A Review On Liu Chang's Study Of The Spring And Autumn Annals

A personage on the study of Confucian classics, Liu Chang is famous for his erudition. Although at present his most well known work is Qi JingXiao Zhuan, his major achievement is on the study of the Spring and Autumn Annals. And also in this field, he earns much more commendation from the scholars in later generations.Liu Chang's interpretation of Confucian classics is from a novel aspect, which is of great benefit to his research on the study of the Spring and Autumn Annals and has a close relation with his inheriting the research fruit from his predecessor in Ham Wei and Tang Dynasty as well as assimilating knowledge in his times. Before Song Dynasty, the mainstream on the study of the Spring and Autumn Annals adhered to knowledge handed down by one's master or school, but in Han Dynasty and Wei Dynasty,_ZfienXuon^ LiuZliao^ Si Yu^ WangClwngwen and FanNing had already attempted to all-round considering the three versions of commentaries on classics(namely, Tzuochuan -. Gong Yang and Gu Liang, below the three Commentaries for short), and in Tang Dynasty Dan Zhu Zhao Kuang Lu Chun and Chen Yue abandoned the commentaries on classics and obeyed Confucian classics, which brought forward a new ethos on the study of the Spring arid Autumn Annals. All these had a big influence upon Liu Oiang. Till Song Dynasty, placing himself in a general mood of abandoning commentaries on classics and obeying Confucian classics, Liu Cluing was deeply affected by Fan Zhongyan HuYuan SunFu OuYangxiu Zhang Yi and Jiang Xiufu.Liu Ctiang's literature on the study of the Spring and Autumn Annals consists of five monographs on the Spring and Autumn Annals, namely, Chun Qiu Quan Heng Chun Qiu Zhuan Chun Qiu Shuo Li Chun Qiu Yi Lin and Chun Qiu Wen Quan. Chun Qiu Quan Heng mainly refutes the three Commentaries and pointes out the shortcoming of die three versions of annotations on commentaries (namely, DuYit^ HeXiu's and Fan Ning's, below the three Annotations for short); Chun Qiu Zhuan is a work about explanation of Confucian classics, in which Liu Chang either quoted or interpreted words from the three Commentaries and the three Annotations, but mainly made his own points; Chun Qiu Shuo Li is his research fruit on Fanli of the Spring and Autumn Annals; Chun Qiu YiLin is a book in which Liu Chang ironized his times with the Spring and Autumn Annals; Chun Qiu Wen Quan lost and its content is unknown, but from its name, it is deemed a book mainly commenting on the gain and loss of the style and diction in the three Commentaries. Besides the five monographs just mentioned, Liu Cliang has other disquisitions on the study of the Spring and AutumnAnnals; such as Song Jiang Lin JiXu Zhi RongLun. Moreover, there are also some entries about the study of the Spring and Autumn Annals in his Gong Shi DiZi Ji and QiJingXiao Zhuan.In Lhfs opinion, the Spring and Autumn Annals was a book written for the troubled times and the history recorded in this book could be used for reference by later generations. He also attributed the Spring ana" Autumn Annals to Confucius, who is deemed to write it based on the history of Lu. Liu also thought that this book included Confucius's sublime words with deep meaning and so grasping the meaning of the sage was the gist of the research on the Spring and Autumn Annals. Compared Confucian classics with commentaries on classics, Confucian classics are the vehicle to convey the doctrine and commentaries on classics are the ones to interpret the doctrine. When there is contradiction, Confucian classics should be trusted instead of commentaries on classics. Because each of the three Commentaries has its own merits or deficiencies, its merits should be inherited and deficiencies should be abandoned.Liu Chang's achievement on the study of the Spring and Autumn Annals is mainly reflected by his criticism on the three Commentaries. On Tzituchuan, his commentaries was focused on such issues as the relationship between Zuo Qiwning and Conjucius the disadvantage to interpret Confucian classics Zhou Gong Ding Li a...