| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 歷史研究所 === 102 === Past research on Ma Duanlin’s 馬端臨 (1254–ca. 1333~35) Wenxian tongkao 文獻通考 (Comprehensive Investigations of Records and Documents, 1307, hereafter WXTK) focused mainly on the following aspects: 1) Ma followed and expanded the genre of Tongdian 通典 (Comprehensive Institutions, 801, hereafter TD) created by Du You 杜佑 (735–812); 2) in WXTK, Ma collected a great number of sources about institutional history (especially about the institution of Song 宋 dynasty); 3) in “Jingji kao” 經籍考 (Investigation on bibliography), Ma made a special classification of books, and his analytic comments in “Jingji kao” are highly valued. Based on past research, the present thesis will study WXTK both in the context of general Chinese historiography and intellectual history and in the context of Song historiography and intellectual milieu, trying to explore what Ma thought about certain important topics and concepts. The author will put special emphasis on several aspects of WXTK in which scholars have been less interested, like the origins of its genre, the design of its structure, the arrangement of sources, Ma’s comments, Ma’s quotations from other people’s arguments, etc.
In Chapter One “Introduction,” it is pointed out first that there were three people very influential to Ma Duanlin’s life: his father Ma Tingluan 馬廷鸞 (1222–98), his mentor Cao Jing 曹涇 (1234–1315), and his good friend Cheng Shideng 程時登 (1249–1328). Because the three of them all played some roles in the community of daoxue 道學 (Learning of the Way), Ma Daunlin’s thoughts were deeply influenced by daoxue. It is also pointed out in this chapter that, since WXTK was published, it had attracted many readers from generation to generation, but the book’s system of ideas was barely noticed, and most of the readers paid no attention to what Ma’s own thoughts were about.
In Chapter Two, the author will examine the origins of WXTK’s writing style in the context of Chinese historiography and historical thinking. First, the categorization in WXTK was influenced by Du’s TD, but except that, it also derived from (1) shu 書 and zhi 志 (monographs/treatises) in zhengshi 正史 (standard histories/official dynastic histories), (2) Shitong 史通 (Comprehensive Perspectives on Historiography, 710) written by Liu Zhiji 劉知幾 (661–721), (3) all kinds of huiyao 會要 (collection of important documents), and (4) Song leishu 類書 (encyclopedia), which is mainly about institution and history. Second, the way Ma arranged his sources shows that, when it came to the issue of zhengtong (legitimacy/legitimation/legitimate political transmission), he took a stand for traditional view. However, in the case of “Sanguo” 三國 (Three Kingdoms, at least from 196 to 280), he was somewhat influenced by Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200).
In Chapter Three, the author will analyze Ma’s concept of stages in historical development and periodization and how he traced the history of antiquity. Although deeply influenced by the Sandai 三代 (three dynasties in antiquity) canonical interpretation of history, he found a lot of discrepancies between the canonical interpretation and historical truth as he did research on institutional histories. Therefore, Ma’s attitude became ambiguous when he talked about the different nature between the history of Sandai and the history since the beginning of Qin 秦 (221 BCE). As to the history of antiquity, since Ma acknowledged the authority of Confucian canons, he tried very hard to piece together the sources from the canons to show what the institutions were like under the rule of ancient sage kings and to fill the gaps Du’s TD had left. Moreover, Ma respected the canons so highly that he regarded them not only as the authority of historical truth, but also as the authority of moral truth. The analysis in this chapter shows that Ma tried to harmonize the canons which stood for the utopian perceptions of antiquity and the history which might be closer to the reality. But what he finished was not successful enough. After all, WXTK represents what all Ma could do under the limitations of daoxue.
In Chapter Four, the author will analyze Ma’s point of views on how human beings deal with ethical problems under certain limitations of historical circumstances and trends. Three concepts are used here to help the analysis: shi 勢 (propensity/trend/circumstances/situation), quan 權 (expediency/expedient), and gongxin 公心 (public-mindness). First, Ma was well aware that objective circumstantial conditions and regular historical patterns would affect the development of institution and would make or break it. So, although he argued that morals were of great importance when an institution was set and run, he agreed that it could not be neglected to grasp and figure out shi. Second, overall, Ma approved that, when faced with critical issues about major institutions, people should be flexible and do something expedient, not rigidly adhere to ancient institutions established by the sage kings. So his interpretation of quan was different from that of Zhu Xi and Lü Zuqian 呂祖謙 (1137–81), who argued that only sages were qualified to do things expedient. However, Ma was well aware that bad things might happen when quan was exercised. Finally, Ma put special emphasis on gongxin. He believed that only if people had gongxin at heart, when faced with institutional challenges, they would know how to choose the most suitable institution, make reforms just right, or make the best of the existing system. Although people showed gongxin perfectly only in the utopian antiquity before Qin dynasty, performance of gongxin could still be seen occasionally after Qin. In conclusion, Ma’s historical thought compromised between the two main trends in Song historiography: the insistence on moral truth and a practical way to face the historical truth.
In Chapter Five “Conclusion,” the author will conclude what elements of Song historiography were carried on by Ma and point out that Ma’s WXTK was meant to integrate what Song had achieved, not to be an epochal breakthrough. In some aspects, Ma did not get as far as the top performance of Song historiography and went backward a little. His limitation was mainly resulted from the influence of daoxue (especially that of Zhu Xi). Therefore, the importance of Ma’s WXTK in the Chinese historiography lies in that it shows all major achievements of Song historiography and that it reflects how a Song loyalist (born in the end of Song, but mostly lived under Mongol rule) looked back and did a retrospective study on the legacy of civilization.
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