Category：Chinese art, History, Mythology

孔子大历史：初民、贵族与寡头们的早期华夏 The Era of Confucius: the People, the Nobilities and the Oligarchs

By LI Shuo

●The Era of Confucius is a biography of Confucius written by Li Shuo, renowned Chinese historian and writer.

In this book, Li Shuo writes about Confucius’s life in a most lively way: born as an illegitimate child, Confucius grew up in a single-parent family amongst the lower class of the society. Step by step, he became the highest ranking official of the Lu country, and also witnessed the turmoil and the anecdotes amongst the countries in the late Spring and Autumn period. After being politically frustrated, Confucius traveled around the countries. Eventually he failed to realize his political ideals. However, his opinions and theories were passed down and elaborated by later generations, and he was made into a sacred master by his disciples. The Era of Confucius removed the “sage” aura of Confucius and restored his experiences as an ordinary person. He had his own emotions, as well as confusion, struggles and persistence. In his book, Li Shuo explores the psychological state and motivations of Confucius when facing various life events, thus depicting a rich and complete image of this historical figure.

Through the interpretations of the historical documents, The Era of Confucius recreates the life of Confucius in the oligarchy political games, as well as the various life scenes and daily rituals of the Spring and Autumn Period in which he lived. It presents an anthropological perspective of how to perceive Confucius and his time.

Author
Li Shuo, born in Baoding in Hebei Province. He graduated as a Chinese major from Peking University, has had a master’s degree and a Ph.D degree in history at Tsinghua University. Now he is a scholar mainly engaged in research on ancient Chinese history and studies on historical geography. His research interests are mid-ancient military history, historical geography, and ethnic groups in border regions. He has authored many books and articles, including Wars Between the Northern and Southern Empires: Military and Politics in China, 4th- 6th Centuries, A History of the Russian Conquest of Central Asia, and Revelation ofShang Dynasty.