"Spring and Autumn", also known as "Spring and Autumn Classic", also known as "Lin Jing" or "Lin History", is one of the "Six Classics" of ancient Chinese Confucian classics. It is also the national history of the Lu state during the Zhou Dynasty. The existing version was revised by Confucius.
"Spring and Autumn" is China's first chronological history book, with thirty-five volumes. It is one of the Confucian classics and the longest among the Thirteen Classics. It is listed as a classic in Sikuquanshu. department. The description ranges from 722 BC (the first year of Lu Yin) to 468 BC (the 27th year of Lu Aigong)
The language used to record events in "Spring and Autumn" is extremely concise, but almost every sentence contains implicit praise and criticism. The meaning is called "Spring and Autumn Brushwork" and "Small Words and Great Meaning" by later generations. Later, many books appeared that supplemented, explained, and elaborated on the history recorded in "Spring and Autumn", which were called "Zhuan". The representative works are "Zuo Zhuan", "Gongyang Zhuan" and "Gu Liang Zhuan", which are called "Three Biography of Spring and Autumn Period".
It was reported in February 2019 that more than 5,200 slips were unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou. After interpretation by experts, they discovered Confucian classics and their teachings, including the Spring and Autumn Annals. Basic introduction Title of work: Spring and Autumn Works Alias: Spring and Autumn Classics, "Lin Jing", "Lin History" Creation Year: Spring and Autumn Literature Genre: History Book Author: Legend Confucius Category: Confucian Classics Introduction, creative background, nature of the work, influence on later generations, Spring and Autumn Three Biography, historical records of the same period, archaeological discoveries, Introduction Since the Western Zhou Dynasty at the latest, Taishi has recorded national events; "Spring and Autumn" is a record by Lu State historians of a large number of rude and unruly things of the country's princes, officials, and people at that time; Lu State historians will also Collecting the rude and disrespectful things done by the princes and officials of other vassal states, the content of the letters between the princes and officials of other vassal states will be recorded. For example, the letter between Jin Shuxiang and Zheng Guozichan about the casting of punishment books, which records the misfortunes of Qi historians because they kept true records. Events of being killed, etc.; At the beginning of each season, the four seasons from "spring" to "winter" should generally be written. In the ancient calendar, spring and autumn were first divided into winter and summer. Therefore, the record of national history is called "Spring and Autumn". This may be the reason why "Spring and Autumn" is the title of the history book. The existing "Spring and Autumn" records from the records of Lu Yingong to Lu Aigong, twelve generations of monarchs, totaling 244 years. One hundred and forty-two years, two years longer than "Zuo Zhuan"), it is basically the original text of the history book of the state of Lu. It is said that the book "Spring and Autumn" was written by Confucius. In the old days, there was a saying that "King Wen was restrained and acted out the Book of Changes, and Zhong Nihe wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals." However, later generations also had different opinions. Yuan Gufang of the Qing Dynasty said in "Spring and Autumn Calligraphy Theory": "Spring and Autumn" was written by Lu Shi. It was written by Lu Shi and Confucius recorded it and hid it in order to pass it on to future generations. Shi Yunyu's "The First Draft of Duxuelu: Spring and Autumn Annals" also said: "Spring and Autumn" is an old text of Lu Shi. The story of the Twelve Dukes of the Spring and Autumn Annals lasted for 240 years, and there must have been dozens of people who wrote it. These dozens of people are their own teachers and students, so how can their calligraphy be the same? Chunqiu Gongyang Zhuan Although the author of Chunqiu is controversial, there is no big difference since it was revised and modified by Confucius. In fact, the Spring and Autumn Period, as a history book of the State of Lu, has long gone beyond the scope of history books. The Spring and Autumn Period's use of words and sentences, "every word is a needle and a needle", has become a unique style of writing, which is called the Spring and Autumn Writing Technique and is regarded as a classic by historians of all dynasties. "Spring and Autumn" records major events in various countries during the Spring and Autumn Period for more than 240 years. The full text currently preserved is only more than 16,000 words. However, according to the "Spring and Autumn Annals" quoted by Zhang Yan of the Cao Wei Dynasty and Xu Yan of the late Tang Dynasty, both It is said to be 18,000 words (quoted by Zhang Shuo in "Historical Records Tai Shi Gong's Preface to the Collection" and Xu Shuo in "Gongyang Zhuan· Zhao Gong's Twelve Years Shu"). It can be seen that the original text of "Spring and Autumn" has been removed from the Three Kingdoms period. More than a thousand words were revealed. Many important events were missed. The reason why Confucius "composed the Spring and Autumn Period" is recorded in historical records as follows: "Yu (Tai Shigong) heard that Dong Sheng said: 'Zhou Dao has declined, and Confucius is a bandit of Lu. The princes are harming him, and the officials are blocking him. Confucius knows what to say. If you don't use it, the way is not good. For two hundred and forty-two years, it is just for the sake of the appearance of the world, to demote the emperor, to retreat from the princes, and to court the officials, just to achieve the king's affairs. "The master said: "I want to carry out the empty words, it is not as good as anything. Seeing it in action is profound and clear.
The saints wither, but the Spring and Autumn Annals never grow old. There is no shortage of people in our generation who love to read "Spring and Autumn". The most familiar one among the people is probably Guan Yu, the Guan sage from the Three Kingdoms who is as famous as Kong sage. Don’t you hear a couplet saying: Confucius, Guan Fuzi, two masters throughout the ages; Study the Spring and Autumn Period, read the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Spring and Autumn Period will be the same through the ages. Why not learn from Emperor Guan and read "Spring and Autumn" at night? Three Biography of Spring and Autumn Period "Spring and Autumn Period" was difficult for future generations to understand because of its simplicity in text. Therefore, explanatory works appeared one after another to explain and explain the records in the book, which are called "biography". Among them, Zuo Qiuming's "Chun Qiu Zuo Shi Zhuan", Gong Yanggao's "Chun Qiu Gong Yang Zhuan", and Gu Liangchi's "Chun Qiu Gu Liang Zhuan" are collectively known as the "Three Biography of Spring and Autumn" and are included in the Confucian classics. Nowadays, the original text of "Spring and Autumn" is generally compiled into "Zuo Zhuan" as "Jing", and the new content of "Zuo Zhuan" is regarded as "Zhuan". According to "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi", there are only 5 biographers of the Spring and Autumn Period: "Zuo Zhuan" in 30 volumes; "Gongyang Biography" in 11 volumes; "Gu Liang Biography" in 11 volumes; "Zou Shi Biography" in 11 volumes. ; Chunqiu Guliang Biography "Jia Shi Biography" Volume 11. The latter two of them no longer exist. Gongyang Zhuan and Gu Liang Zhuan were written in the early Western Han Dynasty. They were written in the official script that was popular at that time and were called Jinwen. There are two kinds of Zuozhuan. One is written on the wall of Confucius's former residence using ancient characters before the Qin Dynasty, which is called ancient script; the other is handed down from Xun Qing during the Warring States Period. The emphasis of the "Three Biography of the Spring and Autumn Period" is different. The two biographies "Gu Liang" and "Gongyang" focus on elucidating the "little words and big ideas" in "Spring and Autumn", while "Zuo Zhuan" focuses on supplementing historical details. Mr. Li Xueqin admitted frankly: "If you want to find the 'Spring and Autumn Days', you have to look for "Gongyang" and "Gu Liang". I personally think that, in a certain sense, this point must be acknowledged today, because "Gongyang" and "Guliang" The study of "Gu Liang" will definitely provide us with an understanding of many important views of Confucianism, which may not be possible in "Zuo Zhuan". "The history book "Mencius Li Lou" of the same period said: ""Shi" died and then "Spring and Autumn". "Cheng" by Jin, "梼杌" by Chu, and "Spring and Autumn" by Lu. "At that time (Warring States Period), the history books of various vassal states were generally called "Chunqiu", "but only the history books of Lu were called "Chunqiu". "Spring and Autumn" did not add a proper name, but the Jin and Chu states added their own proper names..."Spring and Autumn" was a *** name." Archaeological discovery reported in February 2019, from Haihunhou. More than 5,200 slips were unearthed from the tomb. After interpretation by experts, they discovered Confucian classics and their teachings, including the Spring and Autumn Annals. There are more than 100 copies of Haihun's simplified version of "Spring and Autumn" in existence. The commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Classic circulated in the Western Han Dynasty include "Zuo Zhuan", "Gongyang Zhuan" and "Gu Liang Zhuan". Based on the preliminary judgment of more than 20 bamboo slips with clear text, the researchers found that most of the contents of the slips are found in the current "Gongyang Zhuan" and "Gu Liang Zhuan", and some are only found in the "Gongyang Zhuan". The content and sentences are different from the current version, and some are not found in the current version. The Haihun version of Chunqiu is closely related to the Chunqiu Gongyang Zhuan. Gongyang studies were popular in the Han Dynasty and even served as the basic principle of governing the country for a period of time. The Haihun version of Chunqiu was discovered because the Chunqiu Classic was found in unearthed documents. The first discovery provides the earliest physical object of the Spring and Autumn Annals and provides valuable information for understanding this period of history.