The
Spring and Autumn Annals is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core
Chinese classics since ancient times. The
Annals is the official chronicle of the
State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 BC. It is the earliest surviving Chinese historical text to be arranged in
annals form. Because it was traditionally regarded as having been compiled by
Confucius (after a claim to this effect by
Mencius), it was included as one of the
Five Classics of Chinese literature.