"Zuo Zhuan" is the earliest chronicle in ancient China with a detailed narrative, with thirty-five volumes. The full name of "Zuo Zhuan" is "Chun Qiu Zuo Shi Zhuan", and it was also called "Chun Qiu Zuo Shi Zhuan" during the Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, it was mostly called "Zuo Zhuan". It is a historical book that annotated "Chun Qiu". Together with "Chun Qiu Gongyang Zhuan" and "Chun Qiu Guliang Zhuan", it is collectively known as the "Three Biography of Spring and Autumn". "Zuo Zhuan" is both a strategic masterpiece and a historical masterpiece. According to legend, it was written by Zuo Qiuming, a historian of the State of Lu in the late Spring and Autumn Period.
The "Zuo Zhuan" biographies are 13 years older than the "Spring and Autumn" scriptures, and the actual recorded events are 26 years longer (the last event is a brief mention of the destruction of the Jin Dynasty by the three families), based on the "Spring and Autumn" records. Narratives include explanations of calligraphy in the Spring and Autumn Annals, supplements to the scriptures in the Spring and Autumn Annals with useful facts, and corrections of errors in the Chunqiu Annals. Most of the book belongs to the events of the Spring and Autumn Period, but the completion of the book has already entered the Warring States Period. All these illustrate the close relationship between "Zuo Zhuan" and "Spring and Autumn Annals".
"Zuo Zhuan" is my country's first existing chronological history book with a detailed narrative and one of the "Thirteen Classics" of Confucianism. The authors of "Zuo Zhuan", Sima Qian and Ban Gu, both proved to be Zuo Qiuming, which is the most credible historical data at present. Some scholars believe that it was written by someone in the early Warring States period, but they all doubt it because the narrative style of some articles in "Zuo Zhuan" is inconsistent with others, and there is no historical data to support it, so it can only be classified as conjecture.
The influence of "Zuo Zhuan" on later generations is first reflected in history. It not only developed the chronological style of "Spring and Autumn", but also quoted and preserved some of the popular practical writings at that time, providing a reference for the development of practical writing in later generations. According to the list of "Wen Ze" by Chen Zhuo of the Song Dynasty, there are as many as eight types, such as life, oath, alliance, prayer, admonishment, concession, letter, and reciprocity. In fact, there are far more than these. Later generations believe that edicts also originated from "Zuo Zhuan". Moreover, this book also has extremely high artistic value in our country's literary circles and has made a huge contribution to history! "Zuo Zhuan" was written by Zuo Qiuming, a historian of the State of Lu in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty records in "Historical Records: Chronology of the Twelve Princes": "Zuo Qiu Ming, a gentleman of Lu, was afraid that all of his disciples would be heresy, and each would follow his own ideas and lose his truth. Therefore, because Confucius' historical records specifically discussed his words, he became the Zuo family in the Spring and Autumn Period." Liu Zhiji of the Tang Dynasty's "Shi Tong·Six Family" said: "The descendant of the Zuo family first came from Zuo Qiu Ming." Since then, many scholars have also been skeptical. Many people believe that the Zuo family who wrote "Zuo Zhuan" was not Zuo Qiuming. Zhao Kuang of the Tang Dynasty first suspected that "Zuo Zhuan" was not written by Zuo Qiuming and was a forgery. Ji Yun of the Qing Dynasty still believed that it was written by Zuo Qiuming in the "General Catalog of Sikuquanshu". Kang Youwei thought it was Liu Xin's work. Today's book industry believes that it was written by Wu Qi, and Zhao Guangxian believes that it was written by Zuo, a native of Lu during the Warring States Period. It is generally believed that "Zuo Zhuan" was not written by one person at a time. It was written around the middle of the Warring States Period (the middle of the 4th century BC) and was compiled by some scholars during the Warring States Period. The main part of it may have been written by Zuo Qiuming.
"Zuo Zhuan" is based on "Spring and Autumn" and explains the outline of "Spring and Autumn" by describing the specific historical facts of the Spring and Autumn Period.
"Zuo Zhuan" is my country's first chronological historical work with a complete narrative. It has been included in the Thirteen Classics since the Tang Dynasty. "In the Tang Dynasty, there were Zhou Rites, Rites, and Book of Rites. In the Spring and Autumn Period, there were Zuo Zhuan, Gongyang, and Huliang. In addition, the Analects of Confucius, Er Ya, and Xiao Jing were added to form the Twelve Classics. In the Song and Ming Dynasties, Mencius was added. So it was finalized into the Thirteen Classics." A batch of Chu bamboo slips from the Warring States Period that were stolen and sold overseas were returned from overseas in 2009 with funding from Zhejiang University alumni and were incorporated into the Zhejiang University Archeology and Art Museum. After more than two years of compilation and textual research, "Zhejiang University Collection of Warring States Chu Slips" edited by Cao Jinyan, a paleographer at Zhejiang University, was officially published by Zhejiang University Press. On April 24, 2012, the book's launch ceremony was held at Zijingang Campus of Zhejiang University.
This batch of Chu bamboo slips from the Warring States Period is the first collection of the Museum of Art and Archeology of Zhejiang University. At the launch ceremony, Chu slips from the Warring States Period more than 2,300 years ago were officially introduced to the world. Most of the completed bamboo slips (including those after stitching) are about 23 centimeters, which is equivalent to about one foot of the Warring States ruler, and the heads and ends of the bamboo slips are evenly trimmed. The three longer bamboo slips have flush upper ends and sharp arc-shaped lower ends, which are particularly special and the first of its kind.
According to reports, this batch of Chu bamboo slips was originally placed in a wooden lacquer box. After cleaning, the original number was No. 324. After being restored, it was complete and simple with 160 pieces; the writing was clear, the ink was thick, and the text was The writing is free and easy, with a sense of cursive writing; carbon-14 testing by the Science, Technology, Archeology and Cultural Relics Conservation Laboratory of Peking University has shown that the age of these bamboo slips is approximately 340 BC.
There are very few Chu bamboo slips from the Warring States Period. Zhejiang University is the second university after Tsinghua University to collect Chu bamboo slips.
In addition, Peking University and Hunan University have preserved bamboo slips from the Qin and Han dynasties.
Cao Jinyan, executive vice president of the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Zhejiang University and editor-in-chief of "Zhejiang University Collection of Warring States Chu Bamboo Bamboo Slips", said that "Zuo Zhuan" is the essence of the content of this batch of Chu Bamboo Slips. The second major discovery nearly 2,000 years after the Zuozhuan was unearthed. "Zhejiang University preserves the only bamboo slips related to "Zuo Zhuan" in the world. Since the late Qing Dynasty, some people have suspected that "Zuo Zhuan" was a forgery written by Liu Xin of the Western Han Dynasty. Later scholars made false accusations, and this theory was gradually broken down. Previous scholars The evidence is all theoretical evidence, and now there is credible factual evidence, so its academic significance is extraordinary." This is not an isolated evidence. The discovery of Mawangdui's "Spring and Autumn Shiyu" is not Liu Xin's "Zuo Zhuan". Forgery adds to the evidence. "
"The ability to write such rich and free strokes on a 0.5 cm wide bamboo gives us a new understanding of the writing style of the Warring States Period. "Chen Zhenlian, vice chairman of the Chinese Calligraphers Association and professor of the Art Department of Zhejiang University, believes that the Chu bamboo slips collected by Zhejiang University are valuable for the study of the history of calligraphy. Compared with the Guodian Chu bamboo slips with neat strokes, the Chu bamboo slips collected by Zhejiang University "are most characterized by their seeming irregularity. But there are rules, and it is the best preserved ancient writing with rich strokes found before the official reform. It can be summarized as "Zhenzhuan is the body and Licao is the pen". ”