Pre-Qin Historical Essays
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, society changed dramatically. The slave-owning aristocracy gradually declined, and the landlord class gradually emerged. At that time, the works that recorded the speeches of the ministers and officials of various countries and the emerging class of "scholars" as well as the political, diplomatic and military activities of the princes and countries were historical prose. His representative works include "Zuo Zhuan" in the chronological style, and "Warring States Policy" in the national style "Guoyu" which records the speeches of advisers and strategists.
"Zuo Zhuan" is said to have been written by Zuo Qiuming, a historian of the State of Lu in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Chronological records start from the first year of Lu Yin's reign and end to the twenty-seventh year of Lu Aigong. The recorded content involves many aspects such as politics, military, economy, culture, and diplomacy between the Zhou Dynasty and the princes and countries. It provides a relatively true reflection and a very specific description of the social reality at that time, such as the internal conflicts of the ruling group, the debauchery and cruelty of the rulers, and the frequent wars between princes for hegemony, etc., which has important historical value. Some complex historical events can often be written in a tactful, tortuous and orderly manner, showing different characters and personalities, with concise and vivid language, and have high artistic value.
Guoyu is an earlier national history, describing the historical facts of Zhou, Lu, Qi, Jin, Zheng, Chu, Wu, Yue and other countries, with 21 volumes. According to legend, it was written by Zuo Qiuming of the Lu State in the late Spring and Autumn Period, but modern scholars mostly believe that it was compiled and edited by scholars during the Warring States Period based on the original materials recorded by historians from various countries during the Spring and Autumn Period. "Guoyu" records more words than chronicles. It records the remarks of many historical figures in the Spring and Autumn Period. The writing is simple, plain and concise.
"Warring States Policy" is a country-style miscellaneous history work, which mainly records the remarks and activities of strategists during the Warring States Period. Author unknown. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, it was compiled and compiled by Liu Xiang and named "Warring States Policy". The whole book includes twelve national policies of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Western Zhou Dynasty, Qin, Qi, Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han, Yan, Song, Wei, and Zhongshan, and has thirty-three chapters. It mainly records historical facts about politics, diplomacy, military and other aspects of various countries. The records of the words and deeds of counselors and counselors who lobbied various countries during the Warring States Period are particularly detailed. "Warring States Policy" has vivid language, thorough discussion, vivid writing, and good use of fables and metaphors to illustrate abstract principles. It has strong artistic charm and literary interest.
Prose by Pre-Qin Scholars
During the Spring and Autumn Period, various countries were in dispute and wanderers arose in droves. In this era of great social changes, a new type of taxi emerged. They have different origins and different positions. In order to solve practical problems and represent the interests of their respective classes or strata, they put forward various demands and opinions on politics. They wrote books and argued endlessly, forming a situation where a hundred schools of thought contended.
The prose of pre-Qin scholars includes various academic schools and political views, including ten schools of Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Yin and Yang, Ming, Mohism, Zongheng, Nong, Za and novels, the most important of which are Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism and Legalism. Representative works include: The Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Mozi, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Hanfeizi, etc. Zhuzi's prose is thorough in reasoning, strict in logic, sharp in words, and good at using metaphors. The ones that had greater influence on later generations were the thoughts of Confucius and Mencius of the Confucian school and the thoughts of Lao and Zhuang of the Taoist school. First, they maintained the feudal order and actively joined the world. Thoughts have varying degrees of influence.