Zuozhuan

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Detail from the Zuozhuan

The Zuozhuan ( Chinese  左傳  /  左传 , Pinyin Zuǒ Zhuàn , W.-G. Tso Chuan ) or Chunqiu Zuozhuan ( 春秋 左傳  /  春秋 左传 , Chūnqiū Zuǒ Zhuàn  - “Tradition of Zuo at the time of the spring and autumn period “) Is the earliest Chinese work of narrative history and covers the period from 722 to 468 BC. Traditionally, it has been attributed to Zuo Qiuming , as a commentary on the spring and autumn annals, although many scholars consider it an independent work that chronologically corresponded and was pieced together with the annals.

The most respected modern scholars such as Yang Bojun ( 楊伯峻  /  杨伯峻 ), hold the work for during the Warring States Period compiled, and keep it v for no later than the 389th Written in BC.

It is one of the most important sources for understanding the history of the spring and autumn periods .

The book also contains the earliest mention of the board game Go in section '25. Year of Duke Xiang von Lu ', which according to the Gregorian calendar corresponds to the year 548 BC. BC falls.

With its lively and concise language, the Zuozhuan is also a jewel of classical Chinese prose. This work, along with the Shiji, was regarded as the ultimate model by many generations of prose stylists of ancient China.

Classical western translations come from the British missionary and sinologist James Legge (in: The Chinese Classics ) and by the French missionary and sinologist Séraphin Couvreur (French: Tch'ouen ts'ieou et Tso tschuan ). Burton Watson has provided a modern selection .

literature

  • Burton Watson: The Tso chuan: selections from China's oldest narrative history. New York: Columbia University Press; ISBN 0-231-06714-3
  • Yang Bojun (杨伯峻): Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhu (春秋 左传 注; "Commentary on Chunqiu with Zuozhuan ") ( Zhonghua shuju 1981)
  • Anne Cheng: "Ch'un ch'iu, Kung yang, Ku liang and Tso chuan", in M. Loewe (ed.): Early Chinese Texts (1993), pp. 67-76

Web links

Wikisource: Zuozhuan  - Sources and full texts (Chinese)