Gongyang zhuan

The Gōngyáng Zhuàn (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ) is a commentary on Chunqiu, or the Spring and Autumn Annals, and is thus one of the classic books of ancient Chinese. Along with the Zuo Zhuan and the Guliang Zhuan, the work is one of the Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals. In particular, Gongyang Zhuan is a central work to New Text Confucianism (今文經學), which advocates Confucius as an institutional reformer instead of a respected scholar, and Chunqiu as an embodiment of Confucius' holistic vision on political, social, and moral issues instead of a merely chronicle. Gongyang Zhuan significantly influenced the political institution in Han Dynasty. It fell out of favor among elites and was eventually replaced by the Zuo Zhuan. Gongyang Zhuan scholarship was reinvigorated in late Ming Dynasty and became a major source of inspiration for Chinese reformers from eighteen to early twentieth century.

Gongyang Zhuan argues that Chunqiu is not merely a history, but a manifesto of Confucius' philosophy on his ideal regarding sociopolitical order. Unlike Zuo Zhuan, a later favorite among many scholars for its vivid narrative of historical events, Gongyang Zhuan was compiled in a dialogistic style resembling a class conversation between a Confucian scholar and his student discussing the "profound meanings behind the subtle words [of "Chunqiu"]"(微言大義), and was brief in explaining the historical context. Because of its emphasis on the theoretical interpretation of the Annals, Jiang Qing (b. 1953) dubbed it "the political theory wing of Confucianism (政治儒学)."

The primary assumption of Gongyang Zhuan is that Confucius authored Chunqiu in order to criticize the politics of his time and set a constitutional guideline for future generations. Moreover, Confucius is not merely a transmitter of ancient scholarship but a charismatic sage (聖) who should have received the Mandate of Heaven and become a King himself. But since Confucius did not receive the kingship due to the political circumstances at the time, he compiled Chunqiu based on official chronicles, in which he criticized (褒贬) the events and historical figures of the Spring and Autumn period according to a coherent philosophy. Based on this assumption, Gongyang Zhuan strives to undercover what it claims to be the deeper meaning behind layers of subtle texts.

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