Issue 221 by kulewy531

kulewy531UID：2603031

TOPIC: ISSUE221 - "The chief benefit of the study of history is to break down the illusion that people in one period of time are significantly different from people who lived at any other time in history."

History, which concerns about the past of human beings, is an important subject of liberal arts. Though, by studying it, the illusion that people in one period of time are significantly distinct from people in another is largely broken, the most essential meaning of studying history is not confined to such a narrow scale. Other important functions of history are to give people their identity, convey the culture.

History is the memory shared by all human beings. Through the study of history, one gets to know where he comes from, what responsibility he takes and who shares the same responsibility with him. As a Chinese, I learn that I was born in a country with a long and splendid history. The ancient Chinese created a prosperous civilization and made great contribution to the world, however, in modern time, the nation suffered from great challenges due to its degradation. And now, in the era of globalization, together with 13 million compatriots, I should devote myself in converting the country into a totally modern land and settle down the conflict between tradition and modernization.

Furthermore, history is the container of the culture. History is not only composed of series of facts but also consists of the interpretation of it. For ordinary people, the interpretation is more meaningful than the facts, which is considerably important for the historical study by experts, since these events are not directly concerned with daily lives and would probably never happened again. Instead, the interpretations of history are always in the form of proverbs and guidance, which are closely related to daily life and provide a set of convents. For examples, when studying of the history of the independence of America, the idea that freedom is the most precious value is instilled to an individual. And consequently, the culture of freedom is conveyed to citizens.

The study of history also serve as a guidance which enable human beings to avoid the fallacies having been made and learn more about themselves. History teaches people what they should do and what they should not. To some extent, human beings are not different from their ancestors, in the aspect of humanity. Though much progress about science and technology has been made, human beings are still insulted by sins such as greed and fury. Though the society has greatly developed since the industrial revolution, the dark side of human nature still leads to the tragedy of the world wars. Learning the history of this period, the lesson of being aware of the human's weakness is attained. As a result, in the next 60 years, despite the contention in the world, no world war occurred. History breaks the illusion of the supreme feeling of people and brings consciousness to the people.

To conclude, the significance of studying history has three functions: give the individual a identity, a cultural background and a guidance to the future. In this sense, the meaning of studying history is as simple as to breakdown an illusion. It is more appropriate to say that it is a vital composing part of a person.

zhengchangdianUID：2563082

感觉文章好像有点空，可是试着将例子写得更加丰满一些
文章结尾指出历史的三个作用：give the individual a identity, a cultural background and a guidance to the future.
但是individual identify himself 事实上就是通过cultural background, 所以第一分论点和第二分论点重复，可以合并之后，详细阐述
另外反对题目观点，认为the most essential meaning of studying history is not confined to such a narrow scale，固然很好，但是感觉上没有很强大的批驳哦