The meaning of "Spring and Autumn"
Overview
"Spring and Autumn" is an ancient Chinese Confucian classic. According to legend, it was revised by Confucius and records the events of the first year of Yin from Lu ( It covers a history of 242 years from 722 BC) to the 14th year of Lu Aigong (481 BC). It is the earliest existing chronological history book in China.
The text used to record events in "Spring and Autumn" is extremely concise, but rich in content. Almost every sentence has a connotation of praise and criticism, which is called "Spring and Autumn Writing Style" by later generations.
Because the records in "Spring and Autumn" are simple and difficult for ordinary people to understand, some later scholars explained and explained the records in the book. These explanations and explanations are called "biography". Among the "biographies" about "Spring and Autumn", the more famous are the "Three Biographies of Spring and Autumn", namely "The Biography of Zuo Shi of the Spring and Autumn Period", "The Biography of the Spring and Autumn Gongyang", and "The Biography of the Spring and Autumn Period Gu Liang". Among them, "The Chun Qiu Zuo Shi Zhuan", also known as "Zuo Zhuan", has the greatest influence and is one of the important classic works of Confucianism.
Story Tips
During the Spring and Autumn Period, although the Zhou Dynasty unified the country in name, in fact its rule was close to falling apart. The society at that time was in turmoil and people's hearts were not as good as before. The princes held the emperor hostage, the officials exiled the princes, and the retainers rebelled against the officials... All of this was like a farce, you sang and I went on stage, it was extremely lively.
Under this situation, Confucius traveled around the world, preaching his theory of "benevolence" and trying to cure various social ills from a moral perspective; however, although Confucius worked hard for it all his life, he failed in the end. He was recognized by all countries and even made himself physically and mentally exhausted and impoverished.
After returning, Confucius was disillusioned with his official career and was no longer keen on promoting his own ideas. Instead, he devoted himself to writing the book "Spring and Autumn".
In "Spring and Autumn", various social ills were exposed, thirty-six kings were killed, fifty-two countries were destroyed, and countless princes were unable to protect their country. This symbolizes that the ritual and music system during King Wen of Zhou Dynasty has become a beautiful memory, replaced by the terrible state of "people fighting against each other".
Confucius compiled "Spring and Autumn", which is based on facts and mixed with personal love and hate. The reasoning is integrated into the narrative, reflecting a motivation to suppress evil and promote good.
After the publication of "Spring and Autumn", it has been valued by later generations of scholars. More and more people are studying "Spring and Autumn". ".
Knowledge Base
The only way to know oneself and to sin oneself is "Spring and Autumn"
In his later years, after compiling "Spring and Autumn", Confucius once said some emotional words: "Those who know me well can only read the Spring and Autumn Annals! Those who offend me can only do the Spring and Autumn Annals!" The general idea is that for the things I have done and the book I have compiled, future generations will definitely give mixed reviews, but I No matter how they evaluate it, they will continue to do it.