Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 83 The Art of Writing
In the Spring and Autumn Annals, in the phrase "the first year, spring, the first month of the king's reign," what is the meaning of the word "king"?

The Gongyang Commentary says "great unification," the Guliang Commentary says "careful beginnings," and the Zuo Commentary says "Duke Yin acted as regent." What's the difference?

This question is actually divided into two parts. The first part is to explain the characters, which is very easy. The second part is to analyze the differences and similarities among the three versions of the text, which is more difficult.

Generally speaking, county-level examinations rarely include questions that require distinguishing between the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals, as this would severely test a candidate's ability to comprehensively grasp the knowledge. It should be noted that the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals are actually three subjects, and the understanding of the same content is completely different. It is inherently a very difficult task for candidates to memorize and distinguish them all.

Moreover, this question also contains another hidden meaning that is not explicitly stated, namely, the discussion of "the Spring and Autumn Annals style of writing".

Lu Beigu placed the brush back on the inkstone, and the ink he had just dipped into fell back into the inkstone with a "drip-drip".

Just as Lu Beigu was pondering, he heard a candidate suddenly cough violently, as if he had swallowed hard and choked on his breath because he was so shocked by the question.

"Silence!" The proctor's voice echoed through the alleyway. "Anyone who makes a sound again will be expelled from the examination room!"

Lu Beigu took a deep breath, and the wind seeping through the gaps in the bamboo curtain, carrying a musty smell, entered his nostrils.

He forced himself to refocus on the question.

This question is both difficult and important. If you answer it well, you can gain a significant advantage in the score. If you answer it poorly, you might not even be able to get into the top five, let alone achieve a "cliff-like lead".

After careful consideration, Lu Beigu answered the first part.

"The 'king' refers to the Zhou emperor, who proclaims the orthodoxy of the kingly way. The Spring and Autumn Annals takes the Zhou rites as its framework, and the inscription 'the first month of the king' indicates that the State of Lu follows the Zhou calendar, showing that the common ruler of the world is Zhou. This is the writing style of Confucius in 'honoring the Zhou royal family and repelling the barbarians,' so that the feudal lords know where the mandate of heaven belongs and that the government and decrees originate from the same authority."

He had originally intended to add a sentence, "The Zhou dynasty took the first month of the year as the beginning of the year, and Lu used the Zhou calendar, so it was written as 'the first month of the king' to show respect for the royal family and the rule of the feudal lords," but after thinking about it, he felt it was too wordy and simply answered as is.

After all, although candidates won't lose points for writing a lot of blank text, writing too much that doesn't touch on the core points already indicates the candidate's level and will affect the examiner's impression.

Then, I went through the information I had about the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals again.

Lu Beigu wrote down the answer to the second part of this question.

"The Gongyang Commentary on the Great Unification states that 'unification' means the beginning and the general principle. When the king receives the mandate to reform the system, he will implement policies and education throughout the land, and no one, near or far, will dare to be different. This takes the 'king' as the guiding principle of governance and education, emphasizing that the emperor governs the four seas and that laws are unified, thus establishing the grand principle of 'respecting the king in the Spring and Autumn Annals'."

The Guliang Commentary states, “Even when there is nothing to do, the first month must be observed, for it is a time of caution.” The phrase “being cautious at the beginning of a ruler’s reign, and clarifying the proper roles of father and son, ruler and subject” is precisely this meaning. Its emphasis is on establishing names and defining roles, meaning that at the beginning of a new ruler’s reign, one should be cautious in the beginning and establish proper rules and regulations. Therefore, the phrase “the first month of the king’s reign” is written to warn the ruler to cultivate virtue, establish governance, and prevent problems before they arise. It is a statement of ethical admonition.

"The Zuo Zhuan states directly, 'Duke Hui's first wife was Mengzi. She was his second wife, and she gave birth to Duke Yin. Duke Wu of Song gave birth to Zhongzi, who gave birth to Duke Huan. After Duke Hui died, Duke Yin ascended the throne and served him.' Du Yu's commentary says, 'Duke Yin followed the will of his father, and since Duke Huan was still young, he assumed the throne but did not officially become the ruler.' This uses 'the first month of the king' to prove that Duke Yin was acting as regent, not truly receiving the mandate to rule. This is the historian's way of explaining the expedient measures without violating the rites of Zhou."

Finally, Lu Beigu combined the first and second parts to wrap things up.

"In short, the single word 'king' is used to explain the reasoning in the three commentaries, which shows the style of the Spring and Autumn Annals, which uses a single word to praise or criticize, and whose words are concise yet profound. We should take a comprehensive view to understand the full meaning of the sage."

Aside from the first question which was a real eye-opener, the subsequent nine questions were rarely this difficult.

The fifth question is the most difficult one.

"In the 28th year of Duke Xi's reign, the Heavenly King went hunting in Heyang. What is the meaning of the Guliang Commentary's criticism of 'the entire Heavenly King's journey'?"

In the Song Dynasty today, the examinations on the interpretation of classical texts rarely include questions specifically about the Guliang Commentary. Therefore, many candidates, for the sake of exam preparation efficiency, do not study the Guliang Commentary much.

After all, this stuff is something you see a lot of but it's not often tested, so it's a waste of time. However, Lu Beigu had copied the "Guliang Commentary" and was familiar with much of its content.

So he answered it very easily.

“Hunting is a ritual performed by the emperor on a tour of inspection. When King Wen of Jin summoned the king, it was actually a minister summoning his ruler. Therefore, Confucius avoided mentioning it and wrote ‘hunting’ to correct the name. However, the Guliang Commentary criticized it as not being a true hunting and losing the proper relationship between the ruler and his minister.”

As for the later questions that specifically test knowledge of the Zuo Zhuan and Gongyang Zhuan, those were even simpler.

"In the second year of Duke Xuan's reign, Zhao Dun of Jin murdered his lord Yi Nu. The Zuo Zhuan records that Dong Hu 'did not conceal anything in his writing.' How can he be called a 'good historian of ancient times'?"

According to the "Correct Interpretation of Zuo Zhuan in the Spring and Autumn Annals", Lu Beigu wrote without hesitation, "Dong Hu wrote the law directly, saying that 'Zhao Dun murdered the ruler.' Although Dun did not personally commit the murder, he did not cross the border and instead did not punish the traitor. The responsibility lies with the ministers. Confucius praised him for his 'uprightness,' which is the style of a good historian."

The last question in the section on the Spring and Autumn Annals in the Mozi book, as is customary, was about the Gongyang Commentary, but it was a bit of an obscure topic.

"In the 25th year of Duke Zhao's reign, a myna bird came to nest. He Xiu's commentary on the Gongyang Commentary states that it was not a bird of China. What is the explanation for this ominous event?"

—What is a myna bird again?

This reaction indicates that after the intense thinking he had just gone through, Lu Beigu's mental energy was already somewhat depleted, and he was not as sharp as he had been at the beginning.

However, he was only stunned for a moment before he remembered.

“The myna is a bird of the barbarians, living in caves and nesting in the land. Now it has come to nest in the Central Plains, which is an omen of the yin occupying the yang position. He Xiu thought that Duke Zhao was weak and that powerful ministers were seizing power, which was a sign of the downfall of the country.”

After answering the question about the Spring and Autumn Annals and giving a brief review, Lu Beigu let out a long sigh of relief.

To get a perfect score, it depends on how the examiner judges it, but even if it's not a perfect score, it's pretty close.

With the confidence provided by "Examples from the Book of Rites", Lu Beigu also believed that the later parts of the Book of Rites would be much easier to answer compared to the profound meanings of the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Sure enough, once you thoroughly understand "Examples from the Book of Rites", there's no difficulty at all.

The Book of Rites says, "Rites do not extend to commoners, and punishments do not apply to high officials." Why did Zheng Xuan comment that "he was too hasty in dealing with matters and could not prepare everything"?

This is a free question; you can just write the answer according to the "Correct Interpretation of the Book of Rites".

Zheng's commentary states: "Commoners are poor and have nothing to offer as gifts, so they are not required to provide them. When high officials commit crimes, they are treated leniently according to the Eight Deliberations, so they are not subjected to execution alone."

The only slightly challenging part in the "Book of Rites" section is a case analysis question.

"After the death of his grandfather, he served as the consort of his grandmother for three years. How did Jia Gongyan distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children?"

Lu Bei thought for a moment and wrote down the answer.

"If the eldest grandson inherits the throne, he shall mourn for his grandmother for three years; if the grandson of a concubine inherits the throne, he shall only mourn for the full mourning period. Those who inherit the throne shall be granted additional honors and gifts."

(End of this chapter)