The study of China's modern political history was relatively neglected for a period of time.

Since 1980s, the study of modern cultural history in China has risen and become a hot spot.

At that time, looking back, the study of China's modern history focused on the revolutionary history and political history, and felt it necessary to broaden the field, so people paid attention to the cultural field.

However, in the "cultural craze", there is a phenomenon of belittling political history. Some researchers believe that the study of political history is superficial and superficial, and only the study of culture can enter the deep layer of history and be at the center.

Subsequently, the modern social history of China also attracted the interest of scholars, and the research on it was in the ascendant.

But similar to the "cultural craze", it belittles the study of political history and even advocates replacing history with social history.

Whether these statements are accurate is worth pondering.

Although I study the modern cultural history of China, I don't think culture is the center of history.

In a conversation with Professor Bai Shouyi, I once talked about what is the center of history.

Mr. Bai believes that history mainly focuses on politics, and politics is the backbone of history. Although economy is the foundation, it is restricted by politics, and culture is more restricted by politics. Culture cannot be the center of history.

Today's China developed from historical China, and phenomenon and history are inseparable.

Historical researchers all live in the real society, and the problems in the real society will undoubtedly cause researchers to think about history.

However, reality and history cannot be equated, and they are both related and different.

This is common sense that needs no elaboration, and it looks very clear.

However, in practical research, the boundary between them is often confused.

For example, since the late 1970s, we have been carrying out socialist modernization, focusing on economic construction, reforming and opening up, introducing foreign capital and so on. Therefore, some researchers take this opportunity to reflect on and interpret history, and think that in recent years, China 100 years, western powers have been dumping goods, investing in factories, exploiting roads and plundering raw agricultural products in China to help China realize modernization, and they should be welcomed in, not resisted.