Who Said, “Confucius Composed the Chunqiu”? ——The Genealogy of the “Chunqiu” Canon in the Pre-Han and Han Periods

It is often said that “Confucius composed the Chunqiu 春秋 (The Spring and Autumn Annals) to convey the way of the king.” Scholars have long noticed that before the founding of and during the Han Dynasty the phrase that served as the title of the allegedly Confucian work, “Chunqiu,” was also often used to designate history in general. In what intellectual and textual contexts did the term evolve from something general into a specific concept associated with Confucius? What works or ideas did pre-Han and Han scholars have in mind when discussing Confucius’s Chunqiu and the broader “Chunqiu” canon?1 Exploring these questions, the study that follows begins by systematically documenting the occurrences of this term in pre-Han and Han texts. It demonstrates that while Mencius was the first person to associate Confucius’s teachings with the Chunqiu, his statement was a solitary and surprising voice in the pre-Han era. Not until the Western Han Dynasty was Confucius widely heralded as the creator of the Chunqiu. But few scholars are aware that Western Han scholars never strictly distinguished the laconic Chunqiu from the detailed historical knowledge preserved in the Gongyang 公羊, Guliang 谷梁, and Zuo 左 commentaries. Furthermore, as the Chunqiu gained canonical status, the phrase still served as a generic term, referring to various historical narratives. Zhang Xuecheng 章学诚 is famous for claiming that “The Six Classics are all history,” and I shall show that in the minds of the people of the Han Dynasty, all historical works were classics.     

赣东南悬棺葬及其族属

In this article the authors consider that there was also an overhaning coffin in southwest Wuyi Shan Mountains, i.e. southeast Jiangxi Provincial mountain area. And its race was a “Muke“ Yue people. The “Shandu“ including “Muke“ belonged to Yue people because they had had Yue cultural character. Only “ Muke“ people of “ Shandu“ performed the overhanging coffin and this custom had been continued for a long time. The “Muke“ people lived at Shangluo Shan Mountain and Junshan Mountain of southeast Gan County, Jiangxi Province.     

Wooden Bowls In Tibetan Families

In Tibetan families, there are always two wooden bowls, a big one and a small one, the former for the father and the latter for the mother. In well-to-do families, each wooden bowl has a silver lid, on which are carved patterns symbolizing good luck. In even wealthier families, every wooden bowl is inlaid with silver and carved with patterns, with only a finger-width part left in the middle of the bowl to show its wooden nature. Above it is the lid and under it is the tray, both made of silver. The lid is shaped like a tower and inlaid with silver and gold, on the top of which is a red agate forming a handle. The tray is especially unique. It is in the shape of eight petals of a lotus, with a pattern of good luck on each petal altogether making up the traditional eight propitious omens.     

说汉阳陵"罗经石"遗址的建筑设计

This article discusses the architectural plan of the so-celled“ Stone of Compass“ Site of the Han Dynasty, Located in the south of the mausoleum of Han Emperor Jing. Based on new archaeological finds published in recent years, the author concludes three points: First, the square building on the site is very similar to the design of the board of Liu Bo game that was very popular in the Han dynasty; Second, it also is closely related to the design of the Han mirror with Liu Bo pattern; Third,this site has a similar layout to a famous ritual building,i.e.Wang Mang‘s Ming Tang Hall.Finally, the author explores the nature of this site, and suggests that it should be the Mausoleum Temple of Han Emperor Jing, i.e.De Yang Temple, indicating that there is a close relationship between the early plan of the Ming Tang Hall before Emperor Jing and later Mausoleum temples.     

简帛《五行》述略

“Wu Xing”(五行), an epistemological literature written on bamboo slips and Silk, is fully configurated and carefully designed . The oringin of its thought may trace back to Confucius and Zi You(子游). Its content directly affected the theory of Xin (心 mind) and Xing (性 nature) which appeared in late Warring States. In the course of writing the article, Zi Si‘s(子思) theory affected the part Explanation of “Wu Xing”, and the part Commentaries on “Wu Xing” were finished by the students of Shi Zi(世子) no later than the period of Mencius(孟子). It has been spent a long period finishing the literature which is a whole system consistes of Scripture(经), Explain on Classics(说) and Commentaries on Classics (传). “Wu Xing” had been lost after Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), and the reason for which attributed mainly to the thought despotism.     

徽州木雕的艺术特征

The wooden sculpture in Hui Zhou is a piece of brilliant pearl as a folk artistic form. We cannot only read out the social ups and downs in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but also feel the hidden Confucius soul and then realize the profoundness of the Confucius culture.     

Abstracts

The Tangut Contracts of Selling and Hiring Livestock
Shi Jinbo （ p. 1 ）
The newly discovered Tangut contracts of selling livestock which provide many details of livestock trade prove to be very valuable on the research of the commerce, the agriculture and animal husbandry economy, and the civil life in the Tangut Kingdom. Having translated 20 nearly complete contracts of selling or hiring livestock written in cursive Tangut characters into Chinese, this article exhibits the form and content of these contracts. Based on the new data provided by these contracts, an exploration of the price of livestock in the Tangut Kingdom can be carried out. After analyzing the different features of exchange of grain and money for livestock in Khara Khoto and Wuwei, the paper considers the monetary economy in Wuwei region being more developed. The soaring price of livestock in the contracts at the end of the Tangut Kingdom describes a miserable scene of unrest and inflation on the background of the Mongol invasion.     

Of Palaces and Pagodas: Palatial Symbolism in the Buddhist Architecture of Early Medieval China

This paper is an inquiry into possible motivations for representing timber-frame architecture in the Buddhist context. By comparing the architectural language of early Buddhist narrative panels and cave temples rendered in stone, I suggest that architectural representation was employed in both masonry and timber to create symbolically charged worship spaces. The replication and multiplication of palace forms on cave walls, in “pagodas” (futu 浮圖, fotu 佛圖, or ta 塔), and as the crowning element of free-standing pillars reflect a common desire to express and harness divine power, a desire that resulted in a wide variety of mountainous monuments in China. Finally, I provide evidence to suggest that the towering Buddhist monuments of early medieval China are linked morphologically and symbolically to the towering temples of South Asia through the use of both palace forms and sacred ma alas as a means to express the divine power and expansive presence of the Buddha.     

Lies Do Not Hold Water

Premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit to the four countries of South Asia, including India,in April. The visit was a success and received a widespread warm response.One result was that China and India established “relations of strategic partnership for peace and prosperity”, and established the political guidelines to be used on presently unresolved border issues. All people harboring good intentions and who love peace are happy to see the progress made by the two most populous countries in the world and believe it will help promote peace not only in Asia but in the world at large.     

河南商城县文管会藏文物选介

he author describes the Ming inscribed edition "huang bi wu nian fu wen" and a white stone Buddha figurine collected by the Shangcheng County Council of Cultural Relics of Henan Province. The former is basically unblemished. The Buddha figurine was dilicately crafted from marble. It measures 54cm. in height, and weighs 5Okg. From The County History of Shangcheng, it is like1y that this figurine was first collected by Monk Benqing from Tibet.     

The Secret Society's Secret: The Invoked Reality of the Tiandihui

This essay examines two sets of reports in the Qing-dynasty Jiaqing and Daoguang periods (respectively 1796-1820 and 1821-45) in order to understand better the perceived reality of the Tiandihui.The first set,found among the papers of Jiangxi governor Xianfu (1809-14),allows a comparison of a criminal gang that invoked the Tiandihui ceremony with one that did not.The second set includes the diary of Taihe county magistrate Xu Dihui (in office from 1824) that recorded various events which came to be reported to the senior officialdom as having been conducted by secret societies.By collating the incidents as reported in the diary and memorials to the emperor,the authors argue that the pressure of the administrative process was responsible for the ultimate acquiescence by the Hunan governor Han Wenqi (in office 1825-29) in the perception of an indisputable connection of the incidents with secret societies.Moreover,both sets of reports show that participants in secret-society ceremonies and officials who suppressed them knexv that the acclaimed networking of the Tiandihui as implied in its folklore was very far from the reality.     

Picturing Heaven in Early China

In Picturing Heaven in Early China,a consideration of the symbolism of Heaven in early Chinese culture,Lillian Lan-ying Tseng examines the evolution of a pictorial language for the expression of "religious" ideals.By analyzing the architectural,material and literary evidence from the Han dynasty,the author traces the trajectory of Han thought from its first concerns with the notion of Heaven and the involvement of the emperor,to the growing desire for personal immortality at all levels.The book comprises five chapters,which plot the development of Han thought and images of heaven.This is a complex and well-researched examination,whose depth and detail can only be suggested here.     

泗阳大青墩泗水王陵

The Sishui royal mausoleum if the Han Dynasty was located at Da Qing Dun of Siyang, Jiangsu Province. From mid November of2002 to the January 22nd of 2003, Nanjing Museum formed a joint archaeology team with other organizations to make a rescuingexcavation to the Chen Dun and Da Qing Dun Han tombs at San Zhuang Village of Siyang County. due to the severe destroying bythe tomb robbers, in order to make more clear the appearance of the ancient Sishui realm. It opened the prelude of the material.custom and spiritual culture of that area.     

咸阳西魏谢婆仁墓清理简报

The tomb of Xie Poren is licated in the yard of the Post and Telegram School of Shaanxi Province in Xianyang City. This is an earthy catacomb tomb with single-chamber and a long sloping passage. The chamber door is sealed up with mud bricks. There is only one human skeleton in the middle of the chamber. Although being stolen seriously, the brick epitaph and “Wu Zhu“ Coin of Datong period are well-preserved. The excavation supplies new and important information to the reasearch of the Western Wei tombs.     

The Famous West Yellow Temple in Beijing

The West Yellow Temple is currently the location of the Senior Tibetan Buddhist College of China in Beijing, situated at the outer area of Andingmen and Deshengmen. This temple is an over 350 years old and covered with glazed tiles onthe roof, surrounded by a red wall and beautified by giant cypresses in the courtyard. Inside it looks solemn but spectacular. The splendid and exquisite architecture of the buildings is a perfect integration of the styles of Han, ethnic Tibetan and India and is referred to as a treasure of Tibetan Buddhist style architecture.     

Stone Towers of Barkam County in Sichuan Province of China

Barkam County,where the Aba Tibetan & Qiang Autonomous Pre-fecture government lies,is located on the intersection of South eastern of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,Northwestern of Sichuan Basin and central Aba.Occupying 6,633 square kilometer,Barkam County boasts a time-honored history dating back to the Neolithic Age.Relics in Haxiu and Konglong reveal Barkam County to be an ethnic group settlement.All 15 ethnic groups,including Qiang,Hui,Han,among others,live in har-mony in Barkam now.Barkam has a population o...     

DENG DONG,MR. NICE OF YUSHU

During our talk with Danke, he suggested enthusiastically that we interview another person： ＂You＇ve got to talk to him. He＇s been working tirelessly in Yushu for quite a few years, planning the new Yushu and new projects for it. Danke was talking about Deng Dong, Director of the Urban Planning and Design Institute of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design （CAUPD）. The locals have given him the nickname ＂Mr. Nice of Yushu＇.     

The silk in Worm History,and JOHN E. HILL,Through the Jade Gate to Rome. A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dinasty 1^st to 2^nd Centurtes CE （Juan Pablo Sanchez Hemandez）

The Roman Empire and Han China are represented as the ＂twin powers＂ which reached their peak of extension and prosperity more or less at the same time. In fact, studies have recently noticed the numerous similarities between these two mighty empires at the opposite ends of Eurasia in their political, administrative and cultural circumstances and they have invited a comparative approach in modem scholarship~. However, at that time, distances were too great to permit these kinds of comparisons, and an incomplete （if not archetypical） view prevails in all Ancient writings, whenever they deal with such distant populations in the other half of the world.     

浙江地区西汉墓葬的分期

The author researched by stages into Western Han Dynasty‘s tomb in Zhejiang Prefecture in this article depending on relative archaeological data. And through comprehensive analysis, the author discovered that the Ding(an ancient cooking vessel with two loop handles and three or four legs) and box at main glazed pottery from being buried with their master had relatively special position; the models of storehouse and the cooking stove that were very popular in central plains of China were discovered much fewer in Zhejiang prefecture; the formation and regulation of Western Han Dynasty tomb tombs in Zhejinang prefecture are very different as compared with central plains of China and they have rich local character.