Record of the First Month of Spring

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

4.5

Word count: 3.4K words
Chapters: 7

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Summary

Lüshi Chunqiu is a celebrated Daoist-Huang-Lao classic compiled under the auspices of Lü Buwei, Chancellor of Qin,

by his assembled retainers. Completed on the eve of Qin Shi Huang's unification of China, the work takes Confucian doctrine as its backbone, grounds itself in Daoist theory, and draws on the ideas of the School of Names, Legalism, Mohism, Agrarianism, Militarism, and Yin-Yang thought, forging the teachings of the Hundred Schools into a single whole that radiates profound and wide-ranging wisdom.

Editor's review

The Annals of the First Month of Spring (Mengchun Ji) opens the twelve Almanac Annals of Lüshi Chunqiu. Taking the first month of spring as its guiding thread, it correlates celestial phenomena, government decrees, and human affairs, embodying a holistic mode of thought in which Heaven and humanity respond to one another. This chapter gathers discourses from various schools, touching on topics such as nurturing life, governing the state, and employing the many, with concise prose and rich implication; it is a key entry point for understanding the intellectual synthesis of the Qin-Han transition. The structure of the twelve Almanac Annals is itself a cosmic schema, and the Mengchun Ji serves within it to establish the framework; reading this chapter allows one to grasp the organizing logic by which the whole book subordinates political affairs to the seasons. The edition printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Bookstore preserves the traditional layout and is well suited to close reading against the original text. Readers should combine the phenology of spring with the ancient monthly-ordinance system to appreciate the claim that government decrees must follow the seasons, and may also observe how Confucian, Daoist, Legalist, and School of Names thought coexist and complement one another within a single text. For readers interested in pre-Qin political philosophy and monthly-ordinance culture, this chapter is moderate in length and focused in theme, and may serve as the first stop in entering Lüshi Chunqiu.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in pre-Qin Hundred Schools thought who wish to understand the syncretic character of the Miscellaneous School
Enthusiasts of cultural history studying ancient monthly-ordinance systems and the idea of Heaven-human correspondence
Students of literature and history seeking an introductory chapter from Lüshi Chunqiu
General readers who enjoy short discourses and are willing to read Classical Chinese slowly

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting to read all of Lüshi Chunqiu in full
Beginners unfamiliar with Classical Chinese who are unwilling to consult annotations
Utilitarian readers seeking only modern management techniques

Reading tips

Read the general preface to the twelve Almanac Annals first to clarify the place of the Mengchun Ji in the book's structure
Compare the phenology of spring with the items on government decrees paragraph by paragraph, taking brief notes
When encountering sayings of the School of Names, Legalism, Agrarianism, and others, mark their sources to appreciate the Miscellaneous School's method of arrangement
Read alongside other monthly-ordinance texts to observe similarities and differences

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
孟春
本生
重己
贵公
去私

FAQ

Where does the Mengchun Ji stand within Lüshi Chunqiu?

It is the first of the twelve Almanac Annals, which are arranged by the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each divided into the first, middle, and last months; the Mengchun Ji comes first and establishes the framework by which the whole book subordinates political affairs to the seasons, with the later annals unfolding on this basis.

Can I read this without any grounding in Classical Chinese?

The original prose is concise but contains terminology from the various schools, so it will be difficult with no grounding in Classical Chinese at all. It is advisable to begin with a reliable annotated or vernacular edition read alongside the original, and to return to the original text once familiar with the sentence patterns and common words, proceeding step by step.

How does this differ from ordinary anthologies of the various schools?

It does not argue from the standpoint of a single school; rather, it arranges Confucian, Daoist, School of Names, Legalist, Mohist, Agrarian, Militarist, and Yin-Yang doctrines within a monthly-ordinance framework, reading more like a systematized compilation of thought than the words of one school.

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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.