The Yanzi chunqiu ("Yanzi Annals" or "Annals of Master Yan") is an ancient Chinese text dating to the Warring States period (475–221 BC) that contains a collection of stories, speeches, and remonstrations attributed to Yan Ying, a famous official from the State of Qi who served Duke Jing of Qi (r. 547–489 BC).[1][2] It comprises 215 stories arranged into eight chapters. The first six chapters contain accounts of Yan Ying's remonstrations with the rulers he served. The seventh chapter contains variants on stories from the first six chapters, and the eighth chapter has anti-Confucian episodes that the Han dynasty imperial librarian Liu Xiang—who compiled the received version of the Yanzi chunqiu in the late 1st century BC—considered to be inconsistent with the Chinese Classics.[3]
The Yanzi chunqiu incorporates themes from both Confucianism and Mohism and does not fit into any single Chinese philosophical tradition.