Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn

Description

The Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu) is a chronicle kept by the dukes of the state of Lu from 722 to 481 B.C.E. Luxuriant Gems of the "Spring and Autumn" (Chunqiu fanlu) follows the interpretations of the Gongyang Commentary, whose transmitters sought to explicate the special language of the Spring and Autumn. The work is often ascribed to the Han scholar and court official Dong Zhongshu, but, as this study reveals, the text is in fact a compendium of writings by a variety of authors spanning several generations. It depicts a utopian vision of a flourishing humanity that they believed to be Confucius's legacy to the world. The Gongyang masters thought that Confucius had written the Spring and Autumn, employing subtle phrasing to indicate approval or disapproval of important events and personages. Luxuriant Gems therefore augments Confucian ethical and philosophical teachings with chapters on cosmology, statecraft, and other topics drawn from contemporary non-Confucian traditions. A major resource, this book features the first complete English-language translation of Luxuriant Gems, divided into eight thematic sections with introductions that address dating, authorship, authenticity, and the relationship between the Spring and Autumn and the Gongyang approach. Critically illuminating early Chinese philosophy, religion, literature, and politics, this book conveys the brilliance of intellectual life in the Han dynasty during the formative decades of the Chinese imperial state. Table of Contents ......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction......Page 16 Group 1: Exegetical Principles......Page 52 1. King Zhuang of Chu......Page 82 2. Jade Cup......Page 94 3. Bamboo Grove......Page 106 4. Jade Brilliance......Page 122 5. The Quintessential and the Ornamental......Page 137 6. The Kingly Way......Page 147 7. Annihilated States, Part A......Page 168 8. Annihilated States, Part B......Page 171 9. Waxing and Waning in Accord with the Root......Page 174 10. The Essentials of Covenants and Meetings......Page 178 11. The Rectifying Thread......Page 181 12. Ten Directives......Page 184 13. Emphasize Governance......Page 187 14. Images for the Regulation of Dress......Page 190 15. Two Starting Points......Page 192 16. Signs and Omens......Page 194 17. Yu’s Postface......Page 196 Group 2: Monarchical Principles......Page 200 18. Departing from and Conforming to the Fundamental......Page 214 19. Establishing the Originating Spirit......Page 217 20. Preserving Position and Authority......Page 224 21. Investigating Achievement and Reputation......Page 228 22. Comprehending the State as the Body ......Page 232 Group 3: Regulatory Principles......Page 234 23. The Three Dynasties’ Alternating Regulations of Simplicity and Refinement......Page 256 24. Regulations on Officialdom Reflect Heaven......Page 272 25. Yao and Shun Did Not Presumptuously Transfer [the Throne]; Tang and Wu Did Not Rebelliously Murder [Their Rulers]......Page 279 26. Regulations on Dress......Page 283 27. Regulating Limits......Page 285 28. Ranking States......Page 290 Group 4: Ethical Principles......Page 304 29. Standards of Humaneness and Righteousness......Page 328 30. The Necessity of [Being] Humane and Wise......Page 334 31. For Nurturing the Self, Nothing Is More Important Than Righteous Principles......Page 339 32. An Official Response to the King of Jiangdu: The Great Officers of Yue Cannot Be Considered Humane......Page 342 33. Observing Virtue......Page 344 34. Serving the Root......Page 352 35. Deeply Examine Names and Designations......Page 358 36. Substantiating Human Nature......Page 368 37. The Lords of the Land......Page 371 38. An Official Response Regarding the Five Phases......Page 372 39. [Title and text are no longer extant]......Page 376 40. [Title and text are no longer extant]......Page 377 41. Heaven, the Maker of Humankind......Page 378 42. The Meaning of the Five Phases......Page 382 Group 5: Yin-Yang Principles......Page 386 43. Yang Is Lofty, Yin Is Lowly......Page 408 44. The Kingly Way Penetrates Three......Page 414 45. Heaven’s Prosperity......Page 420 46. The Heavenly Distinctions Lie in Humans......Page 422 47. The Positions of Yin and Yang......Page 425 48. Yin and Yang End and Begin the Year......Page 427 49. The Meaning of Yin and Yang......Page 429 50. Yin and Yang Emerge, Withdraw, Ascend, and Descend......Page 431 51. Heaven’s Way Is Not Dualistic......Page 435 52. Heat or Cold, Which Predominates?......Page 438 53. Laying the Foundation of Righteousness......Page 441 54. [Title and text are no longer extant]......Page 446 55. The Correlates of the Four Seasons......Page 447 56. Human Correlates of Heaven’s Regularities......Page 449 57. Things of the Same Kind Activate One Another......Page 453 Group 6: Five-Phase Principles......Page 456 58. The Mutual Engendering of the Five Phases......Page 482 59. The Mutual Conquest of the Five Phases......Page 486 60. Complying with and Deviating from the Five Phases......Page 490 61. Controlling Water by Means of the Five Phases......Page 495 62. Controlling Disorders by Means of the Five Phases......Page 497 63. Aberrations of the Five Phases and Their Remedies......Page 499 64. The Five Phases and Five Affairs......Page 502 Group 7: Ritual Principles......Page 506 65. Sayings Pertaining to the Suburban Sacrifice......Page 526 66. The Principles of the Suburban Sacrifice......Page 531 67. Sacrificial Rites of the Suburban Sacrifice......Page 532 68. The Four [Seasonal] Sacrificial Rites......Page 535 69. The Suburban Sacrifice......Page 538 70. Following Orders......Page 541 71. An Official Response Regarding the Suburban Sacrifice......Page 547 72. Presenting Gifts to Superiors......Page 550 73. Hymn to the Mountains and Rivers......Page 553 74. Seeking Rain......Page 556 75. Stopping Rain......Page 562 76. The Principles of Sacrificial Rites......Page 565 Group 8: Heavenly Principles......Page 570 77. Conform to Heaven’s Way......Page 584 78. The Conduct of Heaven and Earth (Lau version)......Page 597 78A. The Conduct of Heaven and Earth (Su Yu version)......Page 604 79. The Origins of Severity and Beneficence......Page 609 80. In Imitation of Heaven’s Activities (Lau version)......Page 612 80A. In Imitation of Heaven’s Activities (Su Yu version)......Page 616 81. Heaven, Earth, Yin, and Yang (Lau version)......Page 619 81A. Heaven, Earth, Yin, and Yang (Su Yu version)......Page 622 82. The Way of Heaven Bestows (Lau version)......Page 626 82A. The Way of Heaven Bestows (Su Yu version)......Page 628 Appendix A. Biographies of the Confucian Scholars......Page 632 Appendix B. The Biography of Dong Zhongshu......Page 634 Selected Bibliography......Page 664 Index......Page 670