Gongyang Zhuan

Template:Chinese text The Gōngyáng Zhuàn (simplified Chinese: 公羊传; traditional Chinese: 公羊傳) 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 Guliang Zhuan the work is one of the Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Early Development

The genealogy of Gongyang Zhuan has been a contested issue among scholars. According to The Book of Han], Zi-xia (子夏) taught Confucius' class notes to his disciple Gongyang Gao (公羊高) of the State of Qi during the Warring States Period of Chinese history (475 – 221 BCE). An oral commentary at first, it was written down and edited during the early Han Dynasty by Gongyang Gao's decedent Gongyang Shou (公羊寿) and his collaborator Humu Sheng (胡母生).

Humu Sheng later became a professor in the Han court in charge of the studying and teaching of Gongyang Zhuan. Along with him was another Gongyang Zhuan authority Dong Zhongshu. With Empero Wu of Han's adoption of Dong's proposal to formally establish Confucianism as the state ideology, the power and influence of the Gongyang School increased significantly. Later, Dong Zhongshu authored Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals, Interactions Between Heaven and Mankind and Strange Calamities of Yin and Yang, in which he popularized his mysticism interpretation of Gongyang Zhuan. Along with the widespread adoption of divination practices, the Han intelligentsia became shrouded in an atmosphere of superstition and mystery. Nonetheless, among officials, Gongyang School was seen as a vital political classic that provided ideological basis and historical precedents in governing, and was cited during policy debates. Dong Zhongshu's two students, Yan Pengzu (严彭祖) and Yan Anle (颜安乐) became the leaders of Gongyang School after Dong's demise.

At the end of Western Han Dynasty, scholar Liu Xin proposed to establish professorship for Zuo Zhuan and ‘’Guliang Zhuan. Once his advice was adopted, Gongyang school no longer monopolized the official interpretation of Spring and Autumn Annals. From the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty onwards, more and more people criticized Dong Zhongshu's interpretation of the Gongyang Zhuan.

During the later years of the Han Dynasty, He Xiu became the most well known proponent of the Gongyang Zhuan's doctrines. He combated vigorously with scholars who prefer Zuo Zhuan and Guliang Zhuan. After spending seventeen years, he wrote a hermeneutics work on Gongyang Zhuan, which is largely survived till today. He Xiu's work became the primary source for textual reconstruction of Gongyang Zhuan and a major source of inspiration for later Gongyang scholars.

Huan Kuan (桓寬), author of the Confucian work Debates on Salt and Iron (盐铁论), was another notable follower of the Gongyang School.

Content

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

Dong Zhongshu's Interpretation

Dong Zhongshu was the leading scholar in Western Han dynasty, and was regarded as an authority on Gongyang Zhuan. According to Qing Dynasty scholar Kang Youwei's summery, some of Gongyang Zhuan's political agenda including the establishment of a well-ordered hierarchical regime (明尊卑之分), a strong and centralized political authority (强干弱枝), and a merit-based civil government (论贤才之义，别所长之能), and a benevolent ruler whose legitimacy is based on the Mandate of Heaven.

Jiang Qing's Reading

According to contemporary scholar Jiang Qing's Introductory Treatise on Gongyang Scholarship (公羊学引论), Gongyang Zhuan includes the following themes:

• Theory on The Three Historical Periods (张三世).

Gongyang Zhuan' argues that human society evolves overtime and could be divided into three phases. The first stage (据乱世) is marked by political chaos and social anomy, the second stage (升平世) is characterized by the reestablishment of legitimate political order, and the second stage (太平世) is when the world as a whole experiences great harmony and every individual is able to fully their potential.

• Unity of Cosmological and Political Order (大一统)
• Reconciliation between Past and Current Sources of Political Legitimacy (统三统)
• Limitation on the Political Ruler (天子一爵)
• Legitimate Use of Political Maneuver (经权说)
• Interaction between Human and Heaven (天人感应)
• Relationship between Chinese and Non-Chinese Cultures (夷夏之辨)
• Just Retribution (大复仇)

Commentaries

In his Confucian work Discourse on the Six Arts (六藝論/六艺论), the Han scholar Zheng Xuan makes the following comment:

The Zuo Zhuan is best with regards to Confucian rites, the Gongyang Zhuan for divination and the Guliang Zhuan for the classical view of Confucianism.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty scholar Fan Ning (范宁) (grandfather of Fan Ye (范曄), author of the Book of the Later Han), in his commentary on works relating to the Spring and Autumn Annals said that the Zuo Zhuan was colorful and rich in content but contains too much wizardry, the Guliang Zhuan was clear and elegantly written but too short whilst the Gongyang Zhuan seemed argumentative, judgmental and vulgar in style. In the opinion of the Han scholar and official He Xiu (何休), the Gongyang Zhuan's achievement is its appraisal of the Spring and Autumn Annals to expound the "great way of Confucianism" through the use of subtle and profound language.

Later Development

In the period between the Eastern Wu and the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (229-589 CE), the official He Xiu School was established.

During the Tang Dynasty, study of the Gongyang Zhuan gradually declined with very few academics concentrating on the work.

During the Qing Dynasty the study of textual criticism flourished with successive scholars researching the Gongyang Zhuan and reinvigorating its ideas. This re-evaluation of the work was probably a response to the massive social and political changes of the period which caused scholars to reassess accepted wisdom.

The Changzhou School of Thought (常州學派) held an important position during the late Qing Dynasty as a mainstream center of learning with scholars such as Kong Guangsen (孔广森), Zhuang Cunyu (莊存與), Liu Fenglu (劉逢祿), Gong Zizhen (龚自珍), Wei Yuan (魏源) and Kang Youwei (康有为) amongst others. The school's main target for criticism was the New Text School of Thought.

In 1995, Chinese scholar Jiang Qing (蒋庆) published his work Introductory Treatise on Gongyang Scholarship', which marked the revived interest in the Gongyang Zhuan among modern political theorists.

See also

Jiang Qing

Reference

• Duan, Xizhong Gongyangxue jiangshu Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 2002
• Jiang, Qing Gongyangxue yinlun: Rujia de zhengzhi zhihui yu lishi xinyang Shenyang: Liaoning Jiaoyu Chubanshe, 1995.

Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals
Zuo Zhuan | Gongyang Zhuan | Guliang Zhuan