Tong Shuye

Tong Shuye (1908–1968), courtesy name Pisheng and style name Yong'an, was a native of Wuhu, Anhui, with ancestral roots in Yin County, Zhejiang. A renowned Chinese historian and specialist in pre-Qin history, he was a representative of the Doubting Antiquity School and a student of Gu Jiegang. From 1949 he served as professor and deputy director of the History Department at Shandong University, also working on the history of painting, ceramics, and historical geography. His representative work, A History of the Spring and Autumn Period, examines the political and social changes of the era through rigorous textual criticism, and is valued as an important study of pre-Qin history; Tong Shuye on the History of the Spring and Autumn Period continues this approach for general readers. The inclusion of a Penglai Pavilion historical collection reflects his interest in historical geography and local documents. He also wrote on Eastern philosophy, including Thoughts of the Seven Pre-Qin Masters, combining textual scholarship with interpretation. His works are known for solid use of sources and plain, careful narration.