劉向春秋學釐探

A Study of Liu Xiang's Interpretation on The Spring and Autumn Annals

劉向（前79－前8）曾於成帝（前32－前7在位）時奉詔領校秘書，撰有《別錄》二十卷，為中國目錄學先河；又曾於宣帝（前74－前49在位）時以穀梁學者身分，講論於石渠閣，以爭《公》、《穀》二傳長短，今日所見《新序》、《說苑》、《列女傳》等書，亦頗見《公羊》、《左傳》之論；而《漢書‧五行志》則載其推《尚書‧洪範》以發陰陽災異之說，且家傳《詩》學，又兼治《易》學，因此劉向亦是西漢重要的經學家。其中，劉向的春秋學在漢代經學發展史上，更是具有舉足輕重的地位與影響。以此，本文擬整理現存文獻中關於劉向春秋學主張的吉光片羽，並從兼引三《傳》合義及分採三《傳》傳義兩端予以詮釋與闡發。最後，本文認為劉向應無春秋學專書著述，清人所題劉向撰著的《穀梁》學輯佚著作，應以陰陽災異學說視之；而劉向對《左傳》主要採其史事記載，對《公》、《穀》二傳則皆以政治思想的大義徵引為主，且所採《公羊》義略多於《穀梁》義，在其著述中的分布面亦廣於《穀梁》，此與歷來對劉向為《穀梁》學家的歷史認知有所出入。以此，可知劉向的春秋學乃兼涵三《傳》，非僅專治《穀梁》一家之學，對《春秋》史、義的闡述有其重要貢獻。

Emperor Cheng of Han (reign from 32 BC to 7 BC) commanded Liu Xiang (79 B.C-8 B.C) to proof- read and catalogue the collection of the imperial library. He compilated 20 books of the Abstracts (Bielu 別錄 ) and the set was later considered the first Chinese Bibliography. During the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han (reign from 74 BC-49 BC), Liu taught at the Stone Canal Pavilion 石渠閣 as a scholar of Guliang 穀梁 , analyzing the content of Gongyang 公羊 and Guliang and examining the virtue and dispute of these two commentaries in detail. The influence of Gongyang and Zuo Zhuan 左傳 were constantly reflected in Liu Xiang's works such as the New Prefaces (Xinxu 新序 ), Garden of Stories (Shuoyuan 說苑 ) and the Biographies of Exemplary Women 列女傳. According to The Treatise on the Five Elements 五行志 of Han Shu 漢書, Liu's anomalies theory could be traced to Hong Fan 洪範 of Shang Shu 尚書. In addition, Liu Xiang was well versed in the study of Classic of Poetry (Shijing 詩經 ) and also exceled in Classic of Changes (Yijing 易經 ). His achievement made him indispensable to the interpretation and advocation of Confucian classics in western Han. Liu Xiang's interpretation of the Spring and Autumn Annals 春秋學 was instrumental to the development of Confucian classics in Han dynasty. This paper gathered the ideas and assertions of Liu Xiang on the Spring and Autumn Annals from existing records. The ultimate goal was to interpret and elaborate on the findings either through the consensual definition of the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals or explore the potential of contrasting views expressed in the commentaries which may shed new light on Liu Xiang's philosophy. After thorough inspection, in was clear Liu Xiang never composed any book on the study of Spring and Autumn Annals. The books compilated in Qing dynasty on Liu Xiang's Guliang Zhuang should be categorized as anomalies theories. Liu Xiang valued the historians' records in Zuo Zhuang and often cited the political views or concepts presented in Gongyang and Guliang. As a matter of fact, He preferred the definition of Gongyang over Guliang on many accounts and referred to Gongyang in his own works far more frequent than Guliang. The finding was quite a surprise as Liu was most commonly known as a scholar of Guliang. In conclusion, Liu Xiang's study of the Spring and Autumn Annals encompassed the content of all three commentaries and provided a comprehensive overview. He should not to mistaken as just a scholar of the Guliang commentary. In which case, Liu Xiang's contribution to the interpretation of the historians' records and the moral of the Spring and Autumn Annals was greatly underrated.