Later (or possibly at the same time), Zuo Zhuan appeared. Zuozhuan, also known as Chunqiu Zuozhuan or Zuoshi Chunqiu, began in 722 BC and ended in 27 years (468 BC). Zuo Zhuan is about 6.5438+0.8 million words, and it is also a chronological history book, which records 6.5438+07 years more than Spring and Autumn Annals, and the historical materials are much more than Spring and Autumn Annals. However, later, Confucian scholars thought that Zuo Zhuan was a work to interpret the classics of Spring and Autumn Annals, so Du Fu in the Western Jin Dynasty rearranged them, first listing the classics of Spring and Autumn Annals, and then recording them in chapters. Since then, Zuo Zhuan's true colors have disappeared. Records of the Historian and Records of Han Art and Literature are considered to be written by Zuo Qiuming, a contemporary of Confucius.
Confucius started the wind of private learning. Because Chunqiu is very concise, it is necessary to explain its wording and historical significance in teaching. In the Han Dynasty about 100 BC, the Biography of the Ram and the Biography of Gu Liang appeared, which focused on explaining the language and historical significance of the Spring and Autumn Annals. List the original text of Chunqiu first, and then explain it word by word and layer by layer. Biography of Gu Liang is relatively more faithful to the principle of recording historical facts, while Biography of Rams holds that Chunqiu is Confucius' expression of his political views through 242 years of historical events in the Spring and Autumn Period, and it contains "small words and great righteousness" everywhere. Sima Qian (BC 145? BC? In Historical Records Confucius Family, it is also said that Confucius wrote Spring and Autumn Annals not only to record historical events, but also to express his views on social reality and pin his social ideals with words that reflect a set of calligraphy. This is also the "righteousness" in Spring and Autumn Annals.
On the other hand, compared with the language prevailing in the Han Dynasty, the language used by Confucius in writing Chunqiu has been called "ancient prose". If there were no annotations, it would be difficult for ordinary literati at that time to understand. Therefore, when teaching Chunqiu, it is really necessary to give advice.