Wang Shejiao, professor and dean of Northwest Institute of Historical Environment and Socio-Economic Development, Shaanxi Normal University
Historical geography, as a branch of geography, studies the changes of geographical environment in historical periods as well as the relations with human activities. As what historical geography studies is historical phenomena that happened in historical periods, it has the main function of historical research, i.e. summing up experience and distinguishing between the good and the evil.The historical geography of China has progressed based upon the evolutional geography, and the evolutional geography has always been an important part of the historical research in China. Therefore, the historical geography of China has set up an obvious objective of pragmatism from the moment of its birth.
Today, how does historical geography serve the purpose of pragmatism? I think two points must be upheld.
First, the abuse of historical geography should be avoided. Pragmatism and truth-seeking are the eternal themes in the development of all disciplines, and historical geography is no exception. There is a limit to pragmatism, otherwise it will lead to abuse.Pursuit of truth, as the premise of pragmatism, is the foundation for historical geography to contribute to reality, and is the eternal goal of historical geography research. Without truth seeking, there is no real contribution to reality.Meanwhile, due to the change of time, the improvement of science and technology, the enhanced ability of human society to learn about nature, make use of nature and change nature, geographical environment has changed and today’s environment has been quite different from that of the past periods; historical experience can't be all-sided or universal, and the evaluation of historical value can’t be invariable.
Second, we should adhere to the scientific nature, independence and integrity of historical geography research. Historical geography is essentially academic research, so we must strictly follow the paradigm of academic research, apply scientific research methodologies, make a comprehensive, systematic and in-depth summary and evaluation of previous research results, collect and sort out relevant literature and have logical analyses. All experience, lessons and value judgments must be based on scientific research.Accordingly, we should insist on independence of historical geography research. We should not narrowly understand the historical geography's pragmatism as serving politics, nor should we do something farfetched or insinuating at the expense of the objectivity and scientific nature of historical geography research in order to achieve the purpose of serving the reality, nor should we arbitrarily adjust our historical views at any time in order to meet some special social needs.
As far as the characteristics of historical geography are concerned, there are three levels of pragmatism.The first level is historical facts examination and restoration which can provide historical basis for economic and cultural construction and traditional culture protection.The second level is the summary of historical geographical phenomena which can provide historical experience for regional economic development and territorial space planning. The third level is the exploration of human-earth relations which can provide a theoretical source for the improvement of human's own understanding and national quality. No matter which level it is, can historical geography serve the purpose of pragmatism, though the path varies. The first level can produce immediate results and be easily absorbed. The second level will bring about different judgments and debates. The third level will be a long-term process, underlining a sort of cultural literacy.
Published on September 1, 2022