Reform of the Traditional Historiography and Compilation of the New History:the Purport of A History of Chinese Historiography by Jin Yufu

A History of Chinese Historiography by Jin Yufu is considered an important milestone of the initial formation of the discipline——Chinese historiography history. Since the publication of the book, it is full of controversy. Those who praise regard it as the first relatively complete writing of Chinese Historiography; those who criticize argue that the book is a misunderstanding of Chinese Historiography, and some even question the value of this discipline. According to the academic context of Jin Yufu, it is clear that he distinguishes historical materials from historiography based on the difference between jizhu and zhuanshu. Consequently, he legitimate traditional historiography as the materials of the new general history. This idea inherits the Movement for Rearranging the National Heritage, deciding his method, materials, and purport——rearrangement of the traditional historiography, discrimination of historical records, measurement of the historical material value and genre evolution, and the compilation of new general history on the basis of the above three. With his A History of Chinese Historiography and A History of Song, Liao and Jin, Jin Yufu practices his compilation of new general history with the reform of the traditional historiography. With the study of the context and impact of A History of Chinese Historiography, the pluralism of the academic development in the Republic of China can be revealed and thus breaking the subject boundaries.