Altitudes and Standpoint of Viewing History
These days, YI Zhongtian, one history professor suddenly gets extremely popular, because he made a series of Television programs called “Analyze the Three Kingdoms”. I have watched a part of this series, and feel, really, interesting. He uses another way or another relation net to tell the history with some modern characteristics words for description.
Beside my big praise to him, I have a different opinion about one small question. He said there were there altitudes or standpoint of viewing/analyzing history: from the point of forefathers, called history-view, from modern, called times-view, and from individual, called individual-view.
My first opinion to these words is that, since there are “old” and “new”, the individual should also have a mate – group.
My second opinion is that I think these three altitudes is not for viewing history, but for “viewing history when treat history as stories”. Because, in my immature thought, the history is not just stories, it is, with civilization, a summary of the principles which The Creator mentioned indirectly to human beings, or easily, experience.
My third opinion is that, I really question that it is really possible to view history from “old” standpoint? Why we call something history? Because the situation is that these things happened. But when we make “old” as our standpoint, equaling we make ourselves in the same period of the “history”, if this is true, can the “history” be called history?
Thought provoking post. It is often said that history, “his story”, is told by the “winners”. Leaving the perspective of the losers left behind in the dust.
Jesse Warren - December 9th, 2006 at 9:34 pm