On the Subversive Nature of Historical Materials

Abstract

By making a distinction between two kinds of histories, this article attempts to chart the fine line between “actions in the past” and “subsequent records” within the multilayered process of humankind’s practices. One might call “History B” the efforts by later writers to impose some “continuity” onto history, embodying a kind of discursive power; similarly, one might give the name of “History A” to the indelible historical vestiges left by humans who lived in the past. History A constitutes a kind of “counter-power” that constantly challenges existing historiographic discourses. Focusing on the complex yet paradoxical relationship between these two kinds of histories, this article discusses the achievements and pitfalls of contemporary historiography, particularly Chinese.