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The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian tradition, themselves an abridgment of the Thirteen Classics. The Chinese classics used a form of written Chinese consciously imitated by later authors, now known as Classical Chinese. A common Chinese word for "classic" literally means 'warp thread', in reference to the techniques by which works of this period were bound into volumes.
Dong Zhongshu was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer of the Han dynasty. He is traditionally associated with the promotion of Confucianism as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state, favoring heaven worship over the tradition of cults celebrating the five elements. Enjoying great influence in the court in the last decades of his life, his adversary Gongsun Hong ultimately promoted his partial retirement from political life by banishing him to the Chancellery of Weifang, but his teachings were transmitted from there.
The Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals is an undated work attributed to philosopher Dong Zhongshu. It has survived to the present, though its compilation might have continued past his lifetime into the 4th century. It is 82 chapters long and about 72,000 words, although three of the chapters within the present text have been lost, and there is considerable textual confusion in other chapters. In its current form, the book deals with topics such as the five elements and their relation to politics. One of the chapters in this book presents the concept of the "source" (元), which became important to later Neo-Confucianism.
The Zuo Zhuan, often translated The Zuo Tradition or The Commentary of Zuo, is an ancient Chinese narrative history that is traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle Spring and Autumn Annals. It comprises 30 chapters covering a period from 722 to 468 BC, and focuses mainly on political, diplomatic, and military affairs from that era.
In Chinese philology, the Ancient Script Classics refer to some versions of the Five Classics discovered during the Han dynasty, written in a script that predated the one in use during the Han dynasty, and produced before the burning of the books. The term became used in contrast with "Current Script Classics" (今文經), which indicated a group of texts written in the orthography currently in use during the Han dynasty.
The Four Books and Five Classics are authoritative and important books associated with Confucianism, written before 300 BC. They are traditionally believed to have been either written, edited or commented by Confucius or one of his disciples. Starting in the Han dynasty, they became the core of the Chinese classics on which students were tested in the Imperial examination system.
The Kaicheng Stone Classics (開成石經) or Tang Stone Classics are a group of twelve early Chinese classic works carved on the orders of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty in 833–837 as a reference document for scholars. The works recorded are:
Han learning, or the Han school of classical philology, was an intellectual movement that reached its height in the middle of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) in China. The focus of the movement was to reject neo-Confucianism in order to return to a study of the original Confucian texts.
The Thirteen Classics is a term for the group of thirteen classics of Confucian tradition that became the basis for the Imperial Examinations during the Song dynasty and have shaped much of East Asian culture and thought. It includes all of the Four Books and Five Classics but organizes them differently and includes the Classic of Filial Piety and Erya.
The Guliang Zhuan is considered one of the classic books of ancient Chinese history. It is traditionally attributed to a writer with the surname of Guliang in the disciple tradition of Zixia, but versions of his name vary and there is no definitive way to date the text. Although it may be based in part on oral traditions from as early as the Warring States period, the first references to the work appear in the Han dynasty, and the peak of its influence was the 1st century BCE. Along with the Zuo Zhuan and Gongyang Zhuan, the work is one of the Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals.
The Spring and Autumn Annals is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The Annals is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 BCE. It is the earliest surviving Chinese historical text to be arranged in annals form. Because it was traditionally regarded as having been compiled by Confucius—after a claim to this effect by Mencius—it was included as one of the Five Classics of Chinese literature.
Dai Sheng, also known as Xiao Dai,, birth and death unknown, was the Scholar of Rituals to Emperor Xuan of the Former Han dynasty. He was the son of Dai Ren (戴仁) and the nephew of Dai De. He was a native of Liang and a founder of the Former Han dynasty Jinwen Jingxue.
Dai De, also known as Da Dai,, birth and death unknown, was a Confucian scholar of the western Han dynasty. He was active during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han and then Emperor Yuan of Han.
The Battle of An was fought during the Spring and Autumn period in 589 BC at Hua Hill in the area of the present-day city of Jinan, Shandong between the states of Qi and Jin. It ended in a victory for the state of Jin and eventually resulted in an alliance between the two states.
Jiang Qing is a contemporary Chinese Confucian. He is best known for his criticism of New Confucianism, which according to him, deviated from the original Confucian principles and is overly influenced by Western liberal democracy. He proposes an alternative path for China: Constitutional Confucianism, also known as Political Confucianism, or Institutional Confucianism, through the trilateral parliament framework.
The Study of Current Script Texts is a school of thought in Confucianism that was based on Confucian classics recompiled in the early Han dynasty by Confucians who survived the burning of books and burying of scholars during the Qin dynasty. The survivors wrote the classics in the contemporary characters of their time, and these texts were later dubbed as "Current Script" 今文. Current Script school attained prominence in the Western Han dynasty and became the official interpretation for Confucianism, which was adopted as the official ideology by Emperor Wu of Han.
Bu Shang, commonly known by his courtesy name Zixia or as Buzi, was an ancient Chinese philosopher and a prominent disciple of Confucius who was considered one of the most accomplished in cultural learning. He was one of the five disciples who took chief responsibility for the transmission of Confucius' teachings. He played a significant role in the transmission of such classics as the Book of Poetry and the I Ching. He established his own school, and taught Marquess Wen of Wei, ruler of Wei, the most powerful state of the early Warring States period.
Gongsun Hong was a senior official in the Western Han dynasty under Emperor Wu. Together with the more famous Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu, Gongsun was one of the earliest proponents of Confucianism, setting in motion its emergence under the Han court. The ideals and decrees both promoted would come to be seen as values-in-themselves, becoming the "basic elements, or even hallmarks" of Confucianism, although not necessarily officially during his lifetime. While first proposed and more ardently promoted by Dong, the national academy and Imperial examination, then considered radical, did not come into existence until they were supported by the more successful Gongsun. Their establishment set a precedent that would last into the twentieth century.
Jia Kui, courtesy name Jingbo, was a Confucian philosopher who lived in the early Eastern Han period. He was a descendant of the Western Han politician and writer Jia Yi. He was born in Pingling (平陵), Youfufeng Commandery (右扶風郡), which is located northeast of present-day Xingping, Shaanxi. He studied at university in Luoyang.
The term "Spring and Autumn brushwork" (春秋笔法), also known as "Spring and Autumn writing style" or "subtle and significant meanings," refers to a writing technique where the author subtly expresses their subjective views through detailed descriptions, rhetorical methods, and selective presentation of materials, without directly stating their opinions on people and events. Originally, it meant that later generations would rigorously examine the actions of previous people to determine who was extremely evil and who respected the current dynasty, embodying the idea that "good and evil will be proven by history". Nowadays, the term "Spring and Autumn brushwork" denotes a writing style that is indirect yet conveys praise or criticism.
References
- Duan, Xizhong Gongyangxue jiangshu Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 2002
- Jiang, Qing Gongyangxue yinlun: Rujia de zhengzhi zhihui yu lishi xinyang Shenyang: Liaoning Jiaoyu Chubanshe, 1995.
