八十年來的譚嗣同研究

Abstract

This article makes a critical survey of the literature on the late Ch'ing reformer T'an Ssu-t'ung (1865-1898). It is divided into five sections: (i) A biographical sketch of T'an Ssu-t'ung; (ii) Biographies; (iii) Chronological biographies; (iv) Primary sources (v) Stages of study; and (vi) Conclusion. The author believes that the level of scholarship in the life and thought of T'an Ssu-t'ung leaves much to be desired, as can be seen from the biographies and chronological biographies written on the martyr. Besides giving a chronological sketch of T'an with accurate dates for his writings and whereabouts, the author shows, in particular, that there are major inconsistencies and distortions in the works by Liang Ch'i-ch'ao and Yang T'ing-fu. However, with the publication of the revised and enlarged edition of the Complete Works of Tan Ssu-t'ung by Chung-hua shu-chu in 1981, the situation has improved, because the collection includes many hitherto unpublished writings of T'an and provides dates for a large number of his letters. On the historiographical side, the study of T'an in the last eighty years can be divided into five periods: (1) 1898-1925, Narration; (2) 1925-1954, Piecemeal Study; (3) 1954-1964, Idealist or Materialist Controversy; (4) 1965-1981, study by scholars abroad; (5) 1981- present, the Beginning of a New Era. In the Conclusion, the author suggests the adoption of a "total" approach to the study of T'an Ssu-t'ung, making full use of the primary and secondary sources and analyzing them with an interdisciplinary method.