Gongyang

Gongyang refers to the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu), one of the traditional Chinese commentaries attached to the chronicle of the state of Lu. The commentary is traditionally attributed to a philosopher associated with the Gongyang school and is counted among the Three Commentaries on the Chunqiu, alongside the Zuo Zhuan and the Guliang Zhuan.

The Gongyang Zhuan offers a concise, normative reading of the Spring and Autumn Annals. It treats the annals as a moral history that conveys lessons about proper governance, virtue, and ritual propriety. Its approach emphasizes the Mandate of Heaven, the responsibilities of rulers and ministers, and the rectification of names—ensuring that terms and roles reflect ethical realities. The tone is often prescriptive, with judgments about events framed in terms of moral order and righteous leadership rather than detailed narrative critique.

Historically, the Gongyang Commentary emerged in the Warring States period and gained prominence in later imperial times as a key source of Confucian exegesis. It is typically contrasted with the Zuo Zhuan, which provides a more narrative and historical account, and with the Guliang Zhuan, which presents a different interpretation of the same annals. Over the centuries, the Gongyang perspective influenced debates on governance, ethics, and the proper understanding of political authority within Confucian thought.

In modern scholarship, the Gongyang Zhuan remains a standard reference for studies of early Chinese political philosophy and Confucian exegesis. It is studied alongside the other Chunqiu commentaries and is available in translations and scholarly editions that discuss its moral and political implications.