國史大綱

by Ch'ien Mu, 錢穆

凡读本书请先具下列诸信念:
一、当信任何一国之国民,尤其是自称知识在水平线以上之国民,对其本国已往历史,应该略有所知。(否则最多只算一有知识的人,不能算一有知识的国民。)
二、所谓对其本国已往历史略有所知者,尤必附随一种对其本国已往历史之温情与敬意。(否则只算知道了一些外国史,不得云对本国史有知识。)
三、所谓对其本国已往历史有一种温情与敬意者,至少不会对其本国历史抱一种偏激的虚无主义,(即视本国已往历史为无一点有价值,亦无一处足以使彼满意。)亦至少不会感到现在我们是站在已往历史最高之顶点,(此乃一种浅薄狂妄的进化观。)而将我们当身种种罪恶与弱点,一切诿卸于古人。(此乃一种似是而非之文化自谴。)
四、当信每一国家必待其国民具备上列诸条件者比数渐多,其国家乃再有向前发展之希望。(否则其所改进,等于一个被征服国或次殖民地之改进,对其自身国家不发生关系。换言之,此种改进,无异是一种变相的文化征服,乃其文化自身之萎缩与消灭,并非其文化自身之转变与发皇。)

Genres: History, China

914 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1940

About the author

Traditional Chinese: 錢穆
Simplified Chinese: 钱穆

Reviews

[Barack Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

542-A General History of China-Ch'ien Mu-History-1939

Barack
2024/11/03

" A General History of China" was completed in 1939. It is a general history work written during the Anti-Japanese War. Qian Mu was a professor of history at Peking University at the time. He traveled across most of China with the National Southwest Associated University during the war. In Yanquan Temple in Kunming, Yunnan, Qian Mu began to focus on the research and writing of China's general history. The difficult life, shortage of materials, and internal and external troubles at the time made Qian Mu think about China's destiny throughout the book. Until modern times, the Yanquan Temple in Kunming still retains the place where Professor Qian Mu wrote the book, and a monument is erected here to commemorate it.

Qian Mu was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu in 1895 and died in 1990. He was a modern Chinese historian, thinker, educator, and master of Chinese studies. He was an academician of the Academia Sinica and a specially-appointed researcher at the Palace Museum. In the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930), he was recommended by Gu Jiegang and was hired as a Chinese lecturer at Yenching University, entering the academic world. Before the Anti-Japanese War, he was a professor at Yenching University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Peking Normal University, teaching the history of academic thought and establishing his academic status. During the Anti-Japanese War, he followed Peking University to the south, wrote "Outline of National History", and successively taught literature and history courses at Southwest United University, Qilu University, Wuhan University, Zhejiang University, West China University, and Sichuan University. After the Anti-Japanese War, he taught at Kunming Wuhua Academy, Yunnan University, Jiangnan University, and Guangzhou Private Huaqiao University.

In 1949, he went to Hong Kong and founded New Asia College (the founding college of CUHK). In 1967, he moved to Taipei and later became a professor of history at the Chinese Culture College. He died in Taipei on August 30, 1990, and was buried in Taihu Lake in 1992. Qian Mu promoted traditional Chinese culture throughout his life and held high the banner of modern neo-Confucianism, which had a huge impact at home and abroad. The Chinese academic community revered him as a "master of the generation" and he was called one of the "Four Great Historians" along with Lü Simian, Chen Yuan, and Chen Yinke.

Table of Contents
Part I: Ancient Culture of the Three Dynasties
Chapter 1 The Origin of Chinese Culture in the Central Plains The Beginning of Chinese History The Yu and Xia Period
Chapter 2: The New Dynasty of the Lower Yellow River - The Shang Dynasty
Chapter 3: The Creation of the Feudal Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty

Part 2: Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period
Chapter 4: The Spring and Autumn Period
Chapter 5: A New Situation in Military Struggle: The Beginning and End of the Warring States Period
Chapter 6 The Rise of Freedom among the People: Pre-Qin Philosophers

Part III: Qin and Han Dynasties
Chapter 7 The Creation of a Unified Government The Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty and the Rise of the Han Dynasty
Chapter 8 The Evolution of Unified Government and Civilization from Emperor Wu of Han to Wang Mang
Chapter 9: The Fall of the Unified Government and the Rise and Fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty
Chapter 10: The New Status of the Aristocracy and the Rise of the Aristocratic Families in the Eastern Han Dynasty
Chapter 11: The unified government's foreign policy: Qin and Han national strength and foreign policy

Part IV: Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties
Chapter 12: The Beginning of the Long Disunity: The Three Kingdoms Period
Chapter 13: The Last Glow of a Unified Government: The Rise and Fall of the Western Jin Dynasty
Chapter 14: A New Garden in the Yangtze River Basin: Eastern Jin Migration to the South
Chapter 15: The Long Disturbance in the North - The Five Barbarians and the Sixteen Kingdoms
Chapter 16: The Decline of the Southern Dynasties
Chapter 17: The New Life of the Northern Regime: The Northern Dynasty
Chapter 18: Disguised Feudal Power: Family Background in Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties
Chapter 19: Social Forms under Disguised Feudal Power (Part 1) in the Western Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties
Chapter 20: Social Forms under the Disguised Feudal Power (Part 2) During the Five Barbarians and the Northern Dynasties
Chapter 21: The Pervasiveness of Religious Thoughts Religious Thoughts from Ancient Times to the Northern and Southern Dynasties

Part Five: Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties
Chapter 22: The Return of the Unified Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Sui Dynasty and the Early Tang Dynasty
Chapter 23 Political Institutions under the New Unification: Government Organizations of the Prosperous Tang Dynasty
Chapter 24: Social Conditions under the New Unification: Jinshi, Fubing, and Peasants in the Prosperous Tang Dynasty
Chapter 25: Decline in the Midst of Prosperity (Part 1): The abolition of the tax system and military service system in the Tang Dynasty
Chapter 26: Decline in the midst of prosperity (Part 2): The corruption of government officials and scholars in the Tang Dynasty
Chapter 27: Foreign Attitudes under the New Unified Fortune: Military Achievements in the Early Tang Dynasty and External Troubles after the Mid-Tang Dynasty
Chapter 28 The Decline of the Great Era Various Aspects of Political and Social Development after the Mid-Tang Dynasty
Chapter 29: The Decline of the Great Era (Continued)
Chapter 30 The Great Turmoil of the Dark Ages: Huang Chao's Rebellion and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Part VI: The Two Song Dynasties
Chapter 31: The Poor and Weak New Central Government and the Early Northern Song Dynasty
Chapter 32: The Consciousness of the Scholars and the Political Reform Movement: The Reforms of the Qingli and Xining Periods
Chapter 33: The Struggle between the Old and New Parties and the Talents from the North and South after Yuanyou
Chapter 34: The North-South Split Again, the Song-Liao-Jin War

Part 7: Yuan and Ming Dynasties
Chapter 35 The Storm is Coming: Mongolia Takes Over
Chapter 36: Monarchy under the Revival of Traditional Politics (Part 1) The Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty
Chapter 37: Monarchy and Dictatorship under the Revival of Traditional Politics (Part 2)
Chapter 38: The Shift of Economy and Culture between North and South (Part 1) Society from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty
Chapter 39: The Shift of Economy and Culture between North and South (Part 2)
Chapter 40: The Shift of Economy and Culture between North and South (Part 2)
Chapter 41: The Resurgence of Social Freedom: Scholarship in the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties

Part 8: Qing Dynasty
Chapter 42: The Reconstruction of the Tribal Power of the Narrow Sect (Part 1) The Qing Dynasty
Chapter 43: The Reconstruction of the Narrow Tribal Regime (Part 2)
Chapter 44: Morale under the narrow-minded tribal regime Scholarship before the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods of the Qing Dynasty
Chapter 45: Civil Rebellions under Narrow-Minded Tribal Politics and Turmoil Since the Middle Qing Dynasty
Chapter 46: Eliminating the Old and Starting the New: The Fall of the Qing Dynasty and the Founding of the Republic of China

The author combed through the cultural heritage and historical context of China for thousands of years. At the beginning of the book, he puts forward several expectations to readers. First, as a citizen, you should have some understanding of your country's history. Second, people who understand history should have a certain respect. Third, he also emphasized that this respect should be based on a relatively objective attitude that cannot completely deny the past and simply blame the problems of today on the ancients. Frankly speaking, when I reflect on myself, I find that I have not fully achieved these three points, but at least I have been inspired. What makes people human is their memory. We retain past memories, especially the traces left by interactions with others. These memories constitute part of self-cognition. If I lose all my memories, am I still "me"? If my memories are completely inherited by others, is he me? History also has such characteristics. The so-called culture is actually deeply rooted in history. Whether it is food culture or social etiquette, they are all produced and passed down in a specific historical environment. Just as people need memory to maintain self-cognition, nations also need history to maintain cultural heritage.

We Chinese are always proud of our long history. However, no matter how long the history is, if it cannot make ordinary people live and work in peace and contentment, what is the point? No matter how much knowledge we have about Chinese history, if it cannot help people find jobs and teach us how to behave, what is the value of this knowledge? The Analects of Confucius said, "If one recites the three hundred poems of the Book of Songs and is given the responsibility of governing, he cannot apply them; if one is sent to the four directions and cannot answer questions, then what is the use of all this knowledge?" No matter how many books we read, how high our diplomas are, or how elegant our speech is, if these things cannot be applied to real life, then what is the point of empty talk? If we are poor and destitute, who would have the heart to think about these things? The Analects of Confucius said, "A gentleman does not violate benevolence even for a moment; he will do so in haste and in adversity." But most of us are not saints, and we don't even aspire to be saints. For us, what is important is the present life, the practical food and clothing, and the actual needs of ourselves and our families. A few years ago, I was a bit "self-righteous" and didn't understand the principle of "not intervening in politics when one is not in a position to do so." Now my perception of myself has gradually changed. My understanding of myself is, "You are nothing." I have turned to being a vulgar egoist with ease.

In the 28th year of the Republic of China, the Sino-Japanese War was in full swing, and it was extremely difficult to find a quiet place to read. Many knowledgeable people, perhaps like the people of the Song Dynasty when the Northern Song Dynasty fell and the Southern Song Dynasty was just established, faced the worry of losing their country and their race. China has a long history and a vast amount of historical materials. The "Twenty-Five Histories" alone has about 42 million words. I deeply doubt that only a handful of professional historians can read it through in its entirety, let alone ordinary people. Therefore, the difficulty of reading or writing a general history of China lies in how to summarize the core context. My mentor and I once studied interactive fiction games, and we felt the difficulty when summarizing thousands of works in this field. However, it is necessary to establish an analytical framework, because when facing complex things, the most important thing for ordinary people to be wary of is getting lost in the details, seeing flowers in the fog, and being unable to distinguish the truth from the false. Only after finding the context and grasping the overall picture can we better understand the details and establish a clear framework. Just like writing a novel, suppose we want to create a novel with 300 chapters. If we think about the content of the next chapter after writing each chapter, even if we rely on inspiration to finish it, the finished product will lack a sense of integrity. Therefore, we need an outline, even if it is a rough outline.

To understand a subject, one usually starts from its origin. Similarly, to understand the history of a country, one often traces back to the country's origins. However, the closer to the source, the more vague the truth is, because there is a lack of direct evidence, and the persuasiveness of the text description without physical evidence is weak. Just like antiques, although its material and production process are some of the factors that determine its value, the more critical thing is the text on the antique. Especially when these texts can match the history books, legends, and even myths of later generations, the value of antiques will be greatly improved. This is like the physical evidence in detective novels. The story of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors may have been based on certain facts at first, then evolved into legends, and finally became myths. Once it enters the level of myths, it is inevitable to arouse suspicion, and even make people question the existence of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and deny the facts that may have existed. However, if we do not look at this issue from a rigorous historical perspective, but from the perspective of ordinary people, myths and legends are not only more interesting but also easier to remember. Over time, these stories gradually formed a culture in the public's cognition and became everyone's common memory and symbol.

The beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period was in 770 BC (the first year of King Ping of Zhou) when King Ping of Zhou moved eastward and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began. It has been nearly three thousand years since then. This period is still talked about with great relish, which is rare. Generally speaking, the period of great unification is easier to remember, while the period of division is chaotic and difficult to remember due to the large number of forces. The Three Kingdoms period is widely known because there were fewer major forces, but the complex relationship between the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period is still well known by later generations. Not only that, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were also the birthplace of many schools of thought, including Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Mohism, etc. Although these ideas have been continuously interpreted and added by later generations in the process of inheritance, and may even gradually deviate from their original meanings, their roots can still be traced back to the saints who were revered as "Zi" in the Spring and Autumn Period. I have always believed that if this period can be adapted into a novel or game, it will definitely attract modern readers and players. Telling this glorious collision of ideas and power struggles in a modern way will surely make more people interested in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

[Meihan Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recall a question going like why almost each and every big name in modern Chinese history would resort to, or retreat into the studies of Chinese ancient history or literature at last. I always think it's part of the tradition of the bureaucratic intelligentsia. When their career failed them, they could always find such an embracing and boundless realm to rest and heal. Now I see it's clearly more than that. There is something in this boundlessness. You see where the endurance and inertia of "China" as everything it was and is (civilization, geo-body, state, etc.) lies in its long-tested evolving pattern.

[Teddy. B In · Rating 4 out of 5]

终于看完这部原本被束之高阁的书了。翻到最后还有些恍惚，新中国的历史只有标题但无内容。钱老已去，不知会有谁接着书写？不知我们这一代又会被后人如何评述？
国史大纲以为大学新生普及历史通识为目的，重在将我国历史以简明扼要的事实性分析做一个较为完整的梳理。虽然遣词造句有时略显艰深，但论述分析还是比较清晰直白，对历史初学者而言，确实补足、纠正了很多对史实的认识与印象。
钱老的史观也并非全然有理，对里面的某些看法，我也不是都赞同。可能就像历史本身就是任人打扮的小姑娘，所以历史研究产生分歧再正常不过。都说以史为镜，其实如果选取角度不同，那么映射的现实也会有所不同。所以研读历史以观照今世，即便是对同一件事实，也会有不同的答案。
这本书我是第一次读完，很多内容囫囵吞枣，并未细嚼。留待今后还需一读再读。第一次阅读感受是对国家的历史有个虽然模糊但还比较全面的印象，希望后面第二次第三次阅读，我都能有新的收获。

[Carlos Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

這次回老家複習了一下《國史大綱》的部分篇章。
說真的，即便在如今，我還是會想推薦給有興趣的朋友。但是，個人又認為，冒然的介紹給人閱讀是不明智的做法。
首先是，錢穆的這種大綱式寫法，加上各種文言，就足夠嚇退一堆人了。加上他老人家的那種「對國史的溫情」，多少也有一些「偏心」，有些觀點已經被後來的研究重新審視。但這本書依然值得一讀，因為錢穆這本大綱就像堅實的地基，站在這上面去延伸發展，必可有所斬獲，不論是你是認同還是反對其論述。
前陣子有出一本《重返《國史大綱》：錢穆與當代史學家的對話》，我還沒看，就是一種迴響。

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

向钱先生致敬

[Matthew Zhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

需要一些文言基礎

[BeingTyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

钱穆先生儒家史观下的“温情与敬意”始终贯穿于全书的字里行间。 几个月终于断断续续读完了，感触很多，做了很多笔记还要慢慢消化吸收。

[Joey Gao · Rating 5 out of 5]

花了三个月断断续续读完了，很难啃。全部读下来觉得在民族主义相关方面的评价钱穆先生的观点可能不太准确，其他方面的评价倒是比较精准。

[WaldenOgre · Rating 3 out of 5]

总觉得吧，成于抗战期间的《国史大纲》似乎多了那么一点励志和民粹的味道。

[Qing Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I would like to share the following paragraph from the second volume:

宋、明以下之社会，与隋、唐以前不同。士族门第消减，社会间日趋于平等，而散漫无组织。社会一切公共事业，均须有主持领导之人。若读书人不管社会事，专务应科举、做官、谋身家富贵，则政治社会事业，势必日趋腐败。其所以犹能支撑造成小康之局者，正惟赖此辈讲学之人来做一个中坚。（宋、明理学精神乃是由士人集团，上面影响政治，下面注意农村社会，而成为自宋以下一千年来中国历史一种安定与指导之力量。晚清以来，西化东渐，自然科学之发展，新的工商业与新的都市突飞猛进， 亟待有再度兴起的新的士阶层之领导与主持，此则为开出此下中国新历史的主要契机所在。）

It had been something mysterious for me for a long time that our culture and our society would go the way it does today. How come, given the history and culture we have always been so proud of? This book answers my questions to a large extent, as well as points out the way to help.

There are some disparaging comments about this book online, I suspect they are contrived to discourage people from reading it. Why? In the ending chapter, Mr. Qian regarded the Three People's Principle from Sun Yat-sen as the right way to advance. Also, it's obvious that his points of view are not in line with the propaganda of the ruling party.

Can we distinguish the intellectual pursuits aiming for the benefit of the whole nation/people from some narrow-minded and short-sighted political ambitions?

It's a must-read for Chinese intellects.

[Círdan · Rating 4 out of 5]

辛德勇：錢穆先生這部書的高明，就高明在勇於提出自己的見解，但這些見解，在這樣的通史中講一講雖然很好，若是作爲比較確定的學術觀點，往往還需要做很多具體的論證，而在具體、深入的論證過程中，就會發現許多需要訂正的地方。儘管這是學術研究中的必然現象，但錢穆先生的這部《國史大綱》，這一問題是比較突出的。

其实批评得很温和含蓄了，但是对于钱穆来说，比起成为现代意义上的历史学研究者，他应该更想成为一个宋明理学那一批知识分子式的人物吧。

对于这本书，我是不赞同的和赞同的部分一样多的。