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FORUSEINNATIONALJUNIORCOLLEGEONLYNATIONALJUNIORCOLLEGEGENERALPAPERPRELIMINARYEXAMS2008–BESTESSAYSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:TheYear2/IP4GPTeachingTeamwouldliketothanka)thewritersforagreeingtosharetheiressaysandb)theteamofteacherswhoputthecompilationtogether.NOTE:Theseessaysarenotmeanttobe“model”essaysforrote-learning.Usethemintelligently.10October20081FORUSEINNATIONALJUNIORCOLLEGEONLYNJCGPPrelims2008–BestEssaysQ3.Ishistorymerelythestorytoldbythewinners?Somepeople,intheirattempttosimplifytheconceptofhistory,haveactuallycomeupwithanew,two-syllablenameforit.Historyis“hisstory”–storyofthepastformularisedandtoldby“Him”,thewinner.Theveryfactthatthisphraseactuallysoundslikethewordhistoryitselfmaycomeasanamusingcoincidenceatfirstglance.However,uponfurtherexaminationofthehistoryofmankinditself,werealisetherearesomeelementsofrelevanceandtruthinthisrenaming.Historybearsminimalresemblanceto“story”booksinliterature,insofarasitdoescontainfictionalandromanticiseddetails,andindeed,insomecasesespeciallyinthedistantpast,historywassolelytoldbythewinners.However,historyismuchmorethanthat.Itisatitscoreanattemptbymankindtomaphumanbehaviouralanddevelopmentalpatterns.Intoday’sglobalisedandincreasinglydemocratisedworld,itisformostpartsfair,notfavouringeitherthewinningorlosingside.Itmustalsobenotedthatalargeportionofhistoryisdedicatedtoexaminingeventsinwhichthereisnowinner.Tolikentheretellingofhistorytoanaccountgiveninastorybook–aworkoffiction–istosuggestthathistory,too,containsfictitiouselementsandisatbestanillustrationofafragmented,romanticised,largelyunrealtruth.Thereiscertainlyalevelofrelevanceinthisargument.Letusbehonest,whocouldhavecomebackfromtheStoneAgeandtoldhistorianshowlifewasbackthen?Indeed,whenoneexaminesthehistoryofpre-historicMantensofmillionsofyearsago,itisjustaneducatedguessbyagroupofscholarsonwhatthepastcouldhavebeenlike.Likeallkindsofspeculations,thisone,too,containsbiasandthehumaninnatetendencytoviewthepastasabetterandsimplertimethanitreallywas,certainlytendstoinflatethegoodpartsandpaintanoverlyrosypicture.However,onemustacknowledgetheextensiveeffortmadebymodernhistorianstorelyonempiricalfindingsbyanthropologistsandpalaeontologiststoformulatea“story”ofthepastthatisclosesttothetruth.Furthermore,modernattemptsatwritinghistoryarenotindividualbutareoftencollectiveonesthatinvolveagroupofhistorians,thusreducingtheriskofbiasandoversight.Thesecondpremiseputforthbythequestion,thathistoryistoldbythe“winners”istosomeverylimitedextentaccurate,especiallywhenwelookathowhistorywastoldinthefeudalistic,monarchicpastofmankind.InthetimesofEgyptian,Romanandmorerecently,Chinese,Empires,historywasequivalenttothehistoryofwarfare,whenkingsandemperorssoughttoexpandtheirterritoriesandconquernewlands.Theprevalenceofonekingdomandoneleader,inthesebattlesoverterritorieswasoftentantamounttotheannihilationoftheother,givingthewinnersthesolerighttobragabouttheirvictoryandhowithadbeenachieved.ChineseemperorshavebeenknowntoburnallartefactsandworksofartthattoldthegloriousachievementsofthepreviousrulersandoverseethewritingofawholenewrangeofhistorybooksthatelevatethevictorioustotherankalongsidetheGods.Onemustrememberthatinthesetotalitarianregimes,theKingpossessedtheultimatepowertodictatehowhistorywaswrittenandunderstandably,thathistoryconvenientlyforgotabouttheexistenceofthelosersandjustfocusedonthewinners.Moreover,evenafterthevictoriousKinghadpassedaway,storiestoldabouthimbythesocietythatreapedbenefitsfromhisconquestsoftencontainedfactualdistortionsinabidtohonourthenameoftheirleader.Forexample,KingRamsesIIofEgyptwasambushedduringhispassingoftheSinaidesertandlosthislifeinadishonourableway.Yet,untilthelate1980shistoricalstoriestoldabouthimdidnotdisplaythispart,clearlybecausethehistoriansofthattimechoseto“forget”thisaboutthevictoriousKing.2FORUSEINNATIONALJUNIORCOLLEGEONLYHowever,suchpseudo-historicalaccountsofthepastthataresolelydeterminedbyandthereforeclearlyinfavourofthewinnershardlyexistinthismoderntime.Theglobalisedandrelativelyopensocietyweliveintodayallowsforeasyaccesstonationalarchivesanddebateoverversionsofhistoryacrossnationalboundaries,thuslimitingfactualdistortionsbytherulinggovernments.Inaddition,theexistenceofphotographyandvideocamerashasnegatedthepossibilityofatrocitiescommittedbythevictoriousbeingsimply“ignored”.Historyasitistaughtinschoolsinmostdemocraticcountriesnowadaysisbyandlargeauniversallyacceptedversionofwhatthepastwaslike.TakeforexampletheColdWar.AfterthecollapseoftheSovietUnioninDecember1991,theUSunderGeorgeH.W.Bushclaimedvictory.IfBushweretherulerofonehomogenisedglobe,hisannouncementmighthavebeenputdowninhistorytextbooksastheofficialtruth.Butthankfully,hewasnot.HistorianslikeJohnLewisGaddisthenaccessedtheSovietarchivesandtheirenduringworksnowpresentedeveryoneabalancedversionofhistorythatrevealsnottheUSasthewinner,butsimply,theSovietUnionastheloserwhogaveupthewarin1991.Moreover,ascountriesnowtakespecialinterestinverifyingothercountries’versionsofhistory,biasisminimised,asclearlyseemintherecentoutcryoverthefailureofJapanesehistorytextbook