檔案與史學：赫德與李度檔案編纂史

Archives and Historical Research: Eighty Years of Editorial Work on the Robert Hart and John Newell Jordan Materials

本文從機構、檔案館和私人收藏檔案的差異，討論史學研究和檔案編纂時遇到的機遇和困境。案例分三階段討論：1930年代海關圖書館成立後，關員史學家整理總稅務司檔案、1960年代李度與費正清於倫敦大學亞非學院、貝爾法斯特皇后大學和哈佛大學檔案館整理赫德和李度檔案，以及當代布里斯托大學團隊與李度後人出版李度日記。若檔案由機構收藏時，編纂和研究會快速發展，但是檔案會被機構壟斷。由檔案館收藏時，若檔案被完善編纂，史學研究將快速推動，但是若檔案無人編纂則被湮沒。而由私人收藏有兩種情況：若是本人收藏，因其了解該檔案，檔案編纂進行順利，但是其改寫會傷害檔案價值；若是家族收藏，雖然不會隨意處置檔案，但是常因在乎先人名譽，而增加檔案編纂的困難，但是編纂者仍應遵守承諾，儘量維護其先人名譽以利史學界獲得新檔案。

This article examines the opportunities and challenges that arise in historical research and archival compilation by comparing three different modes of archival preservation: institutional holdings, archival repositories, and private collections. The discussion is structured in three stages. First, in the 1930s, following the establishment of the Customs Reference Library, customs officials who were also historians began arranging and studying the Inspector-General’s archives. Second, in the 1960s, the archival collections of Robert Hart and John Newell Jordan were processed through research projects led by John Fairbank and associated scholarly teams at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, Queen’s University Belfast, and Harvard University. Finally, in the present day, a research team at the University of Bristol, working in collaboration with the descendants of John Newell Jordan, has edited and published his diaries.
The findings are as follows. When archives are held by an institution, both compilation and research tend to advance rapidly, but the archives may become effectively monopolized by that institution. When archives are held in public archival repositories, if they have been properly compiled, historical research can progress rapidly; however, if no one undertakes their compilation, the materials can easily fall into neglect. Private collections present two possible situations: if the materials are held by the individual to whom they belonged, compilation can proceed smoothly because that individual is familiar with the documents, but their personal revisions or interpretive interventions may compromise their historical value. If the materials are held by the family, they are less likely to be casually disposed of, but concerns over protecting the ancestor’s reputation can complicate the work of compilation. Even so, compilers should honor their commitments and make every effort to facilitate the release of new archival materials to the scholarly community.