歷史學本系求真之學,但當史家基于求真理念所形成的主張與社會現實需求相違時,圍繞價值判斷所生之困境則如影隨形。民國年間,顧頡剛、傅斯年等史家皆曾遭逢此困境,其中以兩個案例最具代表性:初中教科書《本國史》所涉之風波和關于"中華民族是一個"的學術論爭。這兩個案例集中體現了學者個體學術主張和時代需求之間的糾葛,其實質反映出史家求真與致用的雙重情懷如何展現,學術追求和現實政治如何協調,專業研究和大眾普及的關系如何處理等帶有普遍意義的命題。抗戰時期的顧頡剛、傅斯年等史家以不同方式實現了歷史研究的價值理性,似在史學的求真與致用兩途獲得了統一,實現了兩全,然此兩全伴隨著兩難,內里深刻的矛盾糾結仍始終存在。

When historians’commitment to seeking truth conflicts with the practical needs of the society,they tend to be trapped in the dilemma caused by their bifurcated value judgment.In the Republican period,some historians such as Gu Jiegang and Fu Sinian experienced such a dilemma.Two exemplary controversies illustrate their paradox:the one on the middleschool textbook on"National History"and the other on the argument that"the Chinese nation is one."These two cases show how scholars’individual academic pursuits entangled with the needs of the age,and furthermore,they reflect the universal issues such as how to reconcile independent scholarship and pragmatic politics,how to deal with the relationship between specialized research and popular education,and so on.During the Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression,historians such as Gu Jiegang and Fu Sinian fulfilled the value ration of historical research in different ways,which seemed to find a way to unify their mission of seeking both truth and utility.However,the internal contradiction in their underlying dilemma still existed and frustrated them.