Chunqiu is the first chronological history book in China. Spring and Autumn Annals was originally a general term for the history books of various countries in the Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, many vassal States had their own national history recorded annually. By the end of the Warring States period, the history books of all countries had been lost, and only Lu Chunqiu was handed down. Although the chronology of Lu is used, it records the major events of various countries and is actually a general history.
The author of Spring and Autumn Annals was Lu's historian, and was later edited and revised by Confucius. From the year of Luyin (722 BC) to the fourteenth year of Lu Aigong (48 BC1), it was * * * 242 years. Its sources include royal archives, Japanese books, the history of vassal states and other old news. Later, Confucian scholars respected Spring and Autumn Annals as "classics" and earned "Five Classics", which was called Spring and Autumn Annals.
There are three kinds of Spring and Autumn Annals, namely Zuo Zhuan, Yang Gongzhuan and Gu Liangzhuan. Scholars in the Han Dynasty believed that they were all works explaining the Spring and Autumn Annals. The contents of these three biographies are basically the same, the main difference is that Zuo Zhuan was written in the ancient prose of the pre-Qin period. Biography of Ram and Biography of Gu Liang are the modern works of Han Dynasty. Two biographies, Ram and Gu Gui, went to Lu Aigong for only fourteen years, while Zuo Zhuan went to Lu Aigong for sixteen years. Biography of Ram and Biography of Gu Liang recorded the life of Confucius in the twenty-first year of Duke Xiang of Lu (552 BC), but Zuo Zhuan did not.
Among the three biographies of Spring and Autumn Annals, Zuo Zhuan is considered to be more important, and some scholars think it is a relatively independent history book related to Spring and Autumn Annals. The original name of Zuo Zhuan was Zuo's Chunqiu, and it was renamed Chunqiu Zuozhuan in Han Dynasty. Zuo Zhuan is about180,000 words, which records the important historical facts of the political, military, diplomatic and cultural aspects of the vassal states in the Spring and Autumn Period of 254 years, covering all aspects of social life at that time. While recording historical facts, the author also revealed his own views. Ideal and emotional attitude, the author of the note is quite artistic, using many ingenious literary techniques, especially writing war and diplomatic rhetoric, which has become the most exciting part of the book. Therefore, Zuo Zhuan is not only an outstanding chronicle work, but also an outstanding historical prose work.
There is still no consensus among the authors of Zuo Zhuan. Before the Tang Dynasty, most people thought that the author was Zuo Qiuming, a historian of Lu State who was contemporary with Confucius. However, there are many contradictions in this tax law. Since the Tang Dynasty, some people have questioned it. Some people think that the author is an unknown historian, while others think that there is more than one author. But most people think that Zuo Zhuan was compiled into a book in the early years of the Warring States Period.
Du Yu compiled Chunqiu and Zuozhuan, which were originally separated, and added the comments of predecessors, which was called Chunqiu Collection. In the Tang Dynasty, Confucius made a note for Du Yu, and attached Lu Deming's Zuo Zhuan, which was called Justice in the Spring and Autumn Period. This is the book we saw in Ruan Yuan's Notes to Thirteen Classics in Qing Dynasty. Zuo Zhuan was officially listed as the Twelve Classics in the Tang Dynasty, and was listed as the Thirteen Classics in the Song Dynasty, which has been passed down to this day.
The original text of Zuo Zhuan we selected here is based on Ruan Yuan's Notes to Thirteen Classics, and the annotation and translation refer to various influential research results extensively. Originally, Zuo Zhuan only had the Gregorian calendar year, and there was no catalogue. The selected directory was added later.