Abstract

In this dissertation, the author attempts to show that the Lushi chunqiu no mere collection of late Zhou philosophical fragments. Rather, the text is an eclectic, syncretic, synthesis that attempts to create a comprehensive political cosmology. The validity of this view of the intent of the authors of the text is argued in three ways. In the first chapter of the dissertation, the life of Lu Buwei, the man who patronized the compilation of the text is examined. An attempt is made to demonstrate that Lu Buwei had a vested interested in promoting the views espoused in the Lushi chunqiu. ;In the second chapter, the text itself is examined. Here, it is clearly demonstrated that the authors of the book espouse both a political and intellectual unification of the entire ancient Chinese world. Examples of both the eclectic and syncretic nature of the text are presented. ;In the third chapter, the development of vinyang-wuxing conceptualizations from distinct non-abstract theories to integrated highly metaphysical constructs is outlined. Following this discussion, a brief treatment of the various almanac-like works available to the authors of the Lushi chunqiu is presented. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to a demonstration of how the yinyang-wuxing cosmological theories integrated into a calendrical framework are used to provide both a cosmologically based ontology for the political views espoused by the authors of the text, but also a formal structure for those views. ;In addition to the three chapters which constitute body of the dissertation, two appendices are included. The first contains a detailed analysis of the views of Chinese scholars regarding the history and transmission of the text. The second contains an annotated translation of the first three chapters of the book. This appendix allows the reader himself to judge how well the explanation of how the yinyang-wuxing cosmological theories integrated into a calendrical framework and used to provide both a formal and philosophical structure works