Record of the First Month of Winter

吕氏春秋Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaApr 2020

4.5

Word count: 3.6K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

The Lüshi Chunqiu is a famous Daoist work of the Huang-Lao school, compiled under the direction of Lü Buwei, Chancellor of Qin, by his assembled retainers. It was completed on the eve of Qin Shi Huang's unification of China. Taking Confucian doctrine as its backbone and Daoist theory as its foundation, and drawing on the ideas of the School of Names, Legalism, Mohism, Agrarianism, Militarism, and the Yin-Yang school, it fuses the teachings of the Hundred Schools into one work that sparkles with profound wisdom.

Editor's review

"The Record of the First Month of Winter" is one of the twelve records in the Lüshi Chunqiu and corresponds to the first month of winter. It contains both monthly ordinances attuned to the season and chapters discussing the integrity of scholars, views on life and death, and the art of governance. This edition is based on the old Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company text; the wording preserves its ancient form and serves as a suitable entry point for studying the syncretic thought of the pre-Qin period. Its value lies not in the systematic argument of a single school but in arranging topics from the Confucian, Daoist, School of Names, Legalist, Mohist, Agrarian, Militarist, and Yin-Yang traditions within a single framework, allowing readers to observe the actual state of intellectual convergence at the end of the Warring States period. Though brief, it combines seasonal institutions, fables and parables, and political discourse; in reading it one can both sense the ancients' imaginative correspondence between Heaven's seasons and human affairs and appreciate the compilers' effort to reconcile the Hundred Schools. It suits slow reading at one's desk, used alongside annotations and reference works, and is also well read in comparison with pieces such as "The Record of the First Month of Summer" to appreciate the organizing logic of the four-season records.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of literature and history interested in pre-Qin philosophers and syncretic thought
Scholars who need to study monthly ordinances and ancient conceptions of the seasons
Supplementary reading for university courses in classical Chinese literature and ancient history
Readers who enjoy short fables combined with political discourse and prefer fragmented reading

Not a good fit for

Beginners seeking plain-language stories or light entertainment
Those without a foundation in classical Chinese who need sentence-by-sentence modern translation
Specialist researchers expecting systematic theory from a single school

Reading tips

Read the monthly ordinance section first to grasp the seasonal framework of the whole piece, then move on to the discursive chapters.
Keep a critical edition of the Lüshi Chunqiu at hand to look up rare characters, terms, and institutions as you read.
Extract passages on life and death and on integrity, and compare them with other records in the same book.
After each chapter, summarize its main point in your own words rather than stopping at literal explication.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
序
孟冬
节丧
安死
异宝
异用

FAQ

Is "The Record of the First Month of Winter" a standalone work?

No. It is one record among the twelve in the Lüshi Chunqiu, corresponding to the first month of winter, and is a unit within the book's arrangement. This separate printing makes it convenient for readers to study that part in concentrated form.

Can I read it without a foundation in classical Chinese?

Reading it directly will be difficult. The original uses archaic wording and involves monthly ordinances, ritual institutions, and the terminology of the Hundred Schools. It is advisable first to familiarize yourself with the meaning through an annotated edition with modern translation, then return to this printing to experience the original text.

Why does the book contain doctrines of so many schools?

The Lüshi Chunqiu was compiled by Lü Buwei with his retainers and was intentionally meant to forge together the Hundred Schools, taking Daoist theory as its base and Confucian doctrine as its backbone while drawing on the School of Names, Legalism, Mohism, Agrarianism, Militarism, and the Yin-Yang school; hence the diverse sources of its views.

Should this record be read alongside other chapters?

It is recommended. The twelve records are arranged by the four seasons and twelve months, and the records echo one another in seasonal ordinances and political discourse. Reading a single record easily shows only the part; reading it against pieces such as "The Record of the First Month of Summer" makes the book's structure clearer.

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About the author

吕氏春秋 Author

Lüshi Chunqiu is not a single author but a work compiled under the direction of Lü Buwei, the chancellor of Qin in the late Warring States period, and it is commonly cited under the name "Lüshi Chunqiu." Publicly available information about the individual compiler's life is limited, and no exact dates of birth or death or nationality are recorded. The book is broad in scope, gathering materials from the various schools of pre-Qin thought and covering subjects such as astronomy, calendars, ritual institutions, politics, and ethics. The works listed in the catalog, such as the Annals of Midsummer, Early Summer, Early Spring, Midsummer, Early Winter, Late Spring, Late Autumn, and the Discourses of the Opening of Spring, are chapters arranged by season and month, reflecting a style organized around the seasons and integrating the doctrines of the Hundred Schools. The book is often mentioned in cultural and Eastern philosophy categories and is an important source for understanding pre-Qin thought and the concept of monthly ordinances.