How to evaluate important historical figures

Many students often have a blank mind when evaluating important historical figures, don't know where to start, or are vague and pale; Or ramble, irrelevant. If you have mastered the following trilogy of evaluating historical figures, I believe you will no longer be helpless when you encounter similar problems.

Make clear the class attribute of historical figures first. That is to find out which class the characters you want to evaluate belong to and which class they represent. This is the lowest tone for the person you evaluate. Your evaluation of it must be based on this tone. The class attributes we often come into contact with are: slave owner class and slave class; Landlord class, peasant class; The bourgeoisie (sometimes it is necessary to distinguish between the big bourgeoisie and the middle and small bourgeoisie) and the proletariat.

Second, sort out the important things that historical figures have done and the influence of these things. This is the main part of evaluating historical figures, so we must calm down, sort it out slowly, and list the important things or measures that historical figures have done. Things of the same nature can only be representative or typical, trivial things can be discarded, and things that have no impact on historical development can be discarded. Then write down the impact of these things or measures respectively.

Third, most historical figures use the "two-point theory" and a few people use the "one-point theory" to evaluate. The so-called "two-point theory" is to point out the progress of historical figures and their limitations. The so-called "one-point theory" is to evaluate historical figures with a comprehensive negative or comprehensive negative attitude. Most figures in history can be evaluated by "two-point theory" (pay attention to the difference between affirmation and negation), but there are a few exceptions. For example, the evaluation of Hitler is "one-point theory", that is, the method of comprehensive negation; The evaluation of the representatives of the proletariat is generally comprehensive and positive, such as Chen Yi, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and other proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation.

We use three examples (an ancient history of China, a modern history of China and a modern history of the world) to see how to evaluate historical figures with the trilogy mentioned above:

Example 1: Evaluation of Qin Shihuang:

1. Look at his class attribute: the landlord class.

2. See what he does (measures) and the impact of these things (measures)

3. Principle: Take the "two-point theory"

Evaluation: Qin Shihuang was an outstanding feudal emperor in the history of China. He conformed to the trend of historical development, unified China, ended the long-term separatist regime of governors, and was conducive to the stability of people's lives and social production, in line with the common aspirations of people of all ethnic groups; He established the centralization of feudal autocracy, which had a far-reaching impact on Chinese history; Unified national weights and measures, currency and writing, promoted economic and cultural exchanges in various places, and consolidated national unity; Through the unified war, the territory was expanded, and the Qin Dynasty became the first unified multi-ethnic country in the history of China. But Qin Shihuang was also a feudal emperor who ruled brutally. Heavy taxes, heavy military service and corvee, and harsh criminal law have brought people pain and disaster; Burning books and burying Confucianism stifled thoughts and destroyed culture; Its cruel rule eventually led to the peasant uprising and the demise of the Qin Dynasty.

Second, the evaluation of the left:

1. Look at his class attribute: the landlord class.

2. Look at what he did and its influence:

Influence of things

(1) The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement failed, and he was the executioner of the peasant uprising army.

(2) The establishment of Westernization did not make China rich and strong, but China began the process of modernization.

(3) The recovery of Xinjiang has cracked down on foreign aggression and safeguarded the territorial sovereignty of the motherland, which is in line with national interests.

3. Principle: Take the "two-point theory"

Evaluation: Zuo, as a feudal bureaucrat and general of Xiang army, tried his best to safeguard the rule of Qing dynasty and severely suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, and was the executioner of the peasant uprising army; At the same time, he is also one of the representatives of the Westernization School. Although the establishment of Westernization didn't make China prosperous, China started the process of modernization. He led the army to recover Xinjiang, cracked down on foreign aggression and safeguarded the territorial sovereignty of the motherland, which was in line with national interests.

Example 3: Evaluation of Napoleon:

1. Look at his class attribute: bourgeoisie.

2. Look at what he did and its influence:

3. Principle: Take the "two-point theory"

Evaluation: Napoleon was a famous strategist and politician in French history. He established a centralized political system internally and consolidated the state power of bourgeois dictatorship; Financial reform and the establishment of the Bank of France promoted the development of capitalist industry and commerce. Promulgating the Civil Code and other codes to become the legal norms of capitalist society; Cultivating talents, establishing public middle schools and French universities, encouraging scientific research and technical education have promoted the development of education and science and technology in France. He launched wars abroad. The early wars were just and revolutionary, which defended the achievements of the French Revolution. Wherever he went, he brought the spirit of the French Revolution, which was objectively conducive to the disintegration of the feudal system in Europe and the liberation of farmers. His later wars were reactionary and aggressive, which violated the sovereignty of many European countries, aroused people's resistance and led to his final failure.

In a word, to evaluate historical figures, we should put them in the historical environment at that time to see what they did (measures) and what significance or influence these things (measures) had. Under normal circumstances, the comprehensive evaluation is carried out by using the "two-point theory".

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Note: I often read articles on how to evaluate historical figures in various periodicals and newspapers, but most of them are very theoretical, which is difficult for middle school students to understand and even more difficult to apply. This paper attempts to teach students how to evaluate historical figures through simple and easy-to-understand language, which has strong maneuverability.