The Commentarial Transformation of the Spring and Autumn

Newell Ann Van Auken

Description

The Spring and Autumn is among the earliest surviving Chinese historical records, covering the period 722–479 BCE. It is a curious text: the canonical interpretation claims that it was composed by Confucius and embodies his moral judgments, but this view appears to be contradicted by the brief and dispassionate records themselves. Newell Ann Van Auken addresses this puzzling discrepancy through an examination of early interpretations of the Spring and Autumn, and uncovers a crucial missing link in two sets of commentarial remarks embedded in the Zuǒ Tradition. These embedded commentaries do not seek moral judgments in the Spring and Autumn, but instead interpret its records as produced by a historiographical tradition that was governed by rules related to hierarchy and ritual practice. Van Auken's exploration of the Zuǒ Tradition and other early commentaries sheds light on the transformation of the Spring and Autumn from a simple, non-narrative historical record into a Confucian classic.
Acknowledgments
Scholarly Conventions

Introduction
Text, Commentary, and Authority
The Spring and Autumn: An Overview and Brief Reception History
The Zuô Tradition and Spring and Autumn Commentary
Overview of the Book

1. Orthodoxy and Transformation: Two Categories of Commentary
Dù Yù's "Preface": Zhōu Gōng and Confucius
After Dù Yù: Reception and Rejection of the Direct Commentary Passages
Perceptions of the Direct Commentary's Place in Zuô Tradition Composition History
General and Specific Remarks: Nomenclature
Formal Description of the Direct Commentary Passages

2. The Ritual Filter and the Centrality of Lǔ
Reporting and Recording
The Centrality of the Lǔ Ruler
Tardiness
"Avoiding the ugly"
The Ritual Filter: Rules, Ritual Deficiencies, and Criticism

3. Hierarchy, Criticism, and Commendation: Recognizing Merit and Assigning Fault
Rank, Hierarchy, and Prestige
Criticism and Assignment of Fault
Commendation and Honor
"Subtle words conveying praise and blame" Revisited

4. Two Ways of Teaching the Spring and Autumn: The Sources of the Direct Commentaries
Before Interlinear Commentaries
Thematic Clustering and the Source of the Specific Remarks
The "Fifty Generalizations"
Teaching and Commentary: Texts for Teaching Texts

5. Other Approaches to Commentary in the Zuô Tradition: The Gentleman and Confucius
The Remarks of the "Gentleman" and "Confucius" versus the Direct Commentary
Introducing Ambiguity: Composite Passages and Conflations
A Commentarial Essay: Merging Approaches to History
"Only the Sage could have revised it"
From Ritual Prescriptions to Praise and Blame

6. Incomplete Correspondences and the Likelihood of Mediated
Contact: The Relation of the Direct Commentaries to Gōngyáng and Gǔliáng
The Direct Commentaries as Later Interpolations?
Comparison of Corresponding Gōngyáng and Gǔliáng, and Direct Commentary Remarks
Formulaic Expressions, Complexity, and Specificity
Approaches to Commentary: Teaching Texts and Teaching about Texts

7. From Recording Rules to Written Text: Conceptual Antecedents to Gōngyáng and Gǔliáng in the Direct Commentaries
Rules of Exclusion Pertaining to Records: Omitted Events and Exceptional Records
Rules of Exclusion and Omission of Details: Names, Dates, and Locations
The Special Status of Lǔ: Implicit Assumptions versus Overt Recognition
Hidden Messages and the Language of Praise and Blame
Conclusions: The Commentarial Transformation of the Spring and Autumn

Epilogue
From Zhōu Gōng to Confucius: Textual Creation Myths Forgotten and Replaced

Appendix
Summaries and Topical Lists of the Direct Commentary Passages
Summaries: Specific Remarks
Summaries: General Remarks
Topical Lists of Direct Commentary Passages

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• History of Asia
• Historiography
• Asia
• China

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 24 octobre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438463018
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 12 Mo

Extrait

The Commentarial Transformation of the Spring and Autumn
SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture

Roger T. Ames, editor
The Commentarial Transformation of the Spring and Autumn
Newell Ann Van Auken
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2016 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu
Production, Jenn Bennett Marketing, Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Van Auken, Newell Ann.
Title: The commentarial transformation of the Spring and Autumn / Newell Ann Van Auken.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, 2016. | Series: SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016007691 (print) | LCCN 2016009380 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438462998 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438463018 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Zuoqiu, Ming. Zuo zhuan. | Confucius. Chun qiu.
Classification: LCC PL2470.Z7 V36 2016 (print) | LCC PL2470.Z7 (ebook) | DDC 895.18/107—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016007691
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To my teachers
Contents
Acknowledgments
Scholarly Conventions
Introduction
Text, Commentary, and Authority
The Spring and Autumn : An Overview and Brief Reception History
The Zu ǒ Tradition and Spring and Autumn Commentary
Overview of the Book
Chapter 1 Orthodoxy and Transformation: Two Categories of Commentary
Dù Yù’s “Preface”: Zhōu Gōng and Confucius
After Dù Yù: Reception and Rejection of the Direct Commentary Passages
Perceptions of the Direct Commentary’s Place in Zu ǒ Tradition Composition History
General and Specific Remarks: Nomenclature
Formal Description of the Direct Commentary Passages
Chapter 2 The Ritual Filter and the Centrality of L ǔ
Reporting and Recording
The Centrality of the L ǔ Ruler
Tardiness
“Avoiding the ugly”
The Ritual Filter: Rules, Ritual Deficiencies, and Criticism
Chapter 3 Hierarchy, Criticism, and Commendation: Recognizing Merit and Assigning Fault
Rank, Hierarchy, and Prestige
Criticism and Assignment of Fault
Commendation and Honor
“Subtle words conveying praise and blame” Revisited
Chapter 4 Two Ways of Teaching the Spring and Autumn : The Sources of the Direct Commentaries
Before Interlinear Commentaries
Thematic Clustering and the Source of the Specific Remarks
The “Fifty Generalizations”
Teaching and Commentary: Texts for Teaching Texts
Chapter 5 Other Approaches to Commentary in the Zu ǒ Tradition : The Gentleman and Confucius
The Remarks of the “Gentleman” and “Confucius” versus the Direct Commentary
Introducing Ambiguity: Composite Passages and Conflations
A Commentarial Essay: Merging Approaches to History
“Only the Sage could have revised it”
From Ritual Prescriptions to Praise and Blame
Chapter 6 Incomplete Correspondences and the Likelihood of Mediated Contact: The Relation of the Direct Commentaries to Gōngyáng and G ǔ liáng
The Direct Commentaries as Later Interpolations?
Comparison of Corresponding Gōngyáng , G ǔ liáng and Direct Commentary Remarks
Formulaic Expressions, Complexity, and Specificity
Approaches to Commentary: Teaching Texts and Teaching about Texts
Chapter 7 From Recording Rules to Written Text: Conceptual Antecedents to Gōngyáng and G ǔ liáng in the Direct Commentaries
Rules of Exclusion Pertaining to Records: Omitted Events and Exceptional Records
Rules of Exclusion and Omission of Details: Names, Dates, and Locations
The Special Status of L ǔ : Implicit Assumptions versus Overt Recognition
Hidden Messages and the Language of Praise and Blame
Conclusions: The Commentarial Transformation of the Spring and Autumn
Epilogue From Zhōu Gōng to Confucius: Textual Creation Myths Forgotten and Replaced
Appendix Summaries and Topical Lists of the Direct Commentary Passages
Summaries: Specific Remarks
Summaries: General Remarks
Topical Lists of Direct Commentary Passages
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Many people have provided me assistance, support, and encouragement in writing this book, but I must begin by expressing my debt of gratitude to an anonymous reader. This project was originally conceived of as a much shorter journal article based on a chapter of my dissertation, with the simple aim of presenting a set of commentarial passages concerning the Spring and Autumn that are embedded in the Zu ǒ Tradition and showing that they lay out a unified reading of the Spring and Autumn , and are not (as had been commonly supposed) relatively late interpretations. I duly submitted my article for review and subsequently received a particularly inspiring reader report asking questions that I had not considered. As I sought answers, it became clear to me that I had more to say than could be addressed in an article. The anonymous reader asked about the distribution of the commentarial passages throughout the Zu ǒ Tradition ; the surprising discoveries I made in the process of answering this question threw light on the sources of these passages and inspired me to think more broadly about the nature of early texts about texts. My answer became chapter 4 . A second question concerned the relationship of the embedded commentarial lines to two other Zu ǒ Tradition passages that also refer to the Spring and Autumn ; my response became chapter 5 , which highlights two fundamentally different approaches to understanding and interpreting the Spring and Autumn , and to early Chinese historiography more generally. Other parts of the report, too, went beyond evaluating and correcting, and gave me mentoring, guidance, and teaching. I may never learn this reader’s name, but I remain most grateful.
The groundwork for this project was laid during two research visits to the Institute of History and Philology 歷史語言研究所 at Academia Sinica in Nan-kang, Taiwan. There, the faculty and staff provided much assistance, and discussions with my sponsor, Chen Chao-jung 陳昭容 , helped clarify my understanding of the Spring and Autumn . Portions of this project, primarily an early draft of chapter 4 , were presented at the Early China Seminar at Columbia University in November 2012, hosted by Li Feng and David Pankenier, and I would like to thank my hosts and the seminar participants for their inspiring and insightful discussion of my work. I have presented various parts of this project in preliminary form at annual meetings of the Western Branch of the American Oriental Society, and I am grateful to my colleagues for their thoughtful questions and comments.
As I neared the finish line, John Major carefully read and gave detailed comments on the entire manuscript and provided warm encouragement at a time when I needed it most. Martin Kern helpfully commented on a much earlier portion of this work and inspired me to learn more about the relation between commentary and teaching. I also thank Sarah Queen, Wai-yee Li, and Joachim Gentz for reading and commenting on parts of this project at different stages of completion. Lisa Indraccolo and Xiubo Shan carefully reviewed portions of the manuscript and saved me from many embarrassing errors.
Many friends were very supportive, but I am particularly grateful to Melissa Curley, Shuang Chen, W. South Coblin, Jennifer Feeley, Laura Nüffer, and Richard VanNess Simmons. I also owe a great intellectual debt to my teacher, graduate adviser, and friend, William G. Boltz, who provided me the skills and training to conduct this research.
The late Nancy Ellegate, senior acquisitions editor at State University of New York Press, deserves special mention. Nancy was not only professional and highly competent, but she also gave wonderful support to first-time authors such as myself. She was clear and direct, positive and encouraging, and full of wit and good humor. Sadly, she passed before the completion of this project. I also express my thanks to Jenn Bennett, Jessica Kirschner, and the editorial staff at SUNY Press for continued support, even as they were grieving their loss.
Finally, I thank my beloved husband Van and our two children, Clara and Oliver, whose unfailing love, support, and faith in me have enabled me to bring this project to fruition.
Scholarly Conventions
Chinese characters and romanization are provided at the first occurrence of personal and place names and of titles of works in Chinese. After the first occurrence, Chinese works are referred to by translated title in the chapters and appendix but by romanized title in the notes and bibliography.
The Spring and Autumn ( Chūnqiū 春秋 ) text used is that associated with the Zu ǒ Tradition ( Zu ǒ zhuàn 左傳 ), unless otherwise noted. The Gōngyáng and G ǔ liáng versions of the Spring and Autumn sometimes differ slightly, and this is noted as appropriate. References to Spring and Autumn records are marked CQ and are keyed to Yáng Bójùn’s 楊伯峻 edition, Chūnqiū Zu ǒ zhuàn zhù 春秋左傳注 . Individual records are designated by r