國語小考

Abstract

Documentary classics of the pre-Qin period generally have many bibliographical problems, and the Guoyu 國語 is no exception. Above all, the chronological order in which the Guoyu and the Zuozhuan 左傳 commentary (many parts of which are common to the Guoyu) were completed and quotations common to both have not been explained well enough. This article is an attempt to clarify the order in which several sections of the Guoyu, namely the Zhouyu 周語, Luyu 魯語, Jinyu 晉語, Chuyu 楚語, and the Zuozhuan commentary were completed, and to date the completion of the Guoyu. In the first part, by comparing the Spring and Autumn Annals and the commentary sections of the Zuozhuan commentary, and the Gongyangzhhuan 公羊傳 and Guliangzhuan 穀梁傳 commentaries with the Guoyu, it can be concluded that the Guoyu or at least certain parts of it, were completed after the spring and Autumn Annals and its commentaries. In the second part, by investigating the dates recorded in the Guoyu which are contradictory to those in the Zuozhuan commentary, it can be concluded that the Guoyu was completed after the Zuozhuan commentary. These differences were caused by subsequent changes in the Guoyu based on the premis that the author(s) of the Zuozhuan commentary had changed the original material. In the third part, some Chinese characters (expressing certain meanings) used in the Guoyu are compared with those of other pre-Qin documentary classics and, in addition, with those in the Zuozhuan commentaries. The order in which they were completed is also examined. Finally, the avoidance of Chinese characters used to write the names of Emperors, regarded as taboo, was observed in the Guoyu and other pre-Qin documentary classics. From these findings, the period in which the Guoyu was completed can be given specific parameters.