Ancient Documents and Historical Studies

Author: Huang Huaxin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-06-01
Features: The Confucian Compendium (including The Compendium of the Later Confucians) is a work dedicated to recording the "noble words and virtuous deeds" of the Confucian family. The Confucian figures mentioned and involved in the book span over ten generations. The last generation, the brothers Chang Yan and Ji Yan, are the 20th descendants of Confucius. These individuals were all outstanding members of the Confucian family before the Wei dynasty and belonged to the scholarly lineage. Professor Li Xueqin once pointed out: "The Confucian Compendium can be considered a case study of the Confucian family's academic tradition." This assessment is highly accurate. Additionally, the formation of the book, according to the author's research, underwent at least four hands from its initial compilation to its final editing, with at least two revisions and adaptations in between. Some chapters were written by the compilers, revisers, or editors themselves, while others were directly excerpted from the works of previous scholars. All individuals associated with the book's creation, including the initial compiler, the two revisers and adapters, the final editor, and the original authors of the excerpts, were all Confucian scholars. Therefore, we propose to place all the figures recorded in the book and those associated with its creation into the Confucian lineage, explaining their positions within it to demonstrate the origins and development of the Confucian family's academic tradition. At the same time, we will also correct some erroneous claims about the Confucian lineage. The general method is to first introduce the figures recorded in The Confucian Compendium and those involved in its creation, then examine and arrange the Confucian lineage, and finally use a table for reference.
The Book of the Lost Zhou is of great significance to Zhou history studies. However, its value has yet to be fully recognized to this day. The main reason for this is the uncertainty surrounding its era, with no definitive consensus. In this regard, the author intends to offer a brief discussion on the book's era, hoping for criticism from the academic community. Previous discussions on The Book of the Lost Zhou have varied: some believed it was written during the Warring States period, others before the Warring States period, some after the Warring States period, some between the Qin and Han dynasties, some after the Han dynasty, some between the Eastern Han and Wei-Jin periods, some suggesting it gradually increased over the Warring States, Qin, and Han periods, and still others proposing it existed as early as the Spring and Autumn period and was later supplemented after the Warring States period. Despite the diversity of opinions, all have overlooked a critical issue: the book has an Introduction. As we know, the so-called "71 chapters of the Zhou Book" actually consist of 70 chapters of text (only 59 survive today, with 11 others listed but without content) plus one Introduction. The Introduction to the Zhou Book resembles the Introductions to the Book of Documents, sequentially explaining the origins of each chapter. Observing previous discussions, we can see that the chapters of the book must not have been written at the same time, otherwise, such significant differences would not exist. Given this, it is impossible to assign a single era to the entire book. However, since there is an Introduction, it indicates that the book was compiled by one person at one time. Therefore, we must determine its era based on the compilation. When was the 71 chapters compiled? Professor Chen Mengjia argued that the 71 chapters combined with the 29 chapters of the Confucian Canon of the Book of Documents total exactly 100 chapters, suggesting it was intentionally arranged by Liu Xiang. Chen said: "The Commentary on the Yao Canon discusses the Introduction to the 100 Chapters, stating that 'Zheng followed Jia's Record of Separations for the arrangement,' which means Liu Xiang's Record of Separations already included the Introduction to the 100 Chapters. Hence, the Bian Zhi mentions the 100 chapters as discussed by Confucius. The Book of Han·Bibliography lists '71 chapters of the Zhou Book' under the Book of Documents category. Shi Gu said: 'Liu Xiang stated: the Zhou Book was a collection of great pronouncements and decrees from the Zhou era, likely a remainder of the 100 chapters discussed by Confucius.' This should be based on the Record of Separations. From this, we know that the Record of Separations included the 100 chapters, and there was a claim that Confucius discussed the 100 chapters. As for this Zhou Book of 71 chapters, it was intentionally arranged to...