启蒙之史——《中国古代史》与清末民初学子

夏曾佑<中国古代史>,本为清末中学堂教科书,1933年列入商务印书馆"大学丛书"之中,成为大学用的历史参考书,到2000年,该书被河北教育出版社列作"二十世纪中国史学名著"丛书之一,地位不住"升级".该书在中国近现代史学的影响,论者已作出颇详尽的研究,但它对清末民初青年学子起的启蒙作用,却未受到应有的重视.本文以钱玄同、顾颉刚和钱穆几位著名学者为例,探讨他们青少年时习史,如何受到夏曾佑史书的启迪.

An Enlightening History Book-Zhongguo gudai shi and Young Learners of the Late Qing and Early Republican Period

Xia Zengyou's Zhongguo gudai Shi was regarded as one of the major historical works written in the 20th century China.This book was originally a secondary history textbook published in late Qing and was upgraded,though making no revision at all,to be a history reference book for university students in the 1930's.The significance of this book on the development of modern Chinese historiography has been discussed widely since the second half of the last century.However,as a history textbook for secondary students,the influence that Xia's book had on the young learners of the first two decades of the last century has not received adequate investigation.In fact,this book had a good selling record at that time and should have certain degree of,if not great,influence on young history learners.Some key academics like Qian Xuantong,Qian Mu and Gu Jiegang read Zhongguo Gudai Shi in their young ages,and learned from this book,one way or another,the basic knowledge of Gouxue,the mythical history of ancient China,the new way of looking at the ancient Chinese history,and the methods of compiling history.These academics had outstanding scholarly achievement,particularly in the study of history,which could be,to a certain extent,considered as the result of the fact that they had been enlightened by this history textbook when they were young.