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Secondary sourceBook4th century BCE

Zuo Zhuan

Zuo Qiuming · 4th century BCE

An early narrative history and commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, giving the fullest early account of the politics of Lu that Confucius served in.

This early commentary narrates the politics of Lu, the state Confucius served in, including events traditionally linked to his career.

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Page of a Chinese woodblock-printed book with vertical columns of classical Chinese text in black characters on yellowed paper. The header reads 左傳贊卷一 and includes commentary names and a printer's note at the lower right. The main text includes the heading 隱公 and the passage beginning 元年春王正月.
Page from a woodblock-printed edition of the Zuo Zhuan.

About this source

What it is

The Zuo Zhuan is an ancient Chinese narrative history, traditionally treated as a commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, covering political, diplomatic and military events of the period. It was traditionally attributed to Zuo Qiuming, said to be a disciple of Confucius, though most modern scholars doubt this and date its composition to the 4th century BCE.

Why it matters

The Zuo Zhuan gives rich, lively detail about the political world of Lu and other states during Confucius's lifetime and after, including events connected to the politics he was involved in. It became hugely influential as a model of Chinese prose style and as the main way educated Chinese learned ancient history for centuries.

Look closer

  • Why would later readers want a detailed narrative to go with the very short Annals entries?
  • What problems arise from attributing this text to a disciple of Confucius who may not have lived long enough to witness the events described?
  • What does the popularity of this text tell us about how later generations valued storytelling in history?

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

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Front cover of a bound Chinese book with blue-grey patterned silk brocade of cloud scrolls. A tan label on the left bears large black brush characters reading 聖蹟圖 and a smaller 前頁, with a red seal impression below. The cover edges are worn.Book

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Black and white photograph of an interior hall with a carved wooden altar and incense burners on a long table, flanked by large pillars with Chinese characters on the walls and red-framed inscriptions; the view looks toward a shrine niche with ornate wooden canopy.Photograph

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Temple of Confucius, Peking (Interior)

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Two facing pages of a classical Chinese manuscript in black ink brush calligraphy on aged, yellowed paper, written in vertical columns with some smaller annotation characters between lines. The text is a commentary on a historical chronicle, with the handwriting appearing in a regular, cursive-influenced style.Document

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