1. Abstract* - What kind of historical sources can be used to write history?
Professor KWONG Chi-man

What is history?

• History educates us about the past so that we can:
  • Sympathise with different historical experiences
  • Understand the historical contexts that shaped the world we live in
• When studying history, we should know from history that the contexts of various situations are always different from one another
  • We should not reduce history into simple stories and distort history

How is history different from “the past” and “memory”?

• Memories are glimpses of the past that are held by individuals
  • One may simply lose some of his/her memory when time lapses; interpretation and understanding of the past may also change over time
• It is a common pitfall for people to assume that the views of those who had experienced a historical event are unchallengeable facts
  • Two sides of the same event can give very different or contradictory accounts
    • When views are compared, there can be lots of contradictions
    • One may deliberately distort his/her recollections for their own benefits
      • Understanding the difference between history, the past, and memory is crucial for anyone who is trying to study history

Is writing history simply about reconstructing the past?

• Writing history is not an attempt to recreate the past in its entirety
  • Much of the past have not been recorded in any form
  • Therefore, complete recreation of the past is impossible
• The study of history is an attempt to create an interpretive account of selected parts of the past
  • Historians have to judge whether a particular piece should be included in his/her study

What are the primary sources? How do historians use primary sources?

• Historians need to collect a certain amount of historical data that allow them to have a clearer view of the past
• Historians have to turn to primary sources or the raw historical data to make original contributions on a specific topic
  • Try to explain causations in historical events or larger historical trends
  • Identify relevant events and trends and seek the linkages between them
  • Evaluate the relative importance of different factors
• There are various kinds of primary sources: historical relics such as historical structures or their remains, archival materials in the form of official documents or public and private correspondents, contemporary publications and literature, oral history records, or even graphical materials such as paintings and photographs
• Secondary sources include relevant researches of other experts
  • Enable historians to write surveys of a long period or cover a broad topic

Are all primary sources equally reliable? If not, how should we use them?

• Primary sources are created by people from the past who had various motives and operated in a very different historical context
• Primary sources should be critically assessed
  • Keep in mind that some of the primary sources are biased in one way or another
  • One should collect a variety of sources from different perspectives and to cross-check them critically
• “Unreliable” primary sources also offer important clues of how people in the past thought and acted. We can approach primary sources from perspectives that are not thought of by the authors of the sources or by historians who studied them before us

* Please view the video clip to understand the detailed explanation given by Professor KWONG Chi-man.

Enquiry question

With reference to the above sources, how important do you think 'primary source' is in the study of history? Explain your answer.