《史记》“孔子生年”索源

A Study of the Source of the Record of the Year of Confucius' Birth in Historical Records

自异载孔子生年之《史记》问世，二千余年孔诞之争不决；然，《史记》“鲁襄公二十二年”者，何所据源，诚当考辨析明之．考《世本》载记孔子生年说，纯系子虚乌有．至今所见文献，可为《史记》“孔子生年”载记之源者，惟公、谷二传《春秋》耳；不过司马迁之误解《春秋》历纪，乃助后世曲纪孔子生辰千有余年矣．

Over two thousand years after the appearance of Historical Records by Sima Qian, the year of Confucius birth has been a disputable and unsettled issue. However, it is of great necessity to explore add clarify the source of the record in Historical Recorde that 'Confucius was born in the twenty-second year of Duke Xianggong of Kingdom Lu. However, The Biographic Sketches of Emperors contains no record of the time of Confucius birth. This paper researches into all related existent literature and shows that the source of the record of the year of Confucius birth is no other than the two elucidations by Gongyang and Guliang of Confucius Spring and Autumn Annals. However, Sima Qian, the author of Historical Records misunderstood the chronology in Spring and Autumn Annals and his misunderstanding results in the confusing record of the year of Confucius birth.