What is history？

What is history? History is everything in the past that has disappeared with the passage of time.

First of all, history is a real objective existence. There is no doubt about it. I once met a buddy who opened his mouth and said that history is just like that. History is a little girl who can be dressed up at will, so there is nothing credible. I asked him, is your child yours or your neighbor Lao Wang’s? He said angrily, of course it’s mine! I asked him, didn’t you say that history is like that? As far as you and your wife made your child together, this is a basic historical fact. Historical fact is an undeniable objective existence.

Secondly, we all live in history, but history can never be reproduced. For example, it is a basic historical fact that you got up and had a breakfast this morning. However, after this incident has passed, it is absolutely impossible to reproduce it. You might say, isn’t there monitoring in the breakfast shop? But can the surveillance see everything? For example, the monitor can see you eating. Can he see how you feel when you eat? Can he know whether you are thinking about the dream you had last night or the beautiful woman at the next table when you eat? A child once asked me, if the technology of human society advances in the future, people can cross it, can they cross it back? I said to him, back in the past, there would be no you. Would you like to disappear? He said, no. I said, isn’t this over? History can never be crossed or reproduced.

Thirdly, although history cannot be reproduced, it can be recognized as an objective existence. Once, I asked a child, when were you born? He said that one day in December 1999, I asked him: How do you know? Don’t tell me you remember the date! For the birth of this child, it is a historical event that can never be reproduced. But the historical fact that he was born is undeniable, and such a big child is standing here. And this child’s becoming a monk is also understandable. We can ask his parents and consult the medical records in the hospital.

Also, there will be some deviation between our understanding of history and the truth of history. There are subjective and objective factors here. We’ll explain it with the birth of that child. We know about the birth of this child through two channels, one is to check the files, and the other is to ask the parties. However, the file may be mistaken and the memory of the parties may be biased. This will make our understanding of the original historical facts biased and wrong. This is the deviation caused by objective factors. In addition, some people will modify their birth records for various purposes, and the parties will deliberately lie and falsely report their age. There are many such things around us. This will also lead to our misunderstanding of history.

For example, is it possible that the history of the Ming Dynasty was tampered with by the rulers of the Qing Dynasty? The history of the Ming Dynasty is gone forever, and we can never reproduce it. It is impossible for us to know the history of the Ming Dynasty and ask the parties concerned. Because all the parties in the Ming dynasty have turned to dust. We can only know the history of the Ming Dynasty through various documents handed down from the Ming Dynasty. Then the question is, are the documents handed down from the Ming Dynasty reliable? Could someone have tampered with it? Indeed, a considerable proportion of all kinds of documents handed down from the Ming Dynasty have been tampered with by later generations. Especially the documents in the late Ming dynasty, the Qing government paid special attention to them and specially organized people to tamper with them. If you believe all these documents, you will definitely have a wrong understanding of the history of the Ming Dynasty.

However, what I want to say is that history is definitely not a clown who can be dressed up! Although the historical truth will be covered up to some extent, no one can be absolute monarch. It is true that official documents, such as Records of the Ming Dynasty, History of the Ming Dynasty compiled by the Qing Dynasty, contain false words about the history of the late Ming Dynasty. However, the folk literature is absolutely impossible for the imperial court to completely eliminate. This includes people’s notes, diaries, letters, genealogy, etc. A large number of folk documents can correct the shortcomings of official documents to some extent. Secondly, foreign documents, such as the history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties recorded by Koreans, Wu Han found a lot of historical materials about important historical issues in the Ming and Qing Dynasties from Records of the Li Dynasty.

Portrait of ban gu

As I said just now, those who modify their age will never be perfect. For example, if he modifies the original file, it will leave traces of modification. The original paper, the original ink color, the original handwriting, etc., can not be absolutely fit. Let’s talk about people. He may tell his relatives his revised age. Don’t let it slip. However, he can’t get all the parties to say what he says. For example, it is not possible for him to cover the mouths of people in the same ward when he was born, or other people who know his real age. Besides, he will make mistakes himself. If he changes his age by three years, if he has a sister who is two years older than him. According to his revised age, his sister needs to call him brother. Will the two brothers and sisters always perform like this?

In a word, what I want to say is that history is an objective existence, which is undeniable. But history cannot be reproduced, which is also an objective existence. But history can be recognized. Of course, understanding historical facts requires the help of historical materials. There will be various interference factors in historical materials, and what we have to do is to eliminate the interference in historical materials and get as close as possible to the truth of history. Of course, to understand the historical truth, we need to sort out the historical reality from the complicated statements, which requires not only the same intelligence as Sherlock Holmes’ judgment, but also a certain theoretical basis. In other words, history has a high threshold. This is why this society still needs professional historians.

Finally, Hu Shi never said that history is a little girl dressed for anyone. You can check it online yourself, which is not difficult!