Intellectual Change in the Chunqiu Period: The Reliability of the Speeches in the Zuo Zhuan as Sources of Chunqiu Intellectual History

Intellectual history of the Chunqiu period has not been at the focus of scholarly discussions due to the presumed absence of reliable sources for Chunqiu thought. This article argues that the speeches by Chunqiu statesmen recorded in the Zuo zhuan do reflect the Chunqiu intellectual milieu. First, the sources of the Zuo are discussed. Its author/compiler relied on abundant written materials prepared by the court scribes of Chunqiu states. These “scribal records” contained, among others, speeches by leading statesmen; the evidence suggests that slight embellishments notwithstanding, the records basically reflected the content of the original speech. The reliability of the Zuo zhuan is discussed next. The unequivocal intellectual change from the beginning to the end of the Zuo speeches, particularly the changing mode of use and the changing content of some basic terms of political and ethical discourse, rule out the possibility that the speeches have been invented or significantly edited by the author/compiler of the Zuo. This allows us to conclude that the Zuo is the reliable – and invaluable – repository of Chunqiu thought.