 A testimonial of the synthesis of history and classics was Zhang Xuecheng’s famous statement in his Wenshi tongyi (General principles of literature and history): “The Six Classics are all histories”. He further said, “The ancients never did talk of principles separated from affairs. The Six Classics are the statutes and records of the government of the ancient rulers” (Zhang WSTY: 2). These claims formed the foundation of Zhang’s view of history: history referred to the history of the institutions and laws of antiquity, and principles could only be discussed with reference to actual events—history. If the classics were time-bound, that is, within antiquity, then the dao resided therein was temporally circumscribed: 