城市圖像的建構：近百年來明清城市史研究的轉折與拓展

Constructing an Image of the City: Shifting and Expanding Research on the Urban History of Ming and Qing China over the Last Hundred Years

本文考察明清城市史研究發展過程，探究不同時代下的研究取徑，耙梳近百年來學者如何在不同的脈絡中，建構出不同的城市面貌。概略而言，明清城市史研究濫觴於1930年代，由政治制度史的研究出發，至1960年代則多有從社會經濟史脈絡下的城市探究，至1990年代後，乃有社會生活史與文化史取徑的研究面向，從而開展出城市生活文化的豐富面貌。

 

This article examines the evolution of research on Ming and Qing urban history, exploring the research directions of different time periods, and surveying the ways that scholars of divergent traditions created various impressions of Chinese cities over the past century. In general, the study of urban history of the Ming and Qing dynasties began in the 1930s, emerging from research in the history of political institutions. By the 1960s, urban historical research developed mostly in the context of socioeconomic history. By the 1990s, urban research directions turned toward the history of social life as well as cultural history, opening up a rich portrayal of cultural life in the city.