On the Beginning and End of the Theory of "Zuo Zhuan was earlier than Chun Qiu"

The theory what about “Zuo Zhuan was earlier than the Chun Qiu” was first anvanced by HUANG Hongxian's Preface to the Chunqiu Zuozhuan Shifu, written in the 27th year of the Ming Dynasty's Wanli reign (1599). HUANG referred to the “Zuo History” as a complex and detailed record, unintentional interpretation of classics, classics and commentaries are passed down separately, and the fact that ZUO Qiuming was born before Confucius, believing that “the Zuo History came first, and the writing of sages came later”. In the 21st year of the Republic of China (1932), ZHANG Chunfu, a great scholar from Beitai, once again independently and clearly proposed this theory in his book Shi Zuo Shi Shuo. He believed that the “Chun Qiu” needed to be proven by the “Zuo Zhuan”, which was the “work of ZUO Qiuming's youth” and was later supplemented by disciples of the Confucian sect. The “Chun Qiu” was a “table of contents” that outlined the “Zuo Zhuan”, and the argument was quite systematic and detailed. ZHANG Taiyan proposed the theory that both the classics and the commentaries were compiled by both scholars, believing that both Confucius's “Chun Qiu” and ZUO Qiuming's “Zuo Zhuan” were simultaneously compiled by both authors. After the 1980s, discussions on this issue continued, and some scholars were unaware that HUANG Hongxian and ZHANG Chunfu had already taken the lead.