Spring and Autumn History - (Corrected Edition)

Author: Tong Shuyi, edited by Tong Jiaoying
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This History of the Spring and Autumn Period, originally a lecture note used by Professor Guo Jiegang at Peking University and Beijing University, was written by me, though the purpose was entirely in line with Professor Guo's (hence some discussions in the book may not align with my views). After the incident, I took this lecture note to Anqing and then to Shanghai, never leaving it even in the most difficult times. Last summer, I received a letter from Professor Guo Jiegang from Chengdu, asking me to write a History of the Spring and Autumn Period for Tsinghua University. I replied that the style of the lecture note was good and that I had put considerable effort into writing it. Discarding it would be a pity; instead, it would be better to revise and rewrite the notes, combining popularization and specialization. Professor Guo agreed and suggested that since we were in distant places, it would be better to publish it under my name. I followed his instructions and began revising it last winter. Due to various commitments, I only managed to complete it in June this year. The gaps in the original manuscript have been largely filled, errors corrected, and the format slightly adjusted. Though not entirely satisfactory, I believe I have put my heart into it (the text was slightly verbose in the original, but as it was reviewed by Professor Guo, I kept it mostly unchanged except for necessary revisions). The book is divided into two parts: "Main Text" and "Notes." The main text is approximately 160,000 words, while the notes are planned to be 200,000 words. The main text uses a narrative style (with references to notes where necessary) and is written in simple language, avoiding direct quotes unless absolutely necessary. The notes are modeled after Cui Dongyi's Records of Confirmed Trust and are titled Notes on the Spring and Autumn Period (which can be seen as a continuation of Records of Confirmed Trust). They can stand alone or be combined with the main text. The materials for the notes have been largely collected, but I was unable to complete them due to the current situation and personal commitments, so I had to set them aside for now. Fortunately, the main text is self-contained and can be published first. Only the Chapter has footnotes, as the subsequent chapters have separate notes to avoid repetition (since the notes are titled Notes on the Spring and Autumn Period as a continuation of Cui's Records of Confirmed Trust, there is no need to trace back to the period before the Spring and Autumn Period, so I included them as notes in the main text. As they are notes on research rather than mere annotations, they are somewhat verbose, and the use of classical Chinese is also due to this reason).
I have always believed that in writing a comprehensive history, every major event should be detailed from its origins to its consequences, and the relationships between different eras should not be disconnected. To uphold this principle, this book centers on the history of the Spring and Autumn Period while briefly covering the history from the remote antiquity to the Western Zhou (becoming more concise as it progresses). I originally wrote a chapter titled "Brief History of the Western Zhou" to accompany the main text, but as my friend Yang Kuanzheng (Kuan) was also writing a Brief History of the Warring States Period for Tsinghua University with a similar style, we decided to combine them. Therefore, I deleted the already written "Brief History of the Warring States Period" and its notes, totaling about 20,000 words, to avoid repetition.
The chronology in this book does not use the Gregorian calendar for minor events, as the dates before the Warring States Period are difficult to determine precisely. Using the traditional Chinese historical chronology is more reliable and easier to reference. Since there are many chronological tables available now, readers can easily find the assumed Gregorian dates for less important events. As for important and reasonably identifiable place names, I have added modern locations below; for less important or uncertain ones, I have omitted them.
There are also many differences in discussions between the main text and the notes. The main text focuses on popularization, avoiding personal opinions that have not been conclusively proven, except when necessary. However, the notes include more new theories, as they are intended to express personal insights.