**Title: Demystifying the Cyclical Mystery of Chinese History: The Cyclical Law of History Behind the Cave Dialogue**
Recently, a little-known conversation about Chinese history has attracted a lot of attention. This historic conversation took place in 1945, on the eve of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Huang Yanpei and a group of six people flew from Chongqing to Yan'an for **. This conversation was held in a cave in Yan'an, so it was called the "cave pair" and also jokingly called "Huang Yanpei's question".
The Cyclical Law of History**
In this dialogue, Huang Yanpei asked a profound question: "Why does Chinese history always fall into a cycle of rise and fall of chaos?"This question has become the key to the cyclical nature of China's history. The article points out that the "cyclical law of Chinese history" is not Huang Yanpei's unique opinion, but a historical phenomenon that has attracted much attention for a long time.
Political Formation and Strongman Politics**
A summary of Chinese history shows that its "law of historical cycles" has obvious characteristics. First of all, in terms of political form, Chinese history has always been dominated by the politics of strongmen where efficiency is paramount. Historian Qin Hui believes that the core of this transformation lies in the transformation from the small community standard to the large community standard. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, driven by the war, the logic of enriching the country and strengthening the army made the county system, the bureaucratic system and the centralization of power the core of China's political form.
Social Forms and "Super-Stable Forms"**
In terms of social form, China has always maintained a "super-stable form" of a monistic structure, that is, civilization, politics, and power as the core. This highly secular state is particularly unique among world civilizations. However, although this unary structure is extremely stable during the cycle, it is easy to fall into long-term stagnation, and it is difficult to avoid the involution of society. In the middle and late dynasties, the backlog of contradictions could not be released, and order could only be re-established by subverting the form of the dynasty.
Evolutionary patterns and periodic collapses and reconstruction**
Another striking feature of Chinese history is the periodic collapse and reconstruction of evolutionary forms. Since the Qin Dynasty, no dynasty has lasted more than 300 years. At the time of Chengping, the "imperial system" was extremely efficient, but once the state declined and the highly centralized power was challenged, the dynasty collapsed in an instant. This has led to the death of large numbers of people, the redistribution of resources, and the waiting of people in "abundance" for the next catastrophe.
The pursuit and dilemma of the sages of the past dynasties**
In the 2,000 years of Chinese history, the sages of the past dynasties have always pursued how to break the "law of historical cycles" and make the country develop sustainably and steadily. To date, however, no definitive answer has been found to this question. The famous historian Zhou Youguang once said: "Fish can't see the whole earth clearly in the water." In other words, the "authorities are obsessed", and the various institutional environments we are Xi to, such as the great unification and the hierarchical patriarchy, may be the key reason for the more than 2,000 years of suffering.
Outside Perspectives and Historical Implications**
Historian Ge Zhaoguang pointed out that China's own ideological system and institutional system are precocious and complete, and it is very difficult to change internal factors, so changes often need to be stimulated by external factors. It was external stimuli such as the Opium War and the Sino-Japanese War that made China truly realize the importance of "change". This has also led to reflections on the importance of "seeing China from the world".
Advocating external vision, three classics are recommended**
Finally, the article emphasizes the perspective of "China from the world" and recommends three classics: "A General History of China in Kyoto", "A Harvard History of China", and "A Cambridge History of China". By bringing together the world's best scholars, these works provide a broad outside perspective and interpret issues that we can't see in the bureau. Britain and the United States, as the pioneers and leaders of the modern world, and Japan, as the world's closest neighbors who know China best, are indispensable in interpreting Chinese history.
Conclusion**Through the "cyclical law of history" revealed by this "cave pair", we have a deeper understanding of the cyclical nature of Chinese history. In the face of the predicaments of the past and the challenges of the future, perhaps we should draw more wisdom from the outside, break the bottleneck of thinking, and find a new way that can truly break out of the cyclical law of history. History has given us not only lessons, but also inspirations. Perhaps, it is under the pluralistic vision.
Only then can we find the direction that will lead China's future.