Chinese Historical Thinking：An Intercultural Discussion

The book presents Chinese historical thinking by four articles. It is covered the ancient origin and the development to modernity and is commented by seven international experts. Presentation and comments find “second thought” by three other international scholars, and at the end the whole discussion find an answer by the authors of the first presentations. The complex structure of argumentation documents not only various ideas and interpretations of Chinese historical thinking, but represent the possibilities and problems of intercultural comparison at the same time.

Prof Dr Chun-chieh Huang is National Chair Professor and Dean of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, National Taiwan University.
Prof Dr Jörn Rüsen is Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, University of Essen and Professor Emeritus at the Witten/Herdecke University.

Foreword
Huang Chun-chieh and Jörn Rüsen
Introduction

I. Presentations
Huang Chun-chieh
1. Historical Discourses in Traditional Chinese Historical Writings: Historiography as Philosophy

Huang Chun-chieh
2. Historical Thinking as Humanistic Thinking in Traditional China

Wong Young-tsu
3. Humanism in Traditional Chinese Historiography – With Special Reference to the Grand Historian Sima Qian

Hu Chang-Tze
4. On the Transformation of Historical Thinking in Modern China

II. Comments
Achim Mittag
5. Cultural Differences as an Inspirational Source of Historical Knowledge – Random Notes on Three Approaches to Chinese Comparative Historiography

Fritz-Heiner Mutschler
6. Ancient Historiographies Compared

Peter Burke
7. Two Traditions of Historiography

Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer
8. Humanistic Tradition and the Concept of a “National History” in China

Stefan Berger
9. National History and Humanism: Reflections on a Difficult Relationship

Jörn Rüsen
10. Commenting on Chinese Historical Thinking – a Multifaceted Approach

Ulrich Timme Kragh
11. Dogmas of Superficiality: The Episteme of Humanism in Writings by Taiwanese Historians Huang Chun-chieh, Wong Young-tsu, and Hu Chang-Tze

III. Second Thoughts
Ng On-cho
12. Enshrining the Past in the Present: Moral Agency and Humanistic History

Q. Edward Wang
13. The Great Divergence in Historiography – Reflections on Chinese and Western Historiographical Developments

Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik
14. Some Comments on the Difficulty of Engaging in Intercultural Dialogue

IV. Responses
Huang Chun-chieh
15. Some Notes on Chinese Historical Thinking

Wong Young-tsu
16. Historical Thinking East and West – Let the Twain Meet

Hu Chang-Tze
17. Giving Modern Chinese Historical Thinking Back its Authenticity

Huang Chun-chieh/Jörn Rüsen
18. A Final Remark

List of Contributors
Bibliography
Index