\tThe Zuozhuan \u5de6\u4f20 "Commentary of Zuo" is a commentary and parallel version to the chronicle Chunqiu \u6625\u79cb "Spring and Autumn Annals". It is attributed to a certain Zuo Qiuming \u5de6\u4e18\u660e. 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 \u5de6\u6c0f\u6625\u79cb "Spring and Autumn of Master Zuo".<\/p>\n
\tZuo Qiuming is said to have lived in the state of Lu in the early 6th century, as a contemporarian of Confucius, but somewhat younger than the great master. The Qing period scholar Zhu Yizun \u6731\u5f5d\u5c0a believed that Zuoqiu was a double-character family name. Yu Zhengxie \u4fde\u6b63\u71ee was of the opinion that his name was Qiu Ming \u90b1\u660e (\u4e18\u660e), while zuo was the designation of his office, namely "scribe to the left" (zuoshi \u5de6\u53f2). History says the Zuo Qiuming wrote the Zuozhuan as a commentary in order to clarify obscure statements in the Chunqiu. The book must in fact have been compiled later, during the Warring States period \u6218\u56fd (5th cent.-221 BC). The Tang period scholar Zhao Kuang \u8d75\u5321 was the first who doubted that "Master Zuo" was identical to Zuo Qiuming. The Qing period scholar Yao Nai \u59da\u9f10 argued that the book must have been compiled by several persons, and assumed that one of the authors was the politician and military writer Wu Qi \u5434\u8d77, or the Han period \u6c49 (206 BCE-220 CE) imperial librarian Liu Xin \u5218\u6b46. The date of compilation is unclear. The Qing scholar Cui Shu \u5d14\u8ff0\u6839 assumed that is was compiled in the late Warring States period. The Japanese scholar XXX \u72e9\u91ce\u76f4\u559c argues that it must have been written during the time of Duke Xiao of Qin \u79e6\u5b5d\u516c (r. 362-338). Yang Bojun gives a time frame of between 403 and 389 BCE. From these dates it can be seen that Confucius' disciple Zuo Qiuming cannot have been the author of the Zuozhuan.<\/p>\n
\tWhile the shortness of the Chunqiu text can be explained by the method to write down a few words as a kind of aide-mémoire for a history transmitted orally, the narrative text of the Zuozhuan dates from a time when historiographers exactly wrote down what happened and what acting persons said in particular situations. This kind of historiography can also be found in the histories Guoyu \u56fd\u8bed "Discourses of the States" and theZhanguoce \u6218\u56fd\u7b56 "Stratagems of the Warring States", writing about history of the Spring and Autumn \u6625\u79cb (770 – 5th cent. BCE) and the Warring States period, respectively. In the concept of Confucian historiography the Chunqiu was seen as the warp threads (gang \u7eb2), whereas the Zuozhuan represented the filling threads (mu \u76ee). These "filling threads" were probably added by early Confucian disciples of thestate of Wei \u9b4f. For the compilation of the Zuozhuan they made use of other sources unknown in the state of Lu \u9c81, where the Chunqiu chronicle had been written, namely parts of the Shangshu \u5c1a\u4e66 "Book of Documents", as well as chronicles of other states, as the Zhouzhi \u5468\u5fd7 "Records of [the royal house of] Zhou" or the Zhengshu \u90d1\u4e66 "The book of the state of Zheng". The Zuozhuan is extremely helpful to understand the short and often obscure entries of the Chunqiu. For example, there is an entry of the first year of Duke Yin \u9c81\u9690\u516c (r. 722-712) providing not more information than that the Earl of Zheng defeated the ruler of the statelet of Duan \u6bb5 at a place called Yan (Zheng bo ke Duan yu Yan. \u90d1\u4f2f\u514b\u6bb5\u4e8e\u9122\u3002). The Zuozhuan adds a more than 500 words long story of this event, describes the atrocious intrigue of the Earl of Zheng, the deceitful behaviour of Gong Shu Duan \u5171\u53d4\u6bb5, and the decisive role of consort Wu Jiang \u6b66\u59dc in the affair that covered ten years before it evolved into a military campaign.<\/p>\n
\tThe detailed description of military activities is one of the strengths of theZuozhuan. It narrates more than 400 campaigns and their pre-history, the movements of the battlefield, the tactics of the generals, and the results. Among these, some were of a high importance for the surviving of thefeudal states, like the battle of Chengpu \u57ce\u6fee in 632 between Jin \u664b andChu \u695a, the battle of Yao \u6bbd in 627 between Qin \u79e6 and Jin, the battle of Bi \u90b2 in 597 beween Jin and Chu, the battle of An \u978c in 589 between Qi \u9f50 and Jin, or that of Yanling \u9122\u9675 in 575 between Jin and Chu. Interstate meetings and diplomatic envoys are likewise an important theme in the Zuozhuan. The right use of words in conversation (duici \u5bf9\u8f9e) was of greatest importance for diplomatic success, and such details can only be covered in a narrative type of history, like the Zuozhuan, and not in the concise statements of the Chunqiu. The Zuozhuan includes numerous examples how skilled diplomats contributed to the success of their missions. In many instances the author of the Zuozhuan includes his own critical commentary to historical events, and praised them as "proper" (li \u793c) or as incorrect (fei li \u975e\u793c).<\/p>\n
\tDuke Huan of Qi \u9f50\u6853\u516c (r. 685-643), for instance, is held in high esteem because he was able to restore order among the feudal states as the firsthegemonial lord (ba \u9738), yet on the other side, his moral conduct is criticized, as well as his political intrigues with Prince Chong'er \u91cd\u8033 of Jin. Duke Ling of Jin \u664b\u7075\u516c (r. 621-607) is rated as "not behaving like a lord" (bu jun \u4e0d\u541b), Duke Ling of Chen \u9648\u7075\u516c (r. 614-599) is harshly criticized for his audacity to wear sacrificial robes at the court, Duke Zhuang of Qi \u9f50\u5e84\u516c (r. 554-548) for his indulgence in banquets and the improper conduct of his courtiers. Loyal and responsible courtiers are praised, like Yan Ying\u664f\u5a74, Shu Xiang \u53d4\u5411, or the politician Zichan \u5b50\u4ea7. Political theories are also to be found, like in the statements of Ji Liang of Sui \u968f\u5b63\u6881, Sima Ziyu \u53f8\u9a6c\u5b50\u9c7c of Song \u5b8b, Shi Kuang \u5e08\u65f7 of Jin, Han Xianzi \u97e9\u732e\u5b50, Yan Ying, Shu Xiang, Yin Yi Sheng \u9634\u9974\u7525, or Feng Hua \u9022\u6ed1.<\/p>\n
\t <\/p>\n