The Historiographical Values of Revolutionary Memoirs and Methods of Identification
Taking the historical writing of Anti-Japanese Base Area in the South China as an example,revolutionary memoirs are the most important sources for information especially regarding the history of Nanlu and Beijiang West Bank Anti-Japanese Base Areas as well as the financial and economic history of Qiongya Anti-Japanese Base Area.In some cases,these memoirs are the most important and even the only available sources,making them uniquely valuable in historiography.Admittedly,these memoirs,as a form of"individual memory",suffer from issues related to"historical fidelity".As such,critically identifying these materials becomes particularly important.Several common methods of identification include:to use chronicles of events,perpetual calendars,and other records alike in order to reach a comprehensive judgment to compare and collaborate the accuracy of the timing of accounts;to collaborate historical details such as numbers(quantities),places,persons,and historical events composed of the above-mentioned and other elements with the memories of those who have experienced or witnessed,especially statements most people make,closest recollection to historical events,memories mentioning traditional festivals and 24 solar terms,and memories that are confirmed by other documents;and judgment should also be based on the extent to which the recaller's proximity to the events and the level of detail in their account.In short,when ready with all the relevant materials and reference books,when well acquainted with macro and local history,and when skilled in the use of various network tools and historical databases,one must discard what is"false"and keeping what is"true"in these records.They need to draw multiparty comparisons,conduct rigorous reasoning,and make synthetic judgments on the content of the revolutionary memoirs,the logic of the context,the identity and situation of the author and other aspects,based on human nature,logic,and the historical context.Only in this way can we make full use of the revolutionary memoirs and accomplish the scientific writing of history.
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