China Social Science Review

No.1, 2021

Interpretation of the Basic Features of the Historiography of Information

(Abstract)

Wang Xudong

As history develops, so must historiography. New historical research requires new ways of thinking and new forms of expression. Informational historiography is based on this theoretical awareness and proposed as a positive response to the changing trend of the times since the latter half of the 20th century and the new challenges of the new century. It believes that the existence of history depends on the information carried by the text and that the origin (original state form and nature) of history lies in information; that the historical epistemological framework actually has a complex nested structure, in which the effective interaction of the subject and the object depends on the role of information flow; and that exploring the development of human history in the information age requires an all round interdisciplinary “new synthesis,” for which informational historiography advocates an open methodology in research and application. Informational historiography aims to clear away the barriers between the discourse systems of different disciplines and build an interdisciplinary context that can integrate historiography with information science in order to promote the modernizing construction of China’s historical discipline.