Record of the Last Month of Summer

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

Rating 4.4

Word count: 3.5K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Under the auspices of Lü Buwei, Chancellor of Qin, the *Lüshi Chunqiu* was compiled by his retainers as a major work of Huang-Lao Daoism. Completed on the eve of Qin Shi Huang's unification of China, the book takes Confucian doctrine as its backbone, builds on Daoist theory, and draws on the ideas of the Logicians, Legalists, Mohists, Agriculturalists, Militarists, and Yin-Yang thinkers, forging the teachings of the Hundred Schools into a single whole that shines with vast and profound wisdom.

Editor's review

The *Jixia ji* is the last of the three summer chapters in the twelve seasonal records of the *Lüshi Chunqiu*, composed as high summer gives way to late summer; its arrangement continues the structure in which monthly ordinances govern political discourse and the four seasons run through the whole work. The discussions collected here concern the ruler's way of governance, music and the human heart, and seasonal decrees and policies, revealing both the Daoist idea of acting in accord with the times and traces of Confucian ritual and music and Legalist statecraft. It is a concrete sample for understanding the compilation's aim of "combining Confucian and Mohist thought and integrating the Logicians and Legalists." The edition printed by Shanghai Jinzhang shuju preserves the old woodblock format and can serve for study and textual comparison. Readers who read it together with the first and second summer records and against the overall framework of the twelve records will better appreciate how the monthly-ordinance text carries political discourse; it should not be read in isolation as a collection of aphorisms.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars studying the compilation style and monthly-ordinance structure of the *Lüshi Chunqiu*
Readers of literature and history interested in pre-Qin ritual, music, and governance
Researchers who need the individual records for comparative reading and textual reference
Advanced readers with classical Chinese proficiency interested in the fusion of the Hundred Schools

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking plain-language popularizations or story-style retellings
Beginners who struggle with classical Chinese and lack annotated assistance
Readers who want only a selected anthology of famous pieces from the *Lüshi Chunqiu*

Reading tips

Begin with the general preface to the twelve records and the table of contents of the *Jixia ji* to grasp the arrangement of the three summer records.
Read it alongside the first and second summer records and compare how the discussion of ritual and music changes across the summer records.
Mark the school affiliation of each piece as you read and observe the selections and juxtapositions made in the compilation.
Consult a modern critical edition alongside the old woodblock text and make brief notes of variant readings.

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
季夏
音律
音初
制乐
明理

FAQ

What main topics does the *Jixia ji* discuss?

The record unfolds around the summer season and addresses such themes as the ruler's way of governance, ritual and music and the human heart, and decrees attuned to the season. The pieces do not speak in a single school's voice but embody the *Lüshi Chunqiu*'s method of bringing the schools together; they are best understood within the overall framework of the twelve records.

What kind of reader is the Shanghai Jinzhang shuju edition suited to?

It is better suited to researchers who already have a foundation in classical Chinese and need to consult the appearance of an old-style printed edition. Those new to the *Lüshi Chunqiu* should first become familiar with the text through an annotated modern edition and then use this edition for comparison, which will greatly reduce difficulties in reading.

Why should the *Jixia ji* be read together with the first and second summer records?

The twelve records are arranged by the four seasons, and the three summer records are linked in their monthly ordinances and political discourse. Reading the *Jixia ji* alone easily yields only fragments, whereas reading the three records in sequence shows how the compilers organized topics and arranged the various schools' teachings by seasonal order, giving a fuller understanding.

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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.