The Gōngyáng Zhuàn is a commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals

Spring and Autumn Annals

The Spring and Autumn Annals is the official chronicle of the State of Lu covering the period from 722 BCE to 481 BCE. It is the earliest surviving Chinese historical text to be arranged on annalistic principles. The text is extremely concise and, if all the commentaries are excluded, about 16,000...

 and one of the classic books of ancient Chinese history. It is believed to have been written by Zi-xia (子夏) disciple Gongyang Gao (公羊高) of the State of Qi

Qi (state)

Qi was a powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States in ancient China. Its capital was Linzi, now part of the modern day city of Zibo in Shandong Province....

 during the Warring States Period

Warring States Period

The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...

 of Chinese history (475 – 221 BCE). Along with the Zuo Zhuan

Zuo Zhuan

The Zuo Zhuan , sometimes translated as the Chronicle of Zuo or the Commentary of Zuo, is among the earliest Chinese works of narrative history and covers the period from 722 BCE to 468 BCE. It is one of the most important sources for understanding the history of the Spring and Autumn Period...

 and Guliang Zhuan

Guliang Zhuan

The Gǔliáng Zhuàn is considered one of the classic books of ancient Chinese history. It is traditionally attributed to a writer with the surname of Guliang in the disciple tradition of Zi-xia , but versions of his name vary and there is no definitive way to date the text...

 the work is one of the Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals

Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals

The Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals , are a series of works that annotate the classic Chinese historical text the Spring and Autumn Annals. They comprise the Zuo Zhuan, Gongyang Zhuan and Guliang Zhuan....

.

Content

In its analysis of the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Gongyang Zhuan places particular emphasis on the thinking of respected rulers of the period, promoting the "One Great Unity" and "Bringing Order Out of Chaos" points of view. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty (208–8 BCE), Confucian scholars had to comply with the words of these 'Great Sages' in order to acquire a position of orthodoxy. As a result, the main part of the Gongyang Zhuan reflects the ideas of both the imperial court and the common people.

Following the foundation of the Gongyang School of thought, the power and influence of the Gongyang Zhuan increased significantly. After Dong Zhongshu

Dong Zhongshu

Dong Zhongshu was a Han Dynasty Chinese scholar. He is traditionally associated with the promotion of Confucianism as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state.-History:...

 authored Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals

Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals

The Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals is one of the work that has survived to the present that was attributed to Dong Zhongshu, but compilation might had lasted until 4th century. It is 82 chapters long and about 72,000 words, although 3 of the chapters within the present text have...

, Interactions Between Heaven and Mankind

Interactions Between Heaven and Mankind

Interactions between Heaven and Mankind is a set of doctrines formulated by Chinese Han Dynasty scholar Dong Zhongshu which at that time became the basis for deciding the legitimacy of a monarch...

and Strange Calamities of Yin and Yang, along with the widespread adoption of divination

Divination

Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...

 practices, the Han intelligentsia became shrouded in an atmosphere of superstition and mystery. From the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty onwards, more and more people criticized the study of divination and Dong Zhongshu's interpretation of the Gongyang Zhuan. Although the publication of Interactions Between Heaven and Mankind opened a new scenario, this ultimately discredited the author's doctrine. During the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 the study of textual criticism flourished with successive scholars researching the Gongyang Zhuan and reinvigorating its ideas. This re-evaluation of the work was probably a response to the massive social and political changes of the period which caused scholars to reassess accepted wisdom.

Commentaries

In his Confucian work Discourse on the Six Arts (六藝論/六艺论), the Han scholar Zheng Xuan

Zheng Xuan

Zheng Xuan , courtesy name Kangcheng , was an influential Chinese commentator and Confucian scholar of the Han Dynasty. He was born in modern Weifang, Shandong, and was a student of Ma Rong.-See also:*Three Kingdoms...

 makes the following comment:

The Zuo Zhuan

Zuo Zhuan

The Zuo Zhuan , sometimes translated as the Chronicle of Zuo or the Commentary of Zuo, is among the earliest Chinese works of narrative history and covers the period from 722 BCE to 468 BCE. It is one of the most important sources for understanding the history of the Spring and Autumn Period...

 is best with regards to Confucian rites, the Gongyang Zhuan for divination and the Guliang Zhuan

Guliang Zhuan

The Gǔliáng Zhuàn is considered one of the classic books of ancient Chinese history. It is traditionally attributed to a writer with the surname of Guliang in the disciple tradition of Zi-xia , but versions of his name vary and there is no definitive way to date the text...

 for the classical view of Confucianism.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty scholar Fan Ning (范宁) (grandfather of Fan Ye

Fan Ye (historian)

Fan Ye , courtesy name Weizong , was a Chinese historian and the compiler of Book of Later Han of Liu Song. Fan came from an official family background, he was born in present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang, his ancestry was from Nanyang, Henan. His father was Fan Tai .-References:*Tan, Jiajian, ....

 (范曄), author of the Book of the Later Han), in his commentary on works relating to the Spring and Autumn Annals said that the Zuo Zhuan was colorful and rich in content but contains too much wizardry, the Guliang Zhuan was clear and elegantly written but too short whilst the Gongyang Zhuan seemed argumentative, judgmental and vulgar in style. In the opinion of the Han scholar and official He Xiu (何休), the Gongyang Zhuans achievement is its appraisal of the Spring and Autumn Annals to expound the "great way of Confucianism" through the use of subtle and profound language.

Schools of thought

During the Han Dynasty, the two major schools of thought regarding the Gongyang Zhuan were those headed by Yan Pengzu (严彭祖) and Yan Anle (颜安乐) respectively. They were the successors of Dong Zhongshu. During the later years of the Han Dynasty, He Xiu became the most well known proponent of the Gongyang Zhuans doctrines. Huan Kuan (桓寬), author of the Confucian work Debates on Salt and Iron (盐铁论), was also a follower of the Gongyang School.

In the period between the Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...

 and the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties

Southern and Northern Dynasties

The Southern and Northern Dynasties was a period in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589 AD. Though an age of civil war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spreading of Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism...

 (229-589 CE), the official He Xiu School was established.

During the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

, study of the Gongyang Zhuan gradually declined with very few academics concentrating on the work.

The Changzhou School of Thought (常州學派) held an important position during the late Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 as a mainstream center of learning with scholars such as Kong Guangsen (孔广森), Zhuang Cunyu (莊存與), Liu Fenglu (劉逢祿), Gong Zizhen (龚自珍), Wei Yuan

Wei Yuan

Wei Yuan , born Wei Yuanda , courtesy names Moshen and Hanshi , was a Chinese scholar from Shaoyang, Hunan. He moved to Yangzhou in 1831, where he remained for the rest of his life. Wei obtained the provincial degree in the Imperial examinations and subsequently worked in the secretariat of...

 (魏源) and Kang Youwei

Kang Youwei

Kang Youwei , was a Chinese scholar, noted calligrapher and prominent political thinker and reformer of the late Qing Dynasty. He led movements to establish a constitutional monarchy and was an ardent Chinese nationalist. His ideas inspired a reformation movement that was supported by the Guangxu...

 (康有为) amongst others. The school's main target for criticism was the New Text School of Thought

Old Texts

In Chinese philology, the Old Texts refer to some versions of the Five Classics discovered during the Han Dynasty, written in archaic characters and supposedly produced before the burning of the books, as opposed to the Modern Texts or New Texts in the new orthography.The last half of the 2nd...

.

In 1995, scholar Jiang Qing (蒋庆) published his work Treatise on the Gong Yang School (公羊学引论) which is the origin of revised interest in the Gongyang Zhuan.

Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals The Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals , are a series of works that annotate the classic Chinese historical text the Spring and Autumn Annals. They comprise the Zuo Zhuan, Gongyang Zhuan and Guliang Zhuan....

Zuo Zhuan Zuo Zhuan The Zuo Zhuan , sometimes translated as the Chronicle of Zuo or the Commentary of Zuo, is among the earliest Chinese works of narrative history and covers the period from 722 BCE to 468 BCE. It is one of the most important sources for understanding the history of the Spring and Autumn Period...  > Gongyang Zhuan | Guliang Zhuan Guliang Zhuan The Gǔliáng Zhuàn is considered one of the classic books of ancient Chinese history. It is traditionally attributed to a writer with the surname of Guliang in the disciple tradition of Zi-xia , but versions of his name vary and there is no definitive way to date the text...