Journal article
Could “Subtle Words” have Conveyed “Praise and Blame”? The Implications of Formal Regularity and Variation in Spring and Autumn (Chūn Qiū) Records
Early China, Vol.31, pp.47-111
2007
DOI: 10.1017/S0362502800001802
Abstract
The Spring and Autumn (Chūn Qiū) is a highly formally regular chronicle of apparently objective entries recorded in the state of Luˇ for the period from 722 to 479 (or 481) b.c.e. The present study is a formal analysis of the Spring and Autumn (Chūn Qiū), showing that its records were written in adherence to strict prescriptive rules governing what types of events could be recorded and the form of those records. Entries recording the same type of event were recorded using the same form, including the same degree of specificity in date notation, style of reference to individuals, as well as main verb and sentence pattern. Other variables affecting the form of records included the rank of individuals mentioned in the record and their home state. Regular diachronic changes in form may also be identified, and their presence demonstrates that the Spring and Autumn (Chūn Qiū) accrued over time and was not the product of a single author or editor. Classes of records associated with events, persons, or states deemed to be of greater importance were marked by inclusion of more detail such as names or precise dates, or use of special (honorific or euphemistic) verbs. The use of formal marking to indicate the exceptional significance of classes of records apparently extended to individual records, suggesting that the value judgment associated with the class had been applied to an individual event. While the Spring and Autumn (Chūn Qiū) contains no explicit value judgments, formal irregularities may indeed have been used to express value judgments on the events recorded in the Spring and Autumn (Chūn Qiū).
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Could “Subtle Words” have Conveyed “Praise and Blame”? The Implications of Formal Regularity and Variation in Spring and Autumn (Chūn Qiū) Records
- Creators
- Newell Ann Van Auken - Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, 1120 UCC, International Programs, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Early China, Vol.31, pp.47-111
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0362502800001802
- ISSN
- 0362-5028
- eISSN
- 2325-2324
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, UK
- Number of pages
- 65
- Alternative title
- “Subtle Words” Conveying “Praise and Blame”; Newell Ann Van Auken
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2007
- Academic Unit
- Asian and Slavic Languages and Literatures; World Languages, Literatures and Cultures
- Record Identifier
- 9984002424802771
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