Read the "Left Biography": the first year of the eleventh year of the Hidden Duke

Feel the "Spring and Autumn Brushwork"

1. Hidden

"Spring and Autumn" in: Spring of the First Year, Wang Zhengyue.

This is a record that makes the reader in the clouds, only time, no place, no people, no events. The "Zuo Chuan" explains that "the spring of the first year" is the spring of the first year of Lu Yin's common era, "Wang Zhengyue" refers to the first month of the Zhou calendar, and the Duke of Lu Yin is the throne of Lu. The reason why only the time is recorded, but not the event, is because Lu Huigong died, the eldest son Lu Huan was young, and the duke of Lu Yin was the regent, and the Duke of Lu Yin was not a monarch in the sense of the Western Zhou patriarchy, so there is no record of his ascension to the throne. This "hidden" brushwork reflects the editor Confucius's maintenance of the inheritance system of the eldest son of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

"Spring and Autumn" in: March, Gong and Yi Yi's father allied with contempt.

The Zuo Chuan explains that Yi Yi's father was a nobleman of the State of Yi, and the Spring and Autumn Period does not address him as an official because his actions were not recorded with Zhou Tianzi, but out of respect for him, he was called "Yi Father". This kind of "concealment" probably means "punishment" for feudal nobles who do not obey the etiquette system, and it is also out of respect for Zhou Tianzi.

Compared with this kind of semi-concealment and half-appearance, there are many events in the year of Lu Yin that are hidden and unremembered, such as the ultra vires acts of courtiers and princes, the behavior of diplomatic etiquette, and the events that did not cause disasters.

History is a fait accompli and cannot be added, deleted, or modified, but history books are written by people, and there must be trade-offs. High-taste history books must be under the premise of respecting history, under the guidance of the editor's value system, and have a choice of historical materials, which is "hidden". Judging from the contents of the Hidden Year of the Common Era, the "Hidden" of the Spring and Autumn Period seems to reflect the positioning of Confucius's history compilation: (1) the history book is a major event, and the events that have little impact on the family and the world are not remembered, so as not to delay future generations; (2) the history book is the main righteousness, and the historical events that deviate from the ritual system and have no disciplinary results are not remembered, so as not to mislead future generations. The Northern Song Dynasty philosopher Zhang Zai's so-called "establishing a heart for heaven and earth, establishing a destiny for the people, inheriting the study for future generations, and opening up peace for all generations" seems to summarize Confucius's original intention of writing the Spring and Autumn Period.

2. Jane

"Spring and Autumn" chronicles, almost only a "old news" title, outlining the time, place, people, events, lack of records of the causes and processes of the events, giving people a sense of dry tastelessness. For example, in the struggle between Zheng Zhuanggong and his brother Gong, Zuo Shi wrote a wonderful short story, but "Spring and Autumn" only has nine words of "Summer and May, Zheng Boke Duan Yu Yan". Just imagine, thousands of years later, the archives of the princes suffered from the disaster of war and fire, and all kinds of historical materials were lost, how many people can read "Spring and Autumn"? How much "historical" value can it have? In this sense, is it possible to say that without Zuo Zhuan, there would be no Spring and Autumn? Zuo Shi admired Confucius and made a note for "Spring and Autumn", saying: Non-Confucius, I do not know the honor of human nature; Confucius should also thank Zuo Shi for continuing the soul of "Spring and Autumn", I know: Non-Zuo Shi, I have done useless work!