II. Ancient and Classical Periods, 3500 B.C.E.–500 C.E. > C. Early Civilizations and Classical Empires of South and East Asia > 4. China, to 221 B.C.E. > a. Schools of Classical Chinese Thought > 6. Gongson Long (320–250 B.C.E.)

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The Encyclopedia of World History.  2001.

6. Gongson Long (320–250 B.C.E.)
Gongson Long from Zhao was author of a master work of logic and categorical speculation which bears his name, Gongzon Longzi. His most famous line, “A white horse is not a horse,” deals with the important distinction between “horse,” “white,” and “white horse.”	1
The major literary and historical texts of the golden age of antiquity are the Five Classics: (a) Yijing (Classic of Change), a work used in divination, was later commented on extensively and thus became seen as a work on cosmology; (b) Shujing or Shangshu (Classic of Documents), a collection of “documents” spanning a long period of time into the early Zhou, though much of it is now considered spurious; (c) Shijing (Classic of Poetry), considered the greatest literary work of high antiquity; (d) Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals), a chronicle of the state of Lu for the years 772–481 B.C.E., traditionally attributed to Confucius; early on it acquired three famous commentaries of which the Zuo Zhuan (Zuo Commentary) adds much to the text; and (e) three ritual texts, Zhouli, Yili, and Liji (Records of Rites). In addition, another work of poetry, Chuci (Songs of the South), attributed to Qu Yuan (d. late 3rd cent. B.C.E.), represents a different poetic tradition from that of the Shijing.	2
In artwork, the Shang and early Zhou left magnificent bronzes which were used both for household and ritual use. From the mid-Zhou, bronzes became solely decorative pieces.	3

The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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