TheGuoyu, usually translated asDiscourses of the States, is an ancient Chinese text that consists of a collection of speeches attributed to rulers and other men from theSpring and Autumn period (771–476 BC). It comprises a total of 240 speeches, ranging from the reign ofKing Mu of Zhou (r. 956–918 BC) to the execution of theJin minister Zhibo in 453 BC.[1] Compilation of theGuoyu probably began during the 5th century and continued until the late 4th century BC. The earliest chapter of the compilation is theDiscourses of Zhou.[2]
The texts compiled withinGuoyu comprise the period, people, and events seen in theSpring and Autumn Annals, particularly one of its commentaries, theZuo Zhuan byZuo Qiuming.[7] Thus, during the end of the Han dynasty, it was called the preface of theZuo Zhuan.[8] Scholars likeXu Gan mention it in their work (in this case, theZhōnglùn 中論 "Balanced Discourses"), though the tradition has since died out.[citation needed]
The text comprises eight books covering the Zhou court and seven of the feudal states, divided into 21 chapters:
^Kong Yingda,True Meaning of Chunqiu Zuozhuan "vol. 60"p. 20 of 146, quote: "傅玄云：《國語》非丘明所作。凡有共說一事而二文不同，必《國語》虛而《左傳》實，其言相反，不可強合也。" translation: "Fu Xuan said: '′Discourses of the States′ was not authored by Qiu Ming. Wherever they both narrate one thing yet their wordings differ, certainly ′Zuo tradition′['s narrative] is authentic while ′Discourses of the States′['s narrative] is spurious. The contradictory wordings cannot be forcibly reconciled.' "
Chang, I-jen; et al. (1993). "Kuo yü 國語". InLoewe, Michael (ed.).Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China; Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California Berkeley. pp. 263–268.ISBN1-55729-043-1.
Durrant, Stephen (2017). "Chapter 13: Histories (Shi 史)". In Denecke, Wiebke; Li, Wai-Yee; Tian, Xiaofei (eds.).The Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature (1000 BCE-900CE) (e-book ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 189.
Shih, Hsiang-lin; et al. (2010). "Guoyu 國語". In Knechtges, David R.; Chang, Taiping (eds.).Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Part One. Leiden: Brill. pp. 308–311.ISBN978-90-04-19127-3.
