The Hisorigraphical Turn of Wang Guowei in His Later Life and His Intellectual World
Wang Guowei's scholarly journey traversed philosophy,literature,and eventually historiography,with a shift in historical studies from ancient history to the study of Northwestern historical geography.Views on Wang's late-life turn to historiography are varied and divergent.Despite achieving great success and recognition in the field of an-cient history,the focus of Wang's late-life historical research had quietly foreshadowed itself.While fully engaged in the study of Yin and Zhou history,Wang simultaneously studied the history of borderland ethnic groups and conducted geo-graphical research.This underscored a crucial historical awareness-that the study of national history should not be con-fined to domestic boundaries.Instead,it should closely examine the relationships between peripheral ethnic groups,re-gimes,and the Central Plains dynasties.This perspective was influenced by the historical vision Wang acquired during his youth from Oriental historiography.The significant quantity of artifacts and documentary materials unearthed in mod-em Northwest China attracted the attention of European Oriental scholars and Japanese Oriental historians,turning this region into a forefront area in international Sinology.In 1919,under the influence of Berthold Laufer and Shen Zengzhi,Wang Guowei had effectively undergone a mentality adjustment and professional preparation for his shift to historiogra-phy.Wang Guowei,on the one hand,inherited the tradition of Qing Dynasty Northwestern historical geography,and on the other hand,actively incorporated new perspectives and materials from European and Japanese Oriental studies.This propelled the modern transformation of Chinese indigenous historiography.Simultaneously,by adopting Shen Zengzhi's scholarly style and constructing his own intellectual world,Wang Guowei demonstrated his academic pursuit of a truth-ful historical world and an idealized humanistic world.
Study of Northwestern Historical Geography in the Qing DyanastyJapanese Oriental Historical Stud-iesEuropean Oriental StudiesShen ZengzhiBerthold Laufer
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