Lüshi Chunqiu
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Author | Lü Buwei |
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Original title | 呂氏春秋 |
Country | China |
Language | Chinese |
Genre | Chinese classics |
Lüshi chunqiu | |
---|---|
BUC | Lṳ̄-sê Chŭng-chiŭ |
Middle Chinese | |
Middle Chinese | Ljó-d͡ʒjé tɕʰwin-tsʰjuw |
Old Chinese | |
Baxter–Sagart (2014) | *[r]ˤa k.dəʔ tʰun tsʰiw |
The Lüshi Chunqiu (
Background
The
... ordered that his retainers write down all that they had learned and assemble their theses into a work consisting of eight "Examinations", six "Discourses", and twelve "Almanacs", totaling more than 200,000 words.
According to the Shiji, Lü exhibited the completed text at the city gate of Xianyang, capital of Qin, and above it a notice offering a thousand measures of gold to any traveling scholar who could add or subtract even a single word.
The
Contents
The title uses chunqiu (春秋; spring and autumn) to mean 'annals; chronicle' in a reference to the Confucianist
The text comprises 26 juan (卷; 'scrolls', 'books') in 160 pian (篇; 'sections'), and is divided into three major parts. The first is the Ji (紀; 'Almanacs'): books 1–12 correspond to the months of the year, and list appropriate seasonal activities to ensure that the state runs smoothly. This part, which was copied as the
Integrity of the text
The composition's features, measure of completeness (i.e. the veracity of the Shiji account) and possible corruption of the original Annals have been subjects of scholarly attention. It has been mentioned that the Almanacs have much greater integrity and thematic organization than the other two parts of the text.
The Yuda (諭大) chapter of the Examinations, for example, contains text almost identical to the Wuda (務大) chapter of the Discourses, though in the first case it is ascribed to Jizi (季子), and in the second to Confucius.
Reception
Scholar Liang Qichao (1873–1929) stated: "This book, through the course of two thousand years, has had no deletions nor corruptions. Moreover, it has the excellent commentary of Gao You. Truly it is the most perfect and easily read work among the ancient books."[6] Liang's position, mildly criticized afterwards,[by whom?] was dictated by the lack of canonical status ascribed to the book.
Correction bounty
The Shiji tells that after Lü Buwei presented the finished Lüshi Chunqiu for the public at the gate of Xianyang and announced that anyone could correct the book's content would be awarded 1000
None of the contemporary scholars pointed out any mistakes in the work, although later scholars managed to detect a number of them. It is believed that Lü's contemporaries were able to detect the book's inaccuracies, but none dared to openly criticize a powerful figure like him.
Major positions
Admitting the difficulties of summarizing the Lüshi Chunqiu, John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel list 18 major points:
- Affirmation of self-cultivation and impartiality
- Rejection of hereditary ruler over the empire
- Stupidity as the cause of hereditary rule
- Need for government to honor the concerns of the people
- The central importance of learning and teachers
- Support and admiration for learning as the basis of rule
- Non-assertion on the part of the ruler
- Primary task for a ruler is to select his ministers
- Need for a ruler to trust the expertise of his advisers
- Need for a ruler to practice quiescence
- The attack on Qin practices
- Just warfare
- Respect for civil arts
- Emphasis on agriculture
- Facilitating trade and commerce
- Encouraging economy and conservation
- Lightening of taxes and duties
- Emphasis on filial piety and loyalty.[7]
The Lüshi chunqiu is an invaluable compendium of early Chinese thought and civilization.
References
- Footnotes
- Works cited
- Carson, Michael; ISBN 1-55729-043-1.
- Knoblock, John and Riegel, Jeffrey. 2000. The Annals of Lü Buwei: A Complete Translation and Study. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3354-6.
- Sellmann, James D. 2002. Timing and Rulership in Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals (Lüshi chunqiu). Albany: State University of New York Press.
External links
- 呂氏春秋, complete text in Chinese
- Lüshi chunqiu 呂氏春秋, ChinaKnowledge entry