威爾斯《世界史綱》的寫作、譯介與中國史

H. G. Wells's The Outline of History in China: Writing, Translation and Chinese History

英國作家威爾斯（Herbert George Wells）的《世界史綱》（The Outline of History）是企圖宏偉的通俗世界史創作。威爾斯以簡明流暢的筆法，講述從生命起源直至第一次世界大戰為止，涵蓋生物與人類演化歷程的普世史。威爾斯並非專業史家，其突破傳統史學框架的作法，使本書在暢銷之餘受到不少批評，毀譽參半。《世界史綱》的風行並不限於歐美，書中對多元民族與文化的重視，以及對中國史的討論，自1920年成書以來立刻引起中國讀者關注。威爾斯對於中國史的描寫，除了來自當代西方漢學家累積的普通知識，也得益於與梁啟超、丁文江、傅斯年、陳源（西瀅）等眾多中國知識分子的親身交流。尤其梁啟超對《世界史綱》的翻譯與校訂出力甚多。書中跨學科領域的宏觀敘事，以及將中國史放入世界史範疇的書寫，也對梁啟超試圖改造中國史學、將史學科學化的「新史學」志業，提供了刺激與示範。威爾斯以演化論為基礎而欲塑造人類共同歷史的嘗試，雖然獲得部分中國讀者的讚賞，卻也遭到雷海宗等人批評仍然未脫離「歐洲中心論」思維，以西方的歷史發展為基準去比較非西方文明。

The Outline of History by the English writer H. G. Wells is an ambitious work of popular world history. Wells narrates a universal history covering the evolution of the natural world and humankind, from the origin of life to the First World War, in a concise and lucid way. Because Wells was not a professional historian, his unconventional treatment of historiography made this bestseller receive mixed reviews. The popularity of the Outline was not confined to the English-speaking world. The title's representation of multiple cultures and nations outside the Western world, along with its discussions on the history of China, immediately attracted the attention of Chinese readers since its first publication in 1920. Wells's sources of Chinese history came from not only the common knowledge accumulated by contemporary Western Sinologists, but also personal contacts with Chinese intellectuals, including Liang Qichao, Ding Wenjiang, Fu Sinian, and Chen Yuan (Xiying). Liang Qichao also contributed greatly to the Chinese translation of the Outline. The title's macro-narrative, interdisciplinary methods, and its depiction of Chinese civilization within the frame of world history, provided an inspiration for Liang's project of transforming Chinese historiography. However, Wells's attempt to shape a common history of mankind based on evolution was criticized by some Chinese intellectuals such as Lei Haizong for failing to avoid Eurocentrism.