Canons And Archives

The Six Canons refer to the Songs, the Books, the Rituals, Zhouyi, the Music and the Spring and Autumn, which are the principal classics of Chinese traditional civilization. Those classics contain a lot of historical materials or information. Hence, the Six Canons are defined as archives by some scholars. Are the Six Canons some kind of archives? This is the primary topic for this essay.This essay will discuss this topic case by case in the respect of edition, content and their relationships with the characteristics of archives. The Songs collect various folks and music in different states. Those folks, on one hand, not merely represented the customs and conventions, recorded some historic events and they contain some myths and legends as well. The motive of collecting those folks and songs is for music, instead of memory and proof. On the other hand, the Songs we read today is named as Mao Songs which occurred in Han dynasty. Thereby, the Songs are not the original version or edition, and are not archives.The edition of the Books are far from be certainty. Most parts of the Books were made in the Three States Period. Even for the Jin Wen Books, there were some doubts of their editions. The uncertainty of the edition of the Books indicates the impossibility of regarding the Books as archives, for archive must be true and original. Most contents of the Books pertain to the second handed materials. Therefore, it is not scientific to define those contents as archives. However, some contents such as Kang Gao, Da Gao, Zi Cai, Zhao Gao and Luo Gao, which recorded the kings’order or verdicts, possess the similar status or values of modern archives, and could be employed as archives.The Rituals were beyond persons’knowledge for hundreds of years. This fact hints that the rituals which were made by Zhou Gong and edited by Confucius had vanished. What we read is just a later version or edition, which might contain some artificial composition. Those compositions are not the original pieces or recordings. The Rituals are not archives.One part of Zhouyi is the Interpretations which are authorized in War States period and Han dynasties. They were not archives. The other part of Zhouyi contains some original materials which recorded some primitive happenings. Nevertheless, in the light of the characters of Zhouyi, the book is a book of divination. The historical recordings were made accidently, instead of on purpose. To record on purpose is one the characteristics of archives. Hence, Zhouyi is not archive.The Spring and Autumn recorded some events which occurred before Confucius, the author of the book. Thereby, those recordings were not original materials and can not be regarded as archive. Some part of the book can be archive. Meanwhile, the book is distinguishing with its Confucian view of value, lack of objective valuation, which is one of the characteristics of archive. In the regard, the Spring and Autumn can be archive.In sum, the Six Canons possess abundant and precious historical information, but the editions, versions and some other flaws let the Canons being lack of originality, reality, objectivity, deliberation and some other archive’s features. It is meant that the Canons cannot be archive.