The Cyclical Views of Human History in Thucydides’Archaeology and Sima Qian’s Historical Records  

作　　者：Bai Chunxiao 

机构地区：[1]School of History,Wuhan University,Wuhan 430072,China

出　　处：《Frontiers of History in China》2021年第1期73-95,共23页中国历史学前沿（英文版）

摘　　要：Many previous thinkers have imagined that there was a glorious or harmonious period in the past better than the world of their own time,but Thucydides and Sima Qian do not describe the early stages of human society as a Golden Age.I suggest that Sima Qian marks a separation between the mythical stories and the historical spirit in China,just as Thucydides did in Greece.Further,they both presented a modified cyclical view of human history.For a better understanding of the basic characteristics of Greek and Chinese historiographies,this paper discusses the cyclical views of human history underlying ancient Greek and early Chinese historiographies through a comparative study of Thucydides’and Sima Qian’s texts.I analyze some similarities and differences between the two great historians’conceptions of historical process,and I conclude that Thucydides believes human intelligence develops through a historical spiral,while Sima Qian focuses on dynastic cycles with a strong moral concern.

关 键 词：comparative historiography cyclical view of history THUCYDIDES Sima Qian ARCHAEOLOGY Historical Records 

分 类 号：TG2[金属学及工艺—铸造]