Category: Chinese Classics

The Daxue 大学 "Great Learning" is a Confucian Classic. It is part of the canon of the Sishu 四书 "Four Books", to which it was added as integral Confucian writing on the order and harmony of society. It was originally a chapter of the ritual classic Liji 礼记. The Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126) Neo-Confucian scholars Cheng Hao 程颢 and Cheng Yi 程颐 were the first to regard it as a separate treatise. The Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹 divided it into a classic (jing 经) and a commentary (zhuan 传), wrote a philological study (zhangju 章句) to the Daxue and made it part of the canon of the "Four Books". Zhu Xi believed that the part he called "classic" had been compiled by Zeng Shen 曾参, a disciple of Confucius, while the the "commentary" was compiled by followers of Zeng Sen. This dispartment of the text is rather arbitrary and not based on scholarly evidence. The Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Chen Que 陈确 therefore contradicted this assumption and brought forward, on the base of textual evidence, that the Daxue must have been compiled only during the Former Han period 前汉 (206 BCE-8 CE), and not during the age in which Confucius and his disciples lived (5th cent. BCE).

传：夏四月．费伯帅师城郎．不书．非公命也．Zuo's Tradition 1.3:
Summer, 4th month; the Count of Fei, a vassal of Lu, fortified the city of Lang with some troops. This event it not recorded in the Annals because it was he was not charged by the Duke.
经：夏.五月.郑伯克段于鄢.Spring and Autumn Annals 1.3:
Summer, 5th month; the Count of Zheng (Duke Zhuang of Zheng 郑庄公) killed his younger brother Gongshu Duan 共叔段 at Yan.
(Zuo's Tradition 1.4 gives a lengthy account of the background of this entry.)
经：秋.七月.天王使宰咺来归惠公仲子之赗.Spring and Autumn Annals 1.4:
Autumn, 7th month, the Heavenly King of Zhou sent Chancellor Xuan to the court of Lu to present carriages and horses as burial offerings for the interment of late Duke Hui and Zhongzi, the mother of future Duke Huan (the Guliang Commentary falsely writes: mother of Duke Hui and second wife of Duke Xiao 孝公).
(Zuo's Tradition 1.5 explains some matters of mourning ritual.)
传：八月．纪人伐夷．夷不告．故不书．有蜚．不为灾．亦不书．惠公之季年．败宋师于黄．公立．而求成焉．
九月．及宋人盟于宿．始通也．Zuo's Tradition 1.6:
8th month; the people of Ji attacked the southern Yi barbarians. This event is not recorded in the Annals because the Yi did not make an official war declaration. The locust plague during this month is not recorded too, because it is not considered as a calamity. During the last reign year of late Duke Hui, we defeated the army of Song at Huangtu. After the enthronement of Duke Yin, we drew our attention to a peaceful relationship with Song.
In the 9th month, therefore, the Duke hastened together with the people of Song to form a coalition at Su. This was the begin of a friendly approach between Lu and Song.
经：九月.及宋人盟于宿 .Spring and Autumn Annals 1.5:
9th month, some officials of Lu hastened together with the people of Song to form a coalition at Su.
传：冬十月．庚申．改葬惠公．公弗临．故不书．惠公之薨也．有宋师．太子少．葬故有阙．是以改葬．Zuo's Tradition 1.7:
Winter, 10th month, day gengshen; the Duke did not attend the deferred burial of Duke Hui. This is also the reason why this event is not recorded in the Annals. During the original burial date, we had war with Song, and the Prince was still young, why the burial rites could not be performet correctly, and were deferred.
传：卫侯来会葬.不见公.亦不书.Zuo's Tradition 1.8:
The Marquis of Wei came to attend the burial of late Duke Hui. This event is not recorded in the Annals because the Marquis had no audience with Duke Yin.
(Zuo's Tradition 1.9 gives a short account about the war in Zheng.)
传：新作南门．不书．亦非公命也．Zuo's Tradition 1.10.:
The Southern Gate was newly erected. This event is not recorded in the Annals because it did not follow an offical command of the Duke.
经：冬.十有二月.祭伯来.Spring and Autumn Annals 1.6:
Winter, 12th month, the Count of Cai came to the court of Lu.
传：十二月．祭伯来．非王命也．Zuo's Tradition 1.11.:
12th month; the Count of Cai came to the court of Lu without having received an official command by the King.
经：公子益师卒．Spring and Autumn Annals 1.7:
The Duke's son, Yishi, died.
传：众父卒．公不与小敛．故不书日．Zuo's Tradition 1.12.:
Zhongfu died. The day is not recorded because the Duke did not dress up his head in preparation for the funeral service.
（公羊传）公子益师卒．何以不日？远也．所见异辞，所闻异辞，所传闻异辞．Gongyang's Commentary 1.7:
The Duke's son, Yishi, died. Why is the day not recorded? Because he was far away from home. Different people see different things, different people hear different things, and different people report different things.
（谷梁传）公子益师卒．大夫日卒，正也．不日卒，恶也．Guliang's Commentary 1.7:
The Duke's son, Yishi, died. It is normal to record the day of an aristocrat's dead. The missing of the day in the Annals expresses the faults of Yishi.  

经：三月．公及邾仪父盟于蔑．Spring and Autumn Annals 1.2:
3rd month; the Duke hastened together with Yifu from (the small state of) Zhu to form a coalition at Mie.
传：三月．公及邾仪父盟于蔑．邾子克也．未王命．故不书爵．曰仪父．贵之也．公摄位．而欲求好于邾．故为蔑之盟．Zuo's Tradition 1.2:
3 month. The Duke hastened together with Yifu from Zhu to form a coalition at Mie. "Yifu from Zhu" is Zhu Kezi. Because he was not yet enfeoffed with a title by the King of Zhou, he is not entitled here, but instead he is called with his honorific style Yifu "Father of Normative Appearance". The coalition with Zhu was founded because Duke Yin acted as Prince Regent (for the later Duke Huan) and was searching for good relationship with other states.
（公羊传）三月．公及邾娄仪父盟于眛．及者何？与也．会及暨．皆与也．曷为或言会？或言及，或言暨．会，犹最也．及，犹汲汲也．暨，犹暨暨也．及，我欲之．暨，不得已者．仪父者何？邾娄之君也．何以名？字也．曷为称字？褒之也．曷为褒之？为其与公盟也．与公盟者众矣．曷为独褒乎此？因其可褒而褒之．此其为可褒奈何？渐进也．眛者何？地期也．Gongyang's Commentary 1.2:
Third Month. The Duke hastened together with Zhu Lou "Yifu" to form a coalition at Mei (!).
What does "hasten together" (ji 及) mean? It means "participate". Both "come together" (hui 会) and "meet" (jih 暨) mean "participate" too; but why do the Annals sometimes say "come together", sometimes "hasten together", and sometimes "meet"? (Note: although the text does not use these two words, the Gongyang Commentary explains all three terms here.) "Come together" (hui)
means "assemble"; "hasten together" (ji) means "urgently"; "meet" (jih)
means "find together". "Hasten together" (ji) means that both sides are willing to meet; "find together" (jih) means that there is no other way. Who is Yifu? He was the Lord of Zhu (or Zhulou). Why is he recorded with his style and not with his name? It is, to honour him. Why is he honoured here? Because he formed a coalition with the Duke. There are many nobles forming a coalition with the Duke; why then is only Yifu especially honoured here? Because he is worth being honoured. Why? Because his coalition with the Duke had the effect that he gradually made steps into the direction of the right cause. What is Mei? It is the point of meeting.
（谷梁传）三月．公及邾仪父盟于眛．及者何？内为志焉尔．仪，字也．父，犹傅也．男子之美称也．其不言邾子，何也？邾之上古微，未爵命于周也．不日，其盟渝也．眛，地名也．Guliang's Commentary 1.2:
Third month. The Duke hastened together with Yifu from Zhu to form a coalition at Mei (!).
What does "hastened together" mean? It means that the state of Lu was willing to meet with the state of Zhu. "Yi" is only the style of Yifu. "Fu" means, "mentor", and it is a beautiful addressing for a lower aristocrate. Why do the Annals not say "Viscount of Zhu"? Because he was at that stime still a small person and not yet enfeoffed by the King of Zhou. The day of the meeting is not recorded because the coalition treaty was changed later. Mei is the name of a place.

隐公元年(722 BC)First year of Duke Yin the Hidden of Lu
经：元年．春．王正月．Spring and Autumn Annals 1.1:First year, spring, first month of the royal year (of Zhou).

The Guliangzhuan 谷梁传 is a commentary to the Confucian Classic Chunqiu 春秋 "Spring and Autumn Annals". It is traditionally attributed to Guliang Chi 谷梁赤 (also called Guliang Xi 谷梁喜 or Guliang Shu 谷梁淑) from the state of Lu 鲁 who had obtained the Chunqiu annals from Confucius' disciple Zixia 子夏 and wrote a commentar to it. The book is in fact the result of a commentary tradition which found its final codification at the beginning of the Former Han period 前汉 (206 BCE-8 CE). During the reign of Emperor Xuan 汉宣帝 (r. 74-49 BCE) it became part of the Confucian Canon that built the curriculum in the National University (taixue 太学).

The Gongyangzhuan 公羊传 is a commentary to the Confucian ClassicChunqiu 春秋 "Spring and Autumn Annals". It is said to have been written by Gongyang Gao 公羊高, a disciple of Zixia 子夏, who was himself a disciple of Confucius. During the reign of Emperor Jing 汉景帝 (r. 157-141 BCE) of the Han period 汉 (206 BCE-220 CE) it was declared a part of theConfucian Canon to be studied in the National University (taixue 太学). The most important professor (boshi 博士 "erudite") for the Gongyangcommentary to the Chunqiu classic was Gongsun Hong 公孙弘 who taught during the reign of Emperor Wu 汉武帝 (r. 141-87 BCE). No less important was his predecessor Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒, an expert on the Chunqiuwho also wrote the sub-classic Chunqiu fanlu 春秋繁露 "Rich Dew of Spring and Autumn".

The Zuozhuan 左传 "Commentary of Zuo" is a commentary and parallel version to the chronicle Chunqiu 春秋 "Spring and Autumn Annals". It is attributed to a certain Zuo Qiuming 左丘明. The Zuozhuan commentary as a very narrative text became so important for the interpretation and later use of the Chunqiu that it is commonly merged with the latter to the unitChunqiu-Zuozhuan. It was, with even more stress on the commentary, called Zuoshi chunqiu 左氏春秋 "Spring and Autumn of Master Zuo".

The Chunqiu 春秋 "Spring and Autumn Annals" is the chronicle of the state of Lu 鲁 between 722 and 479. It is the oldest and the only surviving type of chronicles from the early Eastern Zhou period 东周 (770-221 BC). The book gained such a high position in traditional literature that the whole period covered by it was called the Spring and Autumn period 春秋 770-5th cent. BCE). The entries do not only list the reign year of the individual dukes of Lu and the months but a mid-level headline is inserted indicating the seasons, which gave the chronicle its title. The entries are very brief and concise and not easy to understand if special knowledge of the historical background is lacking. A part of the entries is also missing.