Combined with research on the history of the late Ming dynasty this paper reviews the three high tides of China's “new
historiography”
in the past hundred years after Liang Qichao issued the call. “New” and “traditional” are relative concepts in their true sense, but the concept of “new
historiography” now refers mainly to research under the guidance of historical research theories introduced from the West. The three high tides of China's “new historiography” were all engendered under the influence of the Western theories. There are experience and lessons to draw from these tides and two tendencies deserve our particular attention: dogmatism after the 1950s and the Westernization. The author does not oppose introduction of new theories of historiography, but opposes dogmatism. In his view, new historiography should not be divorced from the Chinese
tradition, and historiography in China during the new century will remain to be a subject of Chinese learning instead of one of Western learning.