Foundations of Confucian Thought: Intellectual Life in the Chunqiu Period, 722-453 B.C.E.

400 Pages·2002·2.617 MB·English

by  Yuri Pines

FOUNDATIONS OF
CONFUCIAN THOUGHT

FOUNDATIONS OF
CONFUCIAN
THOUGHT
Intellectual Life
in the Chunqiu Period,
b.c.e.
722–453
Yuri Pines
university of hawai‘i press
honolulu
© 2002 University of Hawai‘iPress
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
07 06 05 04 03 02 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pines, Yuri.
Foundations of confucian thought : intellectual life
in the Chunqiu period, 722–453 b.c.e./ Yuri Pines.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8248-2396-6 (alk. paper)
1. China—Intellectual life—To 221 b.c. 2. China—
History—Spring and Autumn period,
722–481. I. Title.
DS741.65 .P55 2002
931—dc21 2001046286
University of Hawai‘i Press books
are printed on acid-free paper and meet
the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Council on Library Resources.
Designed by Integrated Composition Systems
Printed by The Maple-Vail Book
Manufacturing Group
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Notes on Translation, Terms, and Quotations ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Sources of Chunqiu Thought 13
Chapter 2. Heaven and Man Part Ways:
Changing Attitudes Toward Divine Authority 55
Chapter 3. The Universal Panacea:
Ritual and Preserving Hierarchical Order 89
Chapter 4. The World Falls Apart:
A Futile Search for International Order 105
Chapter 5. When a Minister Mounts the Ruler:
Chunqiu Views of Loyalty 136
Chapter 6. Nobility of Blood and Spirit:
Chunqiu Ethical Thought 164
Chapter 7. The Chunqiu Legacy 205
Appendix 1: Grammatical Change in the Zuo:
Case Studies of the “Yu”and “Qi”Particles 217
Appendix 2: Zhanguo Data in the Zuo 221
Appendix 3: Comparing Scribal Accounts in the Zuo 227
Appendix 4: Spurious Speeches
and Interpolations in the Zuo 233
Notes 247
List of Chunqiu Personalities 309
Glossary 333
Bibliography 343
Index 373
Acknowledgments
This book has developed from my Ph.D. dissertation, written under the
guidance of Professor Irene Eber from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
No words are sufficient to express my deep gratitude for her careful sup-
port, tireless scrutiny of my work, invaluable suggestions, and criticism. I
owe further gratitude to two distinguished scholars, teachers, and friends,
who supervised and guided my work during my stays at the Nankai Uni-
versity of Tianjin and UCLA, Professors Liu Zehua and Lothar von Falken-
hausen. Both became scholarly models for me due to their remarkable
ability to integrate careful scrutiny of the sources with bold conclusions
and generalizations, and I benefited enormously from their guidance and
support.
Limited space does not allow me to thank all those who helped me at
various stages of my research project. I benefited greatly from the Zuo
zhuan–related discussions with the members of the Warring States Work-
ing Group. Aside from those participants, whose studies are cited in my
book, I would like to point out the important contributions of Terry Klee-
man, Paul Goldin, Martin Kern, and, of course, E. Bruce Brooks, whose
relentless criticism of my views helped me to modify and refine many of
my arguments. Other friends, colleagues, and teachers helped me enor-
mously through their critical comments to my dissertation, the book man-
uscript, and related research publications. I particularly thank (in alpha-
betical order) Michal Biran, Stephen Durrant, Donald Harper, Eric Henry,
David Keightley, Michael Nylan, Adrews Plaks, Sato Masayuki, Harold
Schiffrin, Gideon Shelach, Yitzhak Shichor, David Shulman, and anony-
mous reviewers for the journal Early China and those associated with
the University of Hawai‘i Press. Other colleagues generously shared with
me their research materials, which allowed me to improve many of my
arguments; I am particularly indebted to Barry Blakeley, Carine Defoort,
Ge Quan, Jens Petersen, Edwin Pulleyblank, Naomi Standen, Melvin
Thatcher, Wang He, Zhang Rongming, and Zhao Yanxia. Especially warm
thanks should be given to David Schaberg, whose insightful critical com-
ments remain for me a source of constant stimulation to ask questions and
search for answers. Doron Narkis carefully read most of the manuscript
and improved my English style, for which I am deeply indebted.
Finally, I must thank my friends in Israel, China, and the United States,
who assisted me throughout various stages of my work: Zvi Ben-Dor, Zhang
Huaitong, Zhang Xiangming, and Zhang Zhicheng. I am deeply indebted
to all those who generated a supportive atmosphere throughout the long
years of my research: my parents, Anatoly and Raya, and my friends Jaber,
Maha, Wang Yu, and others whom I cannot name here, but who remain
in my heart.
Notes on Translation,
Terms, and Quotations
1. The precise translation of terms is one of the major problems of this kind of
study. The protagonists of the Zuo zhuanand Guoyuwere using a living language
that allowed for overlapping and interchangeable usage of various terms. To avoid
confusion, however, the translation has been unified whenever possible accord-
ing to the following principles.
a. Kinship terms are translated as follows:
xing—clan or clan name
zong—high-ordered or “trunk lineage” (which consists of several indepen-
dent lineages)
shi Û—lineage or branch lineage (basic kinship unit in the Chunqiu
period)
jiaand shi«—family/ household or “house,” if it is the ruling house
Zhu Fenghan’s study indicates that in certain cases these terms were
used interchangeably.1In choosing the English translation, the dominant
meaning of each term will be used. In each case, an attempt will be made
to discern the intention of the speaker. Thus, “Jisun jia,” referring to the
Jisun shi,will be translated as “the Jisun lineage.”
b. Social status terms are translated as follows:
qing—[high] minister. The lineage whose head has the hereditary position
of qingwill be referred to as a “ministerial lineage” (following Hsu
1965).
dafu—noble; “noble lineage” in the case of a lineage headed by a petty
official