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Secondary sourceBookc. 239 BCE

Lüshi Chunqiu

Lü Buwei (compiler) · c. 239 BCE

A Warring States encyclopedic text compiled under Lü Buwei around 239 BCE, containing early stories about Confucius such as his starvation between Chen and Cai.

This early encyclopedic text preserves one of the oldest surviving stories about Confucius's hardships, showing his reputation before the Han dynasty.

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An open old Chinese woodblock-printed book in a museum display case, with vertical columns of black characters on yellowed paper. A Chinese caption card below reads 呂氏春秋 (Lüshi Chunqiu).
Lüshi Chunqiu, compiled under Lü Buwei, c. 239 BCE. Edo-period printed edition, Hunan Provincial Museum.

About this source

What it is

The Lüshi Chunqiu is a large encyclopedic text compiled around 239 BCE under the patronage of the Qin chancellor Lü Buwei, drawing together ideas from many schools of thought. It contains stories about Confucius, including his hardship when he and his followers ran out of food between the states of Chen and Cai.

Why it matters

Because it was compiled not long after the Warring States period, this text offers one of the earliest surviving glimpses of how Confucius was remembered and discussed before the Han dynasty, when his teachings became central to imperial ideology. It shows his reputation forming across different schools of thought, not only his own followers.

Look closer

  • Why might stories about hardship, like going hungry, have been told about Confucius?
  • What does it mean that this text combines ideas from many different schools of thought, not just Confucianism?
  • How might a story written generations after Confucius's death differ from an eyewitness account?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Confucius, Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Laozi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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