My talk will be about four issues.First,the nation state has become the core of national histories,now an important feature of historiography that Asia has adopted from Europe.Secondly,post-colonial writing of history in South-East Asia has been greatly influenced by this form.How is it different from that written in East Asia,that is,China,Japan and Korea?Thirdly,a review of how these histories may be developing differently from modern historiography in the West.Finally,some preliminary thoughts about new directions for the future.The main theme of the talk may be summed up in the phrase:the ebb and flow of narrowing and broadening the writing of history.