Evaluation of Historical Figures Must Adhere to Historical Materialism

The evaluation of historical figures is a perennial and ever-renewing important topic in historical research, and it is also a fundamental prerequisite for constructing the discourse system of Marxist historical materialism in the present era. Evaluating historical figures on the basis of historical materialism has long been a principle consistently upheld by historical researchers. Some problems have once emerged in the field of historical figure evaluation, where certain researchers, "due to biases in historical perspective or scholarly methods," have caused research to "deviate," and historical nihilism has deliberately sought to "reverse verdicts" on and distort historical figures, using abstract theories of human nature to conduct "supra-class" reassessments, thereby inverting the merits and demerits, achievements and errors of historical figures. This requires that, when evaluating and analyzing historical figures, one must first and foremost adhere to a correct view of history.

历史人物评价是史学研究中一个恒久而常新的重要议题，也是当下构建马克思主义唯物史观话语体系的基本前提。基于唯物史观对历史人物进行评价，是长期以来史学工作者一贯秉持的准则。历史人物评价领域一度出现了一些问题，一些研究者“因史观或治学方法的偏颇”而导致研究“出现偏差”，历史虚无主义对历史人物更是蓄意“翻案”和曲解，用抽象人性论进行“超阶级”重评，颠倒历史人物的功过是非。这就要求在评价、分析历史人物时，必须首先坚持正确的历史观。

Historical Materialism Is the Methodological Basis for Evaluating Historical Figures

唯物史观是评价历史人物的方法论依据

Humans, as the subjects of historical activity, have always been an important content of historical research. The task of the historian is not limited merely to clarifying the life and practical activities of historical figures without commenting on them. The classical writers of Marxism placed the correct evaluation of historical figures in an important position within historical science, holding that without humans there would be no history and no historical science. To make a correct evaluation of a specific historical figure, one must first resolve the issue of historical perspective. As a fundamental view and general understanding of history, a historical perspective is a stance that cannot be avoided when narrating any history or evaluating any historical figure. The reason why assessments of the same historical figure differ is not only influenced by the knowledge level or cognitive ability of the evaluating subject, but the deepest cause lies in differences in historical perspective. Standing on different positions and holding different historical perspectives, evaluating subjects will make different, even diametrically opposed, judgments.

人作为历史活动的主体，从来都是史学研究的重要内容。历史学家的任务并不限于仅仅弄清历史人物的生平和实践活动，而不去评论他们。马克思主义经典作家把正确评价历史人物放在历史科学的重要位置，认为没有人也就没有历史和历史科学。要对具体历史人物作出正确评价，首先必须解决史观上的问题。作为对历史的基本观念和总的看法，历史观是叙述任何历史和评价历史人物不能不持有的立场。对同一个历史人物的评定之所以观点不一，除受评价主体的知识水平或认识能力影响外，最深层的原因还在于历史观的差异。站在不同的立场上、有着不同的历史观，评价主体就会作出不同甚至截然相反的判断。

Marxist historical materialism is the only scientific view of history. Unlike idealist views of history such as the "heroic view of history," "genius view of history," and "superman philosophy," which attribute the ultimate causes of social phenomena and their development to spiritual factors or explain social development through the will of individual figures, Marxist historical materialism introduces practice into the realm of thought, studying the general laws of historical development from the perspective of the dialectical relationship between thought and being. It pays attention both to how the historical process itself develops and reflects on the relationship between the historical process and historical concepts; it opposes both pure objectivism and voluntarism, thereby scientifically handling the relationship between historical cognition and historical existence, and opening up a completely new model for understanding human social history. Marx wrote in *The German Ideology*: "This conception of history thus relies on expounding the real process of production – starting from the material production of life itself – and comprehending the form of intercourse connected with and created by this mode of production, i.e., civil society in its various stages, as the basis of all history; and describing it in its action as the state, and also explaining how all the different theoretical products and forms of consciousness, religion, philosophy, morality, etc., etc., arise from it, and tracing the process of their formation from that basis; thus the whole thing can, of course, be depicted in its totality (and therefore, too, the reciprocal action of these various sides on one another)." [1]1 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology* (1845–1846). At this point, the relationship between reason and existence, cognition and life, which had been inverted by idealism, was turned right side up again.

马克思主义唯物史观是唯一科学的历史观。与把社会现象及其发展的终极原因归结为精神因素，或用个别人物的意志来解释社会发展的“英雄史观”“天才史观”“超人哲学”等唯心主义历史观不同，马克思主义唯物史观将实践引入思维领域，从思维与存在的辩证关系角度研究历史发展的一般规律，既关注历史过程本身如何发展，又对历史过程与历史观念的关系问题进行反思；既反对纯客观论，又反对唯意志论，从而科学处理了历史认识与历史存在之间的关系，开辟了认识人类社会历史的一种全新模式。马克思在《德意志意识形态》中写道：“这种历史观和唯心主义历史观不同，它不是在每个时代中寻找某种范畴，而是始终站在现实历史的基础上，不是从观念出发来解释实践，而是从物质实践出发来解释观念的形成。”至此，被唯心主义颠倒了的理性与生存、认知与生活的关系被颠倒回来。

The establishment of Marxist historical materialism endowed history with new meaning, providing scientific criteria and basic guidelines for the evaluation of historical figures. First, historical figures must be examined within a specific historical scope. Humans cannot create their own history arbitrarily, but only "under conditions directly encountered, given, and inherited from the past." [2]2 Karl Marx, *The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte* (1852). The purpose and significance of the activities of historical figures can only be truly grasped by starting from the specific historical conditions of the time. Second, the class interests represented by historical figures and the national relations environment in which they are situated must be deeply explored. In a class society and a society where classes exist, all people are "bearers of definite class relations and interests," [3]3 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Volume 1, Preface to the First Edition (1867). and "no living person can avoid taking the side of this or that class." [4]4 V. I. Lenin, "The Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution" (1917). To determine the class attributes of a historical figure, one must deeply reveal the class interests they represent and the relationship between class and nation or state, and cannot stop at personal motives. Third, the principle of seeking truth from facts must be followed. The development of social history is not arbitrary; any explanation or evaluation of historical events and historical figures must discard all preconceived frameworks, draw a clear line with all subjective idealism and objective idealism, adhere to proceeding from the reality of society, and truthfully grasp the actual situation according to the original appearance of objective things. This is the basic measure of historical evaluation.

马克思主义唯物史观的创立赋予历史以新的意义，使历史人物评价具有了科学的准则和基本的遵循。一是要把历史人物放在一定的历史范围内进行考察。人不能随心所欲地创造自己的历史，而只能“在直接碰到的、既定的、从过去承继下来的条件下创造”。历史人物活动的目的及意义只有从当时特定的历史条件出发才能真正获得。二是要深入探讨历史人物所代表的阶级利益以及所处的民族关系环境。在阶级社会和有阶级存在的社会里，一切人都是“一定阶级关系和利益的负担者”，“没有一个活着的人能够不站到这个或那个阶级方面来”。确定历史人物的阶级属性，要深入揭示其代表的阶级利益以及阶级与民族、国家之间的关系，不能停留在个人动机上。三是要遵循实事求是的原则。社会历史的发展不是任意的，任何对历史事件和历史人物的解释、评价都必须抛弃一切先入为主的条条框框，与一切主观唯心主义和客观唯心主义划清界限，坚持从社会的实际出发，如实地按照客观事物的本来面目去把握真实情况，这是历史评价的基本尺度。

Some mistakenly believe that historical materialism is "already outdated" and even consider it a "pseudoscience," thus rejecting it, or simply advocate for the diversification of guiding ideologies. In fact, as the British historian Geoffrey Barraclough pointed out, historical materialism is "the only 'philosophy of history' that still retains vitality and inner potential today." [5]5 Geoffrey Barraclough, *Main Trends in History* (1978). It simultaneously achieved a fundamental transformation in both the view of history and the methodology of historical research, providing the most explanatory paradigm of thought, conceptual system, and theoretical principles for the evaluation of historical figures and historical research. As a philosophy of history, although historical materialism cannot encompass all the rich content of historical development, the theoretical principles it proposes at the highest level of historical thinking are unavoidable for any historical science.

有人误认为当前唯物史观“已经过时”，甚至认为它是“伪科学”，从而加以排斥，或干脆主张指导思想的多元化。事实上，正如英国史学家杰弗里·巴勒克拉夫所指出的，唯物史观是“今天仍保留着生命力和内在潜力的唯一的‘历史哲学’”。它同时实现了历史观和历史研究方法论两方面的根本变革，为历史人物评价和历史研究提供了最具解释力的思维范式、概念系统和理论原则。作为历史哲学，唯物史观虽不能包罗历史发展的全部丰富内容，但它在历史思维的最高层次上提出的理论原则是任何历史科学都无法回避的。

The Essence of Historical Nihilism Is a Problem of Historical Perspective

历史虚无主义的实质是历史观问题

Historical nihilism, which has resurfaced in the new historical period, uses idealist views of history and metaphysical methodology as the yardstick for evaluating historical figures, and continuously squeezes historical materialism with a relatively independent discourse system and clear political demands. It operates under the banner of scholarship, but it is not an academic trend; rather, it is a political trend. As an erroneous trend of thought that runs counter to Marxist historical materialism, the fallacies of historical nihilism in theory and method are mainly manifested in the following aspects.

新的历史时期重新泛起的历史虚无主义，用唯心史观和形而上学的方法论充当历史人物评价的度量衡，以相对独立的话语体系和明确的政治诉求不断挤压唯物史观。它打着学术旗号，却并非学术思潮，而是一种政治思潮。作为与马克思主义唯物史观背道而驰的一种错误思潮，历史虚无主义在理论与方法上的谬误主要体现在以下方面。

First, it denies the unity of subjectivity and objectivity in historical evaluation. Historical nihilism does not evaluate historical figures "starting from the most solid facts," [6]6 Friedrich Engels, "Karl Marx's *Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*" (1859). but from a specific intention, using various hypothetical inferences to "arrange" and determine the merits and demerits of historical figures in a preconceived manner, turning the writing of historical figures into "the imagined activity of an imagined subject." [7]7 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology* (1845–1846). Alternatively, from a seemingly opposite direction, it advocates evaluating historical figures with "value neutrality" and a "detached objectivist attitude," creating the illusion of "restoring" "true" figures based on historical sources, thereby falling into a state of pseudo-empiricism and formal empiricism. In fact, even scholars who advocate that "history itself has no meaning; its meaning is given by historians" [8]8 This is a paraphrase of a view associated with the historian Carl L. Becker, who wrote in "Everyman His Own Historian" (1931) that "the past is a kind of screen upon which we project our vision of the future." do not agree that historical facts are pure fabrications and constructs.

一是否认历史评价主体性与客观性的统一。历史虚无主义评价历史人物不是“从最过硬的事实出发”，而是从某种特定的意图出发，先入为主地用各种假设推理来“安排”和断定历史人物的是非功过，使历史人物书写成为“想象的主体的想象的活动”。又或者从看似相反的方面，鼓吹以“价值中立”“超然的客观主义态度”去评价历史人物，制造依据史料“还原”“真实”人物的假象，从而陷于伪实证和形式实证的状态。实际上，即便是主张“历史学本身没有意义，它的意义是历史学家所赋予”的学者，也不赞同历史事实是纯粹的臆造和构想的观点。

Second, it treats historical figures with an unhistorical attitude. Unlike historical materialism, which judges the purpose and significance of the activities of historical figures within "given conditions" and the entire process of historical development, historical nihilism evaluates historical figures under "selected conditions," using the standards of today to demand of the ancients. This practice is, in fact, what is commonly called modernizing history. Mao Zedong once said in his article "In Commemoration of Dr. Sun Yat-sen": "Dr. Sun also had his shortcomings. This must be explained in terms of the historical conditions so that people can understand, and we must not be unduly harsh towards our predecessors." [9]9 Mao Zedong, "In Commemoration of Dr. Sun Yat-sen" (1956). A specific historical era can only produce specific historical figures; this is the limitation of history.

二是用非历史主义的态度对待历史人物。与唯物史观把历史人物活动的目的及意义置于“既定的条件”和历史发展的全过程去评判不同，历史虚无主义将历史人物放在“选定的条件”下进行评价，用今人的标准去要求古人。这种做法，实际上就是通常所说的把历史现代化。毛泽东在《纪念孙中山先生》一文中曾说：“孙先生也有他的缺点方面。这是要从历史条件加以说明，使人理解，不可以苛求于前人的。”一定的历史时代只能产生一定的历史人物，这是历史的局限性。

Third, it uses so-called human nature to conduct "supra-class" reassessments of historical figures. Historical nihilism advocates replacing class analysis with abstract theories of human nature, which can only result in historical figures becoming "good people not good" and "bad people not bad." In the view of historical nihilists, even despotic landlords have a "good human nature" side, and revolutionary leaders and heroic figures also have an "evil human nature" side. As a result, bizarre claims emerge, such as that the British man Robert Hart "acted in the interests of China's customs and implemented most policies" and thus "his merits are boundless," [10]10 This is a reference to a positive reassessment of Robert Hart, the British Inspector-General of China's Imperial Maritime Customs Service (1863–1911), by some historians. or that Yuan Shikai was "the hero of that era" [11]11 This refers to a revisionist view of Yuan Shikai, a military and political leader who served as the first President of the Republic of China and briefly declared himself Emperor. in the late Qing and early Republic periods. The objectivity of historical evaluation completely vanishes.

三是用所谓人性的观点对历史人物进行“超阶级”重评。历史虚无主义鼓吹以抽象人性论代替阶级分析法，结果只能导致历史人物变得“好人不好”“坏人不坏”。在历史虚无主义者看来，地主恶霸也有“人性善”的一面，革命领袖和英雄人物也有“人性恶”的一面。如此一来，英国人赫德“以中国海关的利益出发执行大多数政策”“功德无量”、袁世凯是清末民初“那个时代的英雄”等怪论迭现，历史评价的客观性荡然无存。

Fourth, it uses "fragmented" details to distort the main facts. The practical activities of historical figures cannot be reproduced; they can only be reviewed and traced through "a large quantity of critically examined, fully mastered historical data." [12]12 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Volume 1, Afterword to the Second German Edition (1873). Historical nihilism deliberately highlights or even alters certain historical details to achieve the goal of beautifying or demonizing historical figures. However, even genuine historical fragments are by no means equivalent to the real historical figure. Historical truth is the truth of historical essence. The reason historical nihilism is untenable, in the final analysis, lies in its departure from the principle of seeking truth from facts and from basic historical facts and academic ethics.

四是以“碎片化”的细节歪曲主体事实。历史人物的实践活动无法再现，只能“靠大量的、批判地审查过的、充分地掌握了的历史资料”进行回顾和追溯。历史虚无主义刻意凸显甚至篡改某些历史细节，以达到美化或丑化历史人物的目的。然而，即便是真实的历史碎片，也绝不等于真实的历史人物。历史的真实是历史本质的真实。历史虚无主义之所以站不住脚，说到底，在于背离了实事求是的原则及基本的历史事实和学术道德。

The Contemporary Construction of the Discourse System of Historical Materialism

唯物史观话语体系的当代构建

Under the discourse of historical nihilism, historical figures are often “depicted” and “constructed” not only because this trend of thought itself is highly deceptive and misleading, but also because historical research has, to some extent, shown a tendency to deviate from historical materialism. Thus, how to implement the theoretical guidance of historical materialism in the study of historical figures has become an issue that urgently requires in-depth consideration.

在历史虚无主义话语下，历史人物之所以常常“被描述”“被建构”，除了这一思潮本身具有很大的欺骗性和迷惑性外，还与史学研究某种程度上出现脱离唯物史观的趋向有关。由此，如何在历史人物研究中贯彻唯物史观的理论指导，成为一个亟待深入思考的问题。

First, provide a fundamental clarification of historical materialism. For a period of time, the dogmatic and rigid understanding of Marxism in historical research has caused historical materialism to lose its discursive power in many respects. This phenomenon is also reflected in the evaluation of historical figures, such as the view that class struggle is no longer the principal contradiction in our current society, that the method of class analysis is outdated, and that basic class analysis is no longer needed when analyzing historical figures. This provides an opportunity for historical nihilism to advocate so-called “supra-class” objectivism and abstract theories of human nature. To strengthen the guiding position of historical materialism in historiography, it is necessary to clarify which are dogmas to be discarded, which are misinterpretations to be corrected, and which are theories to be enriched and developed in light of new social practices, thereby restoring the content of historical materialism to historical materialism itself. At the same time, the significance of historical materialism in historical research is not limited to making objective and reasonable evaluations of historical figures; it also requires using new research paths and methods to uncover deeper internal structures and more reasonable factors within historical figures.

第一，对唯物史观作正本清源的解释。一个时期以来，历史研究在对待马克思主义问题上存在的教条化、僵化理解现象，使唯物史观在不少方面失去了话语权。这种现象也体现在历史人物的评价上，如认为阶级斗争已不是当前我国社会的主要矛盾，阶级分析法已经过时，对历史人物的分析不需要再作基本的阶级分析，这就为历史虚无主义宣扬所谓“超阶级”的客观主义和抽象的人性论提供了机会。加强唯物史观的史学指导地位，必须厘清哪些是需要摒弃的教条，哪些是需要澄清的误读，哪些是需要结合新的社会实践不断加以丰富和发展的理论，把唯物史观的内容还给唯物史观。同时，唯物史观在历史研究中的意义，还不止于对历史人物作出客观合理的评价，也要借助新的研究路径和方法把历史人物更深层次的内部、更合理的因素搜寻出来。

Second, scientifically apply evaluation criteria. The field of historiography has long formed many criteria for evaluating historical figures, such as class criteria, productive forces criteria, progress criteria, and moral criteria. Each of these has its value, but also its own limitations. Historical figures are vastly different; judging them only with abstract terms and standards such as good and bad, good and evil, progressive and reactionary inevitably leads to metaphysical problems. For example, regarding the application of moral evaluation criteria, historical materialism holds that moral judgments of historical figures must be based on factual judgments. If one sets aside the objective process of historical development and the real past, and overemphasizes the so-called moral force, personal character, and emotions in the analysis of figures to the highest status and core element, seeking only “goodness” but not “truth,” the result will inevitably lead to the misguided path of moral determinism.

第二，科学运用评价标准。史学领域长期以来形成了阶级标准、生产力标准、进步标准、道德标准等诸多评价历史人物的标准，其中每一种都有价值，但也有各自的局限性。历史人物千差万别，仅用好与坏、善与恶、进步与反动这样的抽象字眼和标准去判断，必然产生形而上的问题。如关于道德评价标准的运用，唯物史观认为，对历史人物的道德判断必须建立在事实判断的基础上，若抛开历史发展的客观进程、真实的过往，把所谓的道义力量、个人品德、情感在人物分析中的作用过分强调到最高地位和核心要素，只求“善”却不求“真”，其结果必然走上道德决定论的迷途。

Third, adhere to the principle of holism. A basic thread and fundamental principle of historical materialism in understanding society is holism, which requires a comprehensive, holistic, and interconnected view of a given object of study, and forbids dwelling solely on trivial details about individuals. Adhering to this principle requires upholding historicism, understanding and grasping the thoughts and practices of historical figures from the specific context of social history, allowing historical figures to “return to the past,” while also grasping the unity of factual understanding and value understanding in terms of time and space. It requires using dialectical viewpoints and methods to analyze the merits and faults of historical figures, distinguishing between the mainstream and the tributary, seeing through appearances to the essence, and adhering to the unity of the two-point theory and the key-point theory. It requires adhering to a scientific research paradigm; no matter what paradigm is established, it must uphold the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method, and oppose advocating erroneous propositions such as “farewell to revolution” under the banner of paradigm shifts. It requires following the laws of cognition, basing the evaluation of figures on facts themselves and historical logic, “mercilessly sacrificing all idealist fantasies that are inconsistent with facts (facts grasped from the interconnection of facts themselves, not from imaginary connections).”

第三，坚持整体性原则。唯物史观认识社会的一条基本线索和基本原则就是整体性，要求对某一个认识对象予以全面、整体和联系地看待，不能一味追究有关个人的一些细枝末节。坚持这一原则，就要坚持历史主义，从社会历史的具体情景中去认识和把握历史人物的思想实践，让历史人物“回归过去”，同时把握住事实性认识和价值性认识在时空范围上的统一；要用辩证的观点、方法去分析历史人物的是非功过，区分主流和支流，透过现象看本质，坚持两点论和重点论的统一；要坚持科学的研究范式，无论建立何种范式均须坚持马克思主义的立场、观点和方法，反对打着范式转换的旗号宣传“告别革命论”等错误主张；要遵循认识的规律，使人物评价建立在事实本身、历史逻辑的基础上，“毫不怜惜地牺牲一切和事实（从事实本身的联系而不是从幻想的联系来把握的事实）不相符合的唯心主义怪想”。

The saying goes, “To destroy a state, one must first erase its history,” and “to erase its history, one must first erase its representative historical figures.” [13] Historical figures fall into this logical trap and are driven toward “nihilism.” General Secretary Xi Jinping points out, “Only by truly understanding Marxism

所谓“灭人之国，必先去其史”，而“去其史，必先去其代表性历史人物”。历史人物就是在这一逻辑陷阱中被颠覆，走向“虚无”。习近平总书记指出，“只有真正弄懂了马克思主义……才能更好识别各种唯心主义观点、更好抵御各种历史虚无主义谬论”。在历史研究领域，马克思主义的唯物史观不去占领，历史虚无主义的错误历史观必然去占领。回归和坚持马克思主义唯物史观的指导，增强唯物史观的解释力和影响力，以正确的立场、观点和方法对待人物和历史，是新时代史学研究者应有的理论自觉。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗