近年，後現代思潮大為風行，流佈所及，史學界遂與其共舞，掀起「敘事的轉向」，後現代同人特謂之「文學的報復」。居中最關鍵的人物，便是海頓．懷特(Hayden White)。他所倡導的史學語藝論，不止解構了「科學史學」的迷思，而且一挽「歷史若文學論」的頹勢。在二十世紀裏，他係極少數得以跨越本門學科，影響其他人文研究的歷史家。 懷特素以淵博著稱，慣取資諸家說法，證成一家之言，行文雅緻繁複，旁徵博引，號稱難讀。本文則擬評估其史學思想的優劣得失。首先勾勒了其學術史的來龍去脈，作為背景知識；其次，方導入正題，解析其鉅著《後設史學》的論點及涵蘊。總之，懷特對史學的貢獻固毋可置疑，但以個人之見，他的論說猶存有難以克服的弱點，這也是文末亟欲探究的問題。

Postmodernism has dominated the intellectual world since the 1980’s, but reached its peak at the turn of the century. One of the impacts of postmodernism upon Western historiography is “the narrative turn,” or as its adherents like to proclaim, “the revenge of literature.” The key figure in this trend is Hayden White whose Metahistory is regarded as the most important classic for historical thinking since Croce. White promotes a poetics of history that not only undermines the myth of “scientific history” but also revitalize the ethos of “history as literature.” No less significant, White is among the very few historians whose contributions extend to a wide range of the humanities, from cultural studies to literary criticism. White is known for his erudition and tends to draw upon diverse intellectual sources that make his writing a challenge to read. By providing an introductory context based on related perspectives, I hope to facilitate the understanding of White’s major arguments. That contextual foundation will serve as a basis for my effort to offer not only a balanced and sophisticated assessment of White’s contribution but also my own critical comments about his theory.

後現代觀點；後設史學；語藝論；海頓．懷特；蘭克

postmodernism; metahistory; poetics; Hayden White; Ranke