Since the Qin Dynasty, there have been many records. Those who disagree have no compromise, and those who stay have no choice. The history of Wang Guan, as far as pen is concerned, is an example of Wang Shi. The creation of gossip belongs to the official, and the official history is missing. The difficulty of managing history can be seen from this. "In a word," the ancients imagined a lot and could not take it seriously. " "Unbelievable things are hard to rely on, and credible things are hard to rely on." He believes that this difficulty will increase with the development of society, and sighs: "However, this is still the past statement. Today, disciplines are getting scarcer and scarcer, so there is no time to give them. I don't have the strength to see the whole history, but the game will be bad and the personnel will change. The fruit I have eaten at present, without the proof of the ancients, is unable to know the future. You can't stop reading history. If so, what will it be! "
This is a wonderful view of history. Can't directly contact the object, the intermediary is not completely reliable, and it is really difficult to understand the original limitations of the subject and understand the history. So, is it impossible to truly understand history? Shi Xia thinks not. He said: "Although we still use the difference device to measure the sky, we can still get a good number. Everything depends on people. " There are two concrete ways of "artificial": First, people who read history should try to enter the historical situation. "The Benefits of History" said: "People who read history must know what they have written in their own history, and then reading history is beneficial. This is probably the case. " In the process of breaking away from the historical situation, the intervention of the cognitive subject is positive. The so-called "there are people who make people feel sad and happy for no reason and lose themselves." Only in this way can we establish a real dialogue with history and achieve the effect of "reading ancient history, we will see the highest ideals, the highest politics and the highest ethics". Second, be skeptical. "Xia Chuan's Doubt" said: "There is no evidence, but there is doubt."
For those historical objects that cannot be clearly judged, Xia Cengyou always takes a skeptical attitude of neither believing in their existence nor believing in their non-existence. He called the history from the opening of the port to the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty the period of spreading doubts, because "there was no history of faith in this period, and it was all seen from the group classics and philosophers." Often fables and facts are inseparable. " Ancient Myths adopts the method of objectively listing and commenting on various records, pointing out that readers only need to listen. However, because the absurd records contain real elements, it is necessary to use effective methods to identify and distinguish the history of belief from myth. In this regard, he explained it with Yanhuang as an example in The Reason of Myth. The so-called "suspicion of the past" in later generations has a clear consciousness in him. In particular, it is pointed out that there is no "belief history" in the "group classics", which deserves attention.