Drink celebratory wine today,
Ambition is not rewarded.
Coming to Japan to show their skills,
Write Spring and Autumn with blood.
This is a famous singing section in the modern Peking Opera "Wise Tiger Mountain". Yang Zirong came to the bandit's nest, gained the trust of the mountain eagle, was promoted to the ninth, the bandit chief of staff ordered to take wine to celebrate, Yang Zirong's robe was plucked, the eyebrow corner was picked, and such a singing section came.
There is a question here: why write about Spring and Autumn?
Spring and autumn, literally, are seasons, and Chinese give these two seasons a lot of good intentions. The extended meaning is history, and to write spring and autumn is to write history.
Crossing the forest sea, crossing the snowfield, outwitting the Weihu Mountain, and making miracles for the party and the people, it is Yang Zirong who sprinkles his blood to write history.
So, the question arises again: Why is writing spring and autumn a history?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="16" spring and autumn > spring and autumn is the common name of ancient history books</h1>
In ancient times, it refers to qin shi huang before he unified China. According to the Tang Dynasty historian Liu Zhiji, the official history books of the Xia, Shang, and Wednesday Dynasties were all called "Spring and Autumn"—of course, some of the history books of the princely states had other names. For example, in the Zhou Dynasty, the history book of the Jin State was "Multiplication", and the history book of the Chu State was "Han Zhuo", but it was generally called "Spring and Autumn", which is not wrong.
Due to the centuries-long war, the "Spring and Autumn" of the Xia, Shang, and Wednesday dynasties of the country was basically lost. The only thing that has been circulated in the world is the "Spring and Autumn" of the Lu State of the Zhou Dynasty.
This "Spring and Autumn" is also incomplete, but only records what happened between the Duke of Luyin and the Duke of Lu'ai, through twelve generations of monarchs, spanning about 240 years.
Later generations called the "Spring and Autumn Period", which is why it was named.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="114" > Confucius was the reviser of the Spring and Autumn</h1>
The Spring and Autumn period seen by later generations is not the original version, but a revision by Confucius.
There is much debate in history about the authenticity of Confucius's revision of the Spring and Autumn Period. The arguments of the positive and negative sides are all desirable and will not be discussed here.
Let's understand this matter from a square point of view -
First of all, "Spring and Autumn" handled many historians and styles of writing. It is not surprising that Confucius, as a cultural master of the Lu kingdom, revised the Spring and Autumn Period to make it penetrate.
Second, Confucius used "Spring and Autumn" as a teaching material to teach his political philosophy. In the course of his lectures, he may have felt that the original account did not fully conform to his political ideals, so he revised it.
Since it has the blessing of the Most Holy Ancestors, the Spring and Autumn Is not a simple history book, but a classic work of Confucianism. It was included in the Five Classics, enshrined in the Taixue and Guozi Prisons, and became a must-read list for future generations of readers to obtain meritorious names.
Confucius himself attached great importance to "Spring and Autumn", and even said: "Those who know me are the only ones who know "Spring and Autumn"!" The only sinner is "Spring and Autumn"! "This means that as long as spring and autumn is passed down, I will get what I want." It doesn't matter if you understand me or not! It is a great idea to pin his life's teachings on "Spring and Autumn".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="115" > "Spring and Autumn" is a history of attitudes</h1>
There is no such thing as an objective history.
Confucius lived in an era of chaos in the Spring and Autumn Period, with the collapse of ceremonies and the frequent wars. He strongly hoped to transform society and restore order, and thus established a whole system of theory.
To revise the Spring and Autumn Period is to transplant one's own political stance into historical events, to reason with things, to punish evil and promote good.
The resulting "Spring and Autumn Brushwork", that is, every sentence, or even every word, has its own specific value judgment.
Seemingly objective statements actually contain profound truths.
However, the spring and autumn of more than 16,000 words actually recorded a history of about 240 years. On average, less than seventy words a year, which can be described as concise. The saying "small words and great righteousness" was born from this.
With so few words and such a heavy truth, it puts forward extremely high requirements for the reader's ability to understand. In fact, without special teaching, it is basically impossible for readers to understand what "Spring and Autumn" really says.
Therefore, in order to interpret the difficult "classic" of "Spring and Autumn", the so-called "transmission" appeared, that is, the interpretation of "Spring and Autumn". Among them, there are three books that have been circulated: "Zuo Zhuan", "Ram Biography" and "Gu Liang Biography". Collectively known as the "Spring and Autumn Three Passes".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="116" > "Zuo Biao" is the authoritative interpretation version of "Spring and Autumn"</h1>
The author of the "Zuo Chuan" is generally considered to be Zuo Qiuming, a historian of the State of Lu in the late Spring and Autumn Period. On this matter, later generations of historians have different opinions.
It is undeniable that the "Zuo Zhuan" of more than 200,000 words has detailed historical materials, beautiful writing, smooth logic, and a clear stance, and has both historical value, literary value, and political value.
Later generations studied "Spring and Autumn", and preferred "Zuo Zhuan".
Illustration of the book page "Candle Martial Retreat Qin Division"
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, the "Biography of Jiang Biao" is quoted: "(Guan) Yu Hao Zuo's biography, the satire is slightly catchy. "Even a wufu loves to read "Zuo Chuan", which shows how popular "Zuo Chuan" was in the Han Dynasty.
In contrast, the "Biography of the Ram" and the "Biography of The Grain Liang", which were written in the Western Han Dynasty, certainly have their value, but they lack the freshness and thickness of the "Zuo Zhuan".
Zheng Xuan, a Confucian master of the Eastern Han Dynasty, summed it up: "Zuo Is good at etiquette, Ram is good at chanting, and Gu Liang is good at scripture." "Pre-Qin Confucianism emphasized the rule of the world by etiquette, which is the sum of various norms. In the "Left Biography", you can see comments of "Li Ye" or "Incivility" everywhere. Conformity with "etiquette" is the most important criterion for judging history in "Zuo Biao".
Since Qin Shi Huang unified the world and established imperial power, Confucianism gradually degenerated into the official doctrine of authoritarian rule. The spirit of "etiquette" was diluted and replaced by an extreme maintenance of imperial power and strict control of thought. As Tan Sitong said: "The government of the past two thousand years, the government of Qin, are all great thieves; the study of the two thousand years, xun xue, is also the wish of the countryside." "Confucianism within the law and outside is not only a feature of traditional Chinese politics, but also the transmutation and fate of traditional Chinese Confucianism since the Qin Dynasty. The "Ram Biography" and "The Tale of The Grain Liang", which interpret the "Spring and Autumn" in this environment, are naturally completely different from the "Left Biography".
In the eyes of some scholars in later generations, the views of zuo zhuan are no longer appropriate and even problematic. Zhu Xi once said: "Zuo's disease is based on the theory of success or failure, not on the basis of righteousness." The implication is that "Zuo Biao" does not talk about imperial politics!
Illustration of the book page "Returning with Heavy Ears"
However, it is precisely because the "Zuo Zhuan" does not talk about imperial power politics and has less hypocrisy and conservatism to the rulers, that it has originally retained the original ideas and original features of Confucianism, calling it "the original heart of Confucianism", which is not unavoidable.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="119" > The Left Biography is constantly being interpreted</h1>
Zuo Qiuming's interpretation of "Spring and Autumn" became a family of its own; later generations studied "Zuo Chuan" and read many experiences. For thousands of years, monographs annotating the "Zuo Zhuan" have emerged one after another, and sweat cattle have been abundant.
The Western Jin Dynasty Du Pre's "Spring and Autumn Left Transmission Collection", the Tang Dynasty Kong Yingda's "Spring and Autumn Left Transmission justice", the Qing Dynasty Gao Shiqi's "Left Transmission Chronicle", the modern Yang Bojun's "Spring and Autumn Left Transmission Notes", and the Japanese Takeshi Guanghong's "Zuo Clan Huizhi" provide good guidance and help for the world to read the "Left Transmission".
A thousand readers have a thousand Hamlets. There are so many annotations that it is difficult to distinguish whether these works are "I note the left transmission", "the left transmission notes me", or both.
But it doesn't matter.
Importantly, reading is watering. The original meaning of "Spring and Autumn" and the ideas of "Zuo Biao" have been continued and deepened in the annotation and collision. A spiritual seed, after thousands of years of cultivation, has gradually grown into a towering tree.
It has even become an indelible mark on the spiritual temperament of Chinese, even if it is a foreign invasion, the wrath of the gods, and genetic recombination, it cannot be invisible.
Even in that unprecedented era, when people swept away all cattle, ghosts, snakes, and gods, Confucius was put on the hat of the "number one bastard", and even the statues were pulled out to fight in the streets. However, you see, the model play has begun, and as soon as the revolutionary actors open their mouths, they still "write spring and autumn with their blood".
"Reading the Left Biography In This Way"
Henan Literature and Art Publishing House
Long Zhen
About the Author:
Long Zhen, male, born in 1975, from Liling, Hunan, graduated from the Department of Philosophy of Sun Yat-sen University. He currently lives in Guangzhou. Love history, love gossip, be good at finding the internal logical relationship from the complicated historical record, and restore the historical truth. Published "In fact, we have been living in the Spring and Autumn Warring States" (6 volumes, published by the Reader Company, republished as "Spring and Autumn Warring States Are Really Interesting").
Source Henan Literature and Art Publishing House
Author Dragon Town
Edited by Lei Zhang
Proofreading Wang Bing
Reviewed by Tian Zhen