Models of State of Chunqiu Period (VIII–V BC) in East Asia and the Genesis of Historical Narratives

Abstract

This article is devoted to the broad question of the connection of synchronous epigraphic sources of the Chunqiu era on the history of ancient East Asia and those types of texts that were included as components in later complex texts. The examples of two inscriptions on bronze vessels show the emergence of two different traditions of self-referencing inscriptions: the tradition of royal inscriptions and the tradition of inscriptions of dignitaries of hereditary aristocratic clans. The example of the second type of inscriptions shows the origin of the plot core of that type of texts, which will later become a type of historical and literary narratives in Chun qiu zuo zhuan, which are sometimes called “anecdotes”. The research shows the similarity between the plot in the inscription and the general outline of events in the written monument. The article assumes the parallel development of two different traditions of texts arising from different types of inscriptions, these processes are linked to the development of two types of statehood in . The article also describes the successive stages of the genesis of tradition of narratives: from inscriptions on bronze of the 7th century BC through the inscriptions on bamboo of the Zhangguo era to the time to the antologies and complex texts of the Western Han era. Thus, we can conclude that there is a continuous chain of transmission of historical information from synchronous primary sources to complex narratives of the later historical tradition. Our research establishes a connection between the productive type of preservation of historical memory and the winning imperial model.

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