Spring and Autumn Studies·Song Studies and the further politicization of "Spring and Autumn Studies"·"Spring and Autumn" Studies in the Southern Song Dynasty
Song Gaozong established a Pian'an regime in Lin'an, and the national strength could barely protect itself. For a period of time, there was always a dispute between the enterprising and peaceful factions inside and outside the court. From the perspective of the traditional ethics and moral concepts of Han literati, surrendering to the "Hulu" was really the greatest shame in China's history. Even the Gou'an faction had to admit this verbally and in writing. Seeking peace and self-protection can only be a humiliating reality, but it can never become a guide for public opinion. In the "Spring and Autumn" study that has been politicized for a long time, the great cause of "revenge" repeatedly stated in the "Gongyang Zhuan" in the fourth year of Zhuang Dynasty has naturally become a strong voice of the times. Its epitome is Huan Guo's writings.
Huan Guo, whose courtesy name was Kanghou, was known for his integrity, and scholars called him "Mr. Wuyi". He believed that Wang Anshi's abandonment of the Spring and Autumn Annals was not listed among academic officials, which was the cause of the country's tragic demise, so he devoted his life to studying the "Spring and Autumn Annals". Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty asked him to correct the pronunciation of "Zuo Zhuan". He replied that a monarch should not waste time appreciating the literary talent of this book. He should study the classic "Spring and Autumn". After that, he submitted his own work "Zuo Zhuan". 》.
Compared with the Northern Song Dynasty, Hu's theory was more conscious in its tendency to serve real politics, especially in the debate between Yan, Hua and Yi. Give a typical example. In the 24th year of Xi's reign, Zhou and Zheng were at odds with each other. The cause may not be Zheng. King Xiang of Zhou lacked strength and invited Di people to assist him in attacking Zheng. Duke Wen of Zheng was against the king and King Xiang of Zhou was against the barbarians. The two ideals could not be unified. Hu still put the fight against the barbarians first and criticized King Xiang of Zhou for "using barbarians to control barbarians, just like a tree planted to gather its roots." Moreover, as a reference from the past, he said: "The Tang used the Turkic troops to attack the Sui, and the world suffered from military disasters; the Jin borrowed the power of the Khitan to conquer the Tang, and the soldiers suffered the humiliation of relocation." This is almost to the point of talking about the original How to do that. Examples of this can be found throughout the book. Of course, Hu's book itself is not without its merits. The main reason is that its nature and style are easy for beginners to learn. At the beginning of the volume, under the "Outline", there is "The Rise and Fall of the Kingdoms in the Spring and Autumn Period", which is similar to a brief history of various countries, and then there is the "Spring and Autumn Synopsis", which lists major events and ties them up in detail. It is a quite systematic "Spring and Autumn" textbook. Due to the above two reasons, this book became an official document in the Southern Song Dynasty and had great influence. It was downgraded to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and was even upgraded to become the standard for the meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals in the imperial examinations. Together with the three legends, it was called the "Four Legends". It was not until the early Qing Dynasty when Kangxi ordered Confucian officials to compile the "Qin Ding Collection of Legends of the Spring and Autumn Period" and fiercely criticized Hu Chuan that the influence of this book gradually disappeared.
Ye Mengde, named Shaoyun and named Shilin, was a Jinshi in the same ranking as Huan Guo. He was a famous scholar and literati in the Song Dynasty. He wrote "Chunqiu Biography", "Chunqiu Kao", "Chunqiu Jie" and "Spring and Autumn Annals". He had a very high self-esteem and expressed his dissatisfaction with the Spring and Autumn Annals scholars since the Northern Song Dynasty. He made it clear that he wanted to make up for the shortcomings by considering the three biographies in order to reconcile the historical facts with the greater justice. He claimed to respect the sutras and attacked and eliminated the three classics, but most of his arguments were based on the meaning of words and historical facts, which was very different from that of Huan Guo. He is able to spot the contradictions and mistakes in the biography in many places, but there are also some parts that are too harsh. For example, "Chun Qiu Jie" raises a lot of questions about the civil strife in Zhaogong's twelfth year recorded in "Zuo Zhuan". It should be said that this period of history involves twenty years of old accounts, and there are many clues. The author of "Zuo Zhuan" did not make it clear. The questions raised by Ye really hit the mark. However, the judge was examining an old case from more than a thousand years ago, and could not find any new materials such as the Mawang pile of silk books. The result could only be that the case could never be decided. . This example can quite typically illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of Ye's academic style.
Zhu Xi was the master of Song studies. His philosophical thoughts and interpretation of Confucian classics were regarded as orthodox by several generations of rulers after the Song Dynasty, and he dominated the Chinese intellectual world for a long time. More than 600 years. In philosophy, his system is regarded as objective idealism. What is interesting is that when Zhu Xi leaves his philosophical system and enters specific academic discussions, he often has very realistic and even sophisticated opinions. The familiar "Collected Poems", "Collected Commentary on Songs of Chu" and the "Biography of Collections" written by Cai Chen under his guidance can all be used as samples of the above opinions. He did not have a monograph on the "Spring and Autumn" classics, but he left many influential and good insights in "Zhu Zi's Five Classics" compiled by Cheng Chuan.
(1) Oppose the praise and criticism of Shenwen Zhouna. He believes that although "Spring and Autumn" is rich in the righteousness of saints, "it can be seen that it punishes rebellious ministers and punishes traitors. It is China inside and Wu and Chu outside. It is just a noble king and a humble uncle. Every word of the Confucianism may not be as meaningful as that of the previous Confucianism" (Volume 17 " "Tonglun Jingyi"), but there are no "examples" and "laws":
It is difficult to understand the humane "Spring and Autumn". According to a certain theory, it is not difficult to figure out the reason. It is just that he has this matter and it is very clear. ...Now you have to pay attention to every word and a half of praise and criticism, but you have to seek the meaning of the saint. How do you know what is going on in his belly? (ibid.)
Since Han Confucianism, in "Spring and Autumn" I have never seen such a straightforward discussion in school. This cannot but be said to be a style of study that seeks truth from facts.
(2) On the three biographies. When Zhu Xi observed problems, he mostly did not dwell on trivial issues but had the courage to see the overall situation.
He clearly pointed out that "Zuo Zhuan" is a historiography, and the history recorded is "probably accurate" (quoted at the bottom of the volume of "Chun Qiu Shi Shuo" by Zhao Xun). To read "Zuo Zhuan" one needs to "look at the principles, events, and events with an open mind." The situation" (Volume 57 "Tong Lun Zuo Zhuan"). Regarding the author and compilation date of "Zuo Zhuan", he inherited the suspicion since Zhao Kuang and said unequivocally that "it was done by later people" ("Tong Lun San Zhuan"). The reason is that the divination in "Zuo Zhuan" There are several things that were fulfilled after the three families were divided into the Jin Dynasty. "It was just that the descendants wanted to steal at that time, so they deceived the superiors and ignored the inferiors. Like the snake of Emperor Gao of the Han Dynasty, it just escaped" ("Tong Lun Zuo Zhuan"). Unlike most Song Confucians, Zhu Xi did not agree with "Gong" and "Gong". "Ask: What about "Gong" and "Gong"? He said: According to him, it makes sense, but I'm afraid the sage didn't have such meaning at the time" (Volume 57, "Tong Lun Si Zhuan"). "That makes sense" shows that the Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi agrees with the great meaning of the second biography; "I am afraid that the saints did not have such meaning at the beginning" means that the scholar Zhu Xi doubts the accuracy of the second biography. This contradictory yet unified phenomenon is not only reflected in the attitude towards the "Spring and Autumn" classics, but also exists in Zhu Xi's entire philosophical system, that is, the contradiction between the idealistic worldview and the empirical method.
Zhu Xi opposed the academic style since Sun Fu came to Huan State, and his disciples became concerned about it. Zhang Qia's "Collected Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals" and Lu Dagui's "The Spring and Autumn Annals" are both detailed explanations of Zhu Xi's "Spring and Autumn Annals" study. In addition, although Dong Zhongyan was not a disciple of Zhu Xi, his "Tongshuo Chunqiu" also belonged to Zhu Xi's school and made sharp criticism of the state of Huan. Other "Spring and Autumn" scholars, including Lu Zuqian, Chen Fuliang, Lu Benzhong, Li Mingfu, etc., are worth mentioning. Some of them attach great importance to the literary talent of "Zuo Zhuan", some compare the historical events of the Spring and Autumn Period, or compile the sayings of various Confucian scholars into annotations. They all have their own characteristics. .
The "Spring and Autumn" studies of the Yuan and Ming dynasties had Huan Guo as their master. Hu’s relationship to the Spring and Autumn Annals is like Zhu Xi’s relationship to the Four Books. In the past four hundred years, the study of "Spring and Autumn" has been centered around Hu Chuan. Most people agreed and supported it and commented on it, while some people followed Zhu Xi and tried to identify doubts and errors in Hu Chuan. Although the people of the Song Dynasty had the disadvantage of subjective criticism, they dared to think independently unlike the previous generations. In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, imperial examinations and stereotyped writing were used to restrain and seduce scholars, and the way of learning was gradually ignored. Therefore, there were few high-quality works in these two dynasties. The only ones that should be mentioned are Huang Ze and Zhao Wei in the Yuan Dynasty. . Huang Ze himself had no writings, and his teachings were preserved through his disciple Zhao Zhang, much like Chi Zhu and Lu Chun in the Tang Dynasty. Zhao Zhang's works include "Collected Biography of the Spring and Autumn Annals", "Shishuo of the Spring and Autumn Annals" and many other works. He respected Zhu Xi, opposed the state of Huan, and advocated a scholarly approach that "based on the historical facts of Zuo Shi" and also adopted the righteousness of "Gong" and "Gong" .