CHINESE HISTORIOGRAPHY

• The origin of Chinese historiography can be traced to legends, as early historians relied on them.
• Ancient historians narrated the history of China from 3000 B.C..
• Chinese legends claim that the earliest kings reigned for eighteen thousand years each, an incredible assertion.
• Legends often favored imaginary personalities over ideas, attributing the laborious advances of many generations to a few individuals.
• There is no way of verifying the accounts passed down by the early Chinese historians.
• The early Chinese courts had their official scribes, known as court chroniclers.
• These court historians recorded the achievements of their sovereigns and portents of the time.
• The court historians contributed significantly to the mass of historical literature, which is unmatched in length anywhere else in the world.
• The twenty-four official “Dynastic Histories”, published in 1747, spanned 219 large volumes.

Confucius (551-479 B.C)

• Kung-fu-tze, better known as Confucius, was a philosopher and historian of enormous influence.
• He was born at Ch’ufu, in the Kingdom of Lu (now Shantung province).
• Confucius came from the oldest family in existence, in direct line from the great emperor K’ungs.
• As a student, he learned archery and music, and worked after school to support his mother after losing his father at the age of three.
• He married at nineteen and divorced his wife at twenty-three.
• Confucius began his career as a teacher, teaching history, poetry, and propriety.
• Among his pupils were the sons of Mang He, a minister of the Duke of Lu.
• Through them, Confucius was introduced to the Chou Court at Llo-yang.
• Upon returning to Lu, he found the province in chaos and moved to the neighbouring state of T’si, where he advised the Duke.
• Confucius later returned to Lu to teach for fifteen years before being called back to public office as Chief Magistrate of Chung-tu.
• He was later promoted to Superintendent of Public Works and Minister of Crime.
• Due to his popularity and power, neighboring states grew jealous, causing Confucius to fall out of favor with the Duke of Lu.
• Confucius resigned, left Lu, and wandered for thirteen years.
• He refused the offer to lead the Duke of Wei’s government, disapproving of the Duke’s principles.
• In his last five years, Confucius lived in seclusion in Lu, focusing on editing the classics and writing the history of his people.
• Confucius left behind five volumes known as the Five Ching or Canonical Classics:
  1. LiChi (Record of Rites): contains rules of propriety.
  2. IChing (Book of Changes): deals with metaphysics.
  3. She-Ching (Book of Odes): addresses the nature of human life and morality.
  4. Ch’um Ch’iu (Spring and Autumn Annals): narrates the main events in the history of Lu.
  5. Shu-Ching (Book of History): focuses on the heroic and unselfish leaders during China’s unified empire.
• Shu-Ching was written or edited by Confucius to inspire his disciples with elevating events of the past.
• Confucius selected events, episodes, and leaders from history that would motivate his disciples, rather than providing an impartial account.
• The book includes imaginary speeches, stories, morals, and wisdom, with an idealized portrayal of the past.
• Shu-Ching is not an impartial history but a compilation meant to inspire.
• Tso-Chuan was a commentary written a century later to illustrate and vivify the Shu-Ching.