《古典文学知识》的编辑先生来示要我为“治学门径”这个栏目写点文字,大约是自己还未窥门径吧,搜索枯肠,总觉得无话可说。翻检旧文,十多年来,我所发表的东西多半和唐代文学史料考订有关,我想,谈谈自己在这条路上跌跌撞撞摸索前进中的一点体会,对青年朋友也许会有所帮助。说来可悲,研究古代文学而专注唐代,研究唐代文学又专搞史料,这格局和气度也未免太狭小了些。但其间却有不得已的苦衷。1978年,当我告别东北劳动生活了近20年的工厂,回到湖南的湘潭师专时,已年近不惑,业务荒疏,除了要尽快适应外语系的现代汉语、外国文学两门课程外,还 “Classical literary knowledge,” the editor to show me that I want to “writers”, to write some text, about their own glimpse it pathfinder, search dry heart, always feel nothing to say. Over the past decade or so, what I have published has mostly to do with the historical data of the Tang Dynasty. I would like to talk about my own experience of stumbles and groping along the road and may be helpful to young friends. To say sad, the study of ancient literature and focus on the Tang Dynasty, Tang literature and research on the historical data, the pattern and tolerance is also too small some. But in the meantime there are last resort. In 1978, when I bid farewell to the factories in northeast China for nearly 20 years and returned to Hunan Xiangtan Teachers College, I was almost unlucky and the business was scarce. In addition to adapting to the courses of modern Chinese and foreign literature in the Department of Foreign Languages ​​as soon as possible, also