a style of writing in which sublime words with deep meaning are used(chūn qiū bǐ fá)

a style of writing in which sublime words with deep meaning are used

Spring and autumn brushwork refers to the choice of publicity materials. The methods adopted by Confucius in his spring and Autumn Annals are "writing" and "cutting". "Pen" is added to the original records of the spring and Autumn Annals, and "cut" is deleted from the original records of the spring and Autumn Annals. Gongyang family said: Confucius is the spring and Autumn Annals, "pen is pen, cut is cut, Zi Xia's disciples can not praise a word." (historical records · Confucius family)

Spring and autumn strokes emphasize, "taboo for respect, taboo for relatives, taboo for sages." (Zhuangzi · Tianxia) that is to say, when compiling the book, it involves the venerable and the hidden. More than 800 events recorded in the spring and Autumn Annals involve 102 natural activities such as solar eclipse, earthquake, natural disaster, wind and frost, as well as major activities of the emperor of Zhou, princes, officials and so on.

Source of words

original text

The Confucius family in historical records: Confucius was in power to listen to lawsuits, and his words could be shared with others, which was unique to Buddhism. As for the spring and Autumn Annals, pen is pen, cut is cut, Zi Xia's disciples can not praise the word. When his disciples received the spring and Autumn Annals, Confucius said, "those who know Qiu in later generations will take the spring and Autumn Annals, while those who sin Qiu will also take the spring and Autumn Annals."

notes

Zixia, a disciple of Confucius. He is famous for his quick thinking and literature. Therefore, Confucius often discussed literary creation with Zixia. After Confucius, most Confucian classics were handed down by Zixia. However, as far as writing the spring and Autumn Annals is concerned, Confucius refused to let Zixia express his opinions.

translation

When Confucius tried a lawsuit in the position of commander in chief, if there was a place for him to discuss with others, he would not decide the verdict alone. As for the spring and Autumn Annals, he thought that what should be written should be written, and what should be deleted should be deleted. Even the senior disciples like Zixia could not suggest every word. When the disciples listened to Confucius' lecture on the spring and Autumn Annals, Confucius said, "it's the spring and Autumn Annals that future generations understand me, and it's the spring and Autumn Annals that blame me."

explain

The so-called "spring and autumn brushwork", also known as "spring and autumn calligraphy" or "micro words and broad meaning", is a historical narrative method and skill in ancient China, and a writing method created by Confucius, that is, to show the author's ideological tendency in the narration of the article, rather than express it through argumentative words. The spring and Autumn Annals, a historical book of the state of Lu, is said to be compiled by Confucius. Confucian scholars believe that every word used in it contains praise and criticism. In history, Zuo Qiuming first summarized this kind of writing method: "the name of the spring and Autumn Annals is micro but obvious, ambition but obscure, euphemism but chapter, exhausting but not polluting, punishing evil but persuading good. Who can not cultivate it? (in the spring and Autumn Annals, the words are detailed and the meaning is clear, the historical facts are recorded in a profound and implicit way, the tactful and logical way, the exhausting but not distorted way, the warning of evil and the praise of good. If it's not a saint, who can write it? " as Confucius wrote the spring and Autumn Annals, it implied praise and criticism when recording the history. Although he did not directly elaborate his views on the characters and events, he euphemistically and subtly expressed the author's main view through detailed description, rhetorical devices (such as the selection of vocabulary) and material selection. In order to expound the thought of Confucius, later writers wrote special works to explain the inner meaning of the spring and Autumn Annals, especially some details of rites. For example, "Duke Wu was angry and killed, saying:" Hu is the kingdom of brothers. Since he has killed him (Guan Qisi), there is no need to use the humble name of "Zi" again. Historians stress to be straightforward, but Confucius used obscure writing methods such as less obvious words to secretly add his own subjective views to the evaluation of historical figures. Later generations have both praise and criticism.

Future application

In his Chunqiu Zuoshi Zhuan, Du Yu explained that the text is here, and the uprising is there. For example, in order to forget the memory, "her constitution is weak and not beautiful.". Lu Xun intends to show that "the will is strong and the thought is beautiful". . For example, in the eighth chapter of the chapter of Mencius, King Liang Hui, it is said that "I have heard of killing a man Zhou, but I have not heard of killing a king.". To kill means to kill when innocent, to kill means to commit crimes below, and to kill means to kill when guilty and reasonable. This is a well-known verb in spring and autumn writing. For example, in news reports, there are often frank exchanges and in-depth exchanges between the two countries. In fact, the real meaning of "being frank" is that both sides have been outspoken during the talks, and have had fierce arguments over certain issues. They are both exerting pressure on each other and safeguarding their own national interests. The real meaning of "going deep" is that there are great differences between the two sides and fierce exchanges. Moreover, each country is sticking to its own views, and there is no intersection between the two countries. " Euphemism and taboo. The spring and Autumn period is taboo for those who are respected, for those who are close, and for those who are wise. This is a unique phenomenon in ancient China. It began in the Zhou Dynasty, became popular in the Qin Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and became more complete in the Qing Dynasty. It was abolished after the founding of the Republic of China, and the literary inquisition in the Qing Dynasty is well known. Make an objective and detailed record without deviation, distortion or concealment. For example, in memory of Liu He Zhenjun, "from the back into the heart and lung oblique.". "Four bullets, one of which is a pistol, Li Fu.". Entering from the back indicates sneak attacks and massacres. First, pistols indicate that officers are involved, organized and premeditated. Punishing evil and persuading good: it not only records but also makes subjective evaluation, which makes the good man famous in history and the evil man infamous forever. For example, "the tombstone of five people" should leave a mark on the history of the five people who were killed. It records the names of the five people "Yan Peiwei, Yang nianru, Shen Yang, Ma Jie and Zhou Wenyuan. it is said that Confucius wrote the spring and Autumn Annals, which implied praise and criticism when recording history. In order to expound the thought of Confucius, later writers wrote special works to explain the inner meaning of the spring and Autumn Annals, especially some details of rites. This kind of practice is called "micro words and broad meaning" or "spring and autumn writing", which is praised by the ancient Chinese tradition. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu organized the compilation of the new book of Tang Dynasty and the new history of Five Dynasties. Later, in the early years of the Republic of China, under the wave of total Westernization, some skeptical historians doubted that the spring and Autumn Annals was written by Confucius, and criticized that some of these works were far fetched. By some people's standards, this style may not be appreciated, so their use of the word may have a derogatory meaning. And more modern historians who shoulder the responsibility of the mainstay of society inherit and carry forward the Chinese cultural tradition of spring and autumn brushwork in modern history. Until the outbreak of the Anti Japanese War, the value of spring and autumn Dayi was re recognized by more people. spring and autumn writing method and official document writing: the measures for handling official documents of state administrative organs issued by the State Council on August 24, 2000 and implemented on January 1, 2001 clearly stipulates that official documents are "official documents with legal effect and standard style formed by administrative organs in the process of administration". Orders, circulars and opinions in official documents are important tools for state organs to recognize the advanced, criticize mistakes, reflect problems and establish the direction of public opinion. When official documents play these functions, they must show a clear position throughout the whole article. In the article, they are the comprehensive use of public narration and covert narration. public narration means that the narrator's identity is open, which reminds readers that it is the narrator who is telling; covert narration means that he speaks with "facts", and the narrator is hiding behind "facts". The difference between the two is reflected in the text level as subjective speech or factual speech. The strongest public narrative is argumentation, the strongest hidden narrative is description, and the middle one is narration. Among the three ways of language expression, narration plays a leading role in official documents, followed by discussion and description. In the narration of official documents, it is obviously a funny thing to jump out of a narrator to speak subjectively from time to time. in order to maintain the solemn and plain style of official documents, and to reflect the clear attitude of the issuing organ, it is the best way to use "spring and autumn writing method" to make public narrative voice in the form of hidden narrative text. (excerpt from "how to write official documents with spring and autumn strokes" in 2005 issue 4 of Applied Writing)

Chinese PinYin : chūn qiū bǐ fá