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In ancient inscriptions on
tortoise shells and ox scapula, together with inscriptions on ancient bronze
objects, the pictographic Chinese character shi (史) represents a hand
holding a writing brush or a hand holding a bamboo slip, referring to a court
official in charge of keeping historical records. Explanation of Script and
Elucidation of Characters by Xu Shen (58? - 147) in the
Eastern Han Dynasty goes： “Shi is the person who keeps records of events. A hand in the
middle implies maintaining justice.” Same in sound, two differently-written Chinese
characters shi (史 history) and shi (事 events) are from the same origin, and those who keep notes of
what happens are called shi (史record keeper) and what they write down is shi (事records). Later, what the officials in charge of
keeping records of historical incidents or events or collections of these
incidents or events as well as comments about them are also called shi (史), which literally means history. According to Xu
Shen, the original pictograph representing the Chinese character shi looks like a hand kept in the
middle, which means keeping records of historical incidents or events
objectively without lending favor to any side of an issue. Great emphasis was
once placed on keeping records of history, and during certain periods, even the
sovereign rulers were not allowed to interfere with the work of officials in
charge of keeping records of historical incidents or events. On the one hand,
by keeping records of historical incidents or events, such officials posed a
deterrent to rulers, who had to be careful about what they said and what they
did. On the other hand, by keeping records of or commenting on historical
figures or events, lessons could be summed up or examples be set up, which
rulers could draw on and learn from. This tradition constitutes an important
aspect of Chinese people’s humanistic and rationalistic spirit.
This refers to historians or history books that record historical facts in an objective and truthful way based on evidences without covering up anything. Objectivity is the ultimate criterion for judging historians or history books in historiography.
This term refers to poetry that reflects social realities and major events of a historical period, thus possessing historical value. Some of the poems in The Book of Songs were about the realities of its time, which prompted Confucius（551-479 BC） to exclaim that “The Book of Songs enables one to understand society.” This means that he viewed The Book of Songs as using poetry to reflect history. Han dynasty scholars stressed the importance of poetry as a means of recording history. Subsequently, Chinese scholars of poetry believed that poetry should reflect reality through aesthetic means so as to provide aesthetic enjoyment, understanding as well as education. The poems of Tang poet Du Fu（712-770） are called “historical poetry” because they reflected what the country went through during the An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion and the author’s acute sense of sadness about the misery the country and its people suffered in times of national crisis.
According to the renowned historiographer Liu Zhiji （661-721）of the Tang Dynasty, those who study and write history must have three strengths, namely, the ability to compose historical works, rich knowledge of history and historical materials, and deep insight that enables them to analyze and evaluate history. Liu believed that deep insight in analyzing and commenting on history was the most important of the three qualifications.
The Six Confucian Classics are The Book of Changes, The Book of History, The Book of Songs, The Book of Rites, The Book of Music, and The Spring and Autumn Annals. An important proposition put forward by scholars of late imperial China was that those are all historical texts. According to these scholars, the Six Classics are all concerned with the social and political realities of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties rather than the teachings left by ancient sages. Zhang Xuecheng（1738-1801） of the Qing Dynasty was the representative scholar to systematically expound this proposition. This view challenged the sacred status of the classics of Confucianism and marked a self-conscious and independent trend in Chinese historiography.
The Spring and Autumn Annals is one of the Confucian classics, believed to have been compiled by Confucius（551-479 BC） based on the chronicles of the State of Lu. The book covers a period of 242 years from the first year of the reign of Duke Yin of Lu (722 BC) to the 14th year of the reign of Duke Ai (481 BC). The book was China’s first chronological history, and its title has come to mean all chronological histories. Its records of events are brief and its style is concise. Later Confucian scholars regarded the book as having “subtle words with profound meanings,” and described its implied and indirect style of writing, which makes both positive and negative criticism, as “the style of The Spring and Autumn Annals .” Zuo’s Commentary on The Spring and Autumn Annals, Gongyang’s Commentary on The Spring and Autumn Annals, and Guliang’s Commentary on The Spring and Autumn Annals, together known as the “Three Commentaries,” are explications of this work. (Gongyang’s and Guliang’s commentaries explain the reasoning in the book, while Zuo’s commentary records historical events of this period but does not interpret The Spring and Autumn Annals. ) “Spring and Autumn” also refers to the Spring and Autumn Period, an era named after The Spring and Autumn Annals. There are two views about the period it spans: One is the period covered in the Annals, the other is the period from 770 BC, when King Ping of Zhou moved his capital from near present-day Xi’an in the west to present-day Luoyang in the east, until the year of 476 BC.
The style of The Spring and Autumn Annals is characterized by simple and concise language expressing ideas and commending or criticizing historical figures and events in an indirect way. The style is well known for “what is included or excluded has profound meanings.” Also “every word in it reflects either approval or censure of the sage,” and “subtle words carry profound meanings.” Tradition has it that The Spring and Autumn Annals was edited by Confucius（551-479 BC） for the purpose of safeguarding the rites of the Zhou Dynasty. The text does not use argumentative language to express the author’s views; instead, it tactfully expresses favorable and unfavorable views on historical figures and events by giving brief accounts using designations with special connotations or subtle expressions derived according to the rites of Zhou. Later on, this particular style became a traditional method of compiling history works.
Reviewing the past helps us understand the present and predict the future. It is also said that “reviewing the past we understand the future” and “knowing the past we understand the present.” The Chinese word jian (鉴) can mean “mirror” and hence to “review the past” as if in a mirror, “understand the past,” or “gain knowledge of the past.” The lessons of the rise and fall of dynasties and states, the words and deeds of historical figures, as well as right and wrong, and good and evil, help govern the country and improve personal morality. “Understanding the present,” “reviewing the present,” or “understanding the future” means predicting the future based on the present. The rulers of antiquity saw it as extremely important to draw lessons from history in order to avoid past mistakes and justify their policies by making them conform to the needs of the country and people. The concept of “reviewing the past to understand the present” stresses both the practical significance of history and the historical depth of things present. It is similar to the concept that “past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.”
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