Zhang Xuecheng (章學誠; 1738–1801) was a Chinese historian and philosopher during the Qing dynasty. His father and his grandfather had been government officials, but, although Zhang achieved the highest civil service examination degree in 1778, he never held high office. Zhang's ideas about the historical process were revolutionary in many ways and he became one of the most enlightened historical theorists of the Qing dynasty, but he spent much of his life in near poverty without the support of a patron and, in 1801, he died, poor and with few friends. It was not until the late 19th century that Chinese scholars began to accept the validity of Zhang's ideas.
His biographer, David Nivison, comments that while his countrymen did not think him a great literary artist, "the infrequent western reader will find his style often both moving and powerful." Zhang developed, Nivison continues, "an organic view of history and the state that approaches Hegelian thought, and then built this view upon and into a theory of culture that sometimes suggests Vico," the Italian philosopher.
His magnum opus, On Literature and History ( 文史通義), was published posthumously, in 1832. In Zhang's view, Confucianism developed over time in response to the concrete needs of the people for social organization. This developmental view contrasts with the view of the Neo-Confucians that Confucianism is the expression of timeless "principles" or "patterns" that are inherent in the human heart. Zhang's most famous quotation is that "the six classics are all history" ( 六經皆史). This means that the canonical texts of Confucianism are not to be understood as repositories of timeless wisdom, but as records of the actions and words of the sages in response to specific historical contexts.
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章學誠（1738年 - 1801年）。字
實齋，號
少巖，浙江會稽（今浙江紹興）人，
清代史學家、思想家。
Read more...: 生平 家族 著作 評價
生平
學誠幼資椎魯，體弱多病，日僅誦百餘言，好深思，隆冬盛夏讀書常至午夜不倦。十四歲，隨父至湖北，二十歲以後學業大進，好讀史部之書。然而科舉不順，曾七應鄉試，乾隆三十年，第三次鄉試落榜，拜翰林院編修朱筠為師，朱筠告以「科舉非君所長，不能學亦不足學」，筠藏書甚豐，得以縱覽群籍。又得與邵晉涵、周永年、任大椿、洪亮吉、汪輝祖、黃景仁等交遊。乾隆三十九年第六次應浙江鄉試落第。乾隆四十二年（1777年）修《永清縣誌》，是年秋天鄉試中舉，乾隆四十三年（1778年）中進士。乾隆四十六年，至河南謀事，歸途遇盜，攜帶所撰文稿蕩然無存，日後寫作必存副稿。曾官國子監典籍，主講定州定武、保定蓮池、歸德文正等書院。乾隆五十三年（1788年），經周震榮介紹，入湖廣總督畢沅幕府，協助編纂《續資治通鑒》等書，畢沅待之甚厚。五十五年，畢沅再邀為《湖北通志》總纂。嘉慶五年（1800年），貧病交迫，雙目失明。次年十一月卒。葬山陰芳塢。
家族
父章鑣是乾隆七年（1742年）進士，官湖北應城知縣。
著作
章學誠一生精力都用于講學、著述和編修方志。所著《文史通義》，與唐劉知幾的《史通》并稱史學理論名著。曾編纂《史籍考》，擬盡收古今史部書敘目凡例，總目達三百二十五卷，但書未完成，稿亦散失。所修方志，傳世有和州、亳州、永清三志。曾主修《湖北通志》，現存遺稿數十篇。
章學誠一生頗自負，不與劉知幾並稱，他說：「鄭樵有史識而未有史學，曾鞏具史學而不具史法，劉知幾得史法而不得史意，此余《文史通義》所為作也。」又在家書中說：「吾於史學，蓋有天授。自信發凡起例，多為後世開山。而人乃擬吾於劉知幾。」他主張「學為實事，而非為空言」，其見解「頗乖人好惡」，生前沒沒無聞，窮困潦倒。一直到死後，名字被人誤寫為「張學誠」，或「章石齋」。1920年，胡適受了日本學者內藤湖南出版的《章實齋先生年譜》的刺激，兩年後以後出版了一本《章實齋先生年譜》，他表示︰「最可使我們慚愧的，是第一次作《章學誠年譜》的乃是一位外國學者。」
章學誠提出「道（理） 寓于器（事物）」命題，認為「道」是客觀事物之規律，「求道」應根據對事物的實際考察。所提出「六經皆史」之說，主張治經以考證史料和發揮義理相結合，將治經引向治史，反映其解脫舊經學傳統束縛學術趨向。論文注重內容，反對擬古和形式的傾向，批判了當時桐城派的流弊。其學說至清末始為人重視。1922年有《章氏遺書》刊行。倉修良稱章為「浙東學派」的「殿軍」。
章學誠相貌不佳，臉上有斑點、耳背，多少有點自卑，使得他的言論極具攻擊性。例如汪中曾批評禮教對女性的約束，章學誠便說汪氏「黑白不分」。章學誠還批評袁枚「好色」，專收女弟子。
評價
• 梁啟超在《清代學術概論》中稱：「學誠不屑于考證之學，與正統派異。書中創見類此者不可悉數，實為晚清學者開拓心胸，非直史家之傑而已。」
• 錢基博對章學誠推崇備至，著《文史通義解題及其讀法》，以發揚章學。
• 錢穆在《中國史學名著》表揚章氏：「他不站在史學立場來講史學，而是站在整個的學術史立場來講史學，這是我們應該特別注意的。也等於章實齋講文學，他也並不是站在文學立場來講文學，而是站在一個更大的學術立場來講文學。這是章實齋之眼光卓特處。」
• 余英時認為：「劉知幾決非章實齋之比。《史通》所能及的問題，始終未能邁出撰史體裁的範疇。」
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