《史记·七十列传·儒林列传》
鲁国西郊有人猎获了麒麟，孔子闻知后哀叹 我的理想不能实现了 ，于是他借助鲁国已有的历史记录撰写《春秋》，用它来表现天子的王法，其文辞精约深隐而寓意丰富博大，后代学者很多人都学习传录它。
西狩获麟，曰 吾道穷矣 。故因史记作春秋，以当王法，其辞微而指博，後世学者多录焉。
Someone hunted a unicorn in the western suburbs of Lu, and Confucius sighed, My ideal cannot be realized. Then he used the existing historical records of Lu to write the "Spring and Autumn Annals" to express the king's law of the emperor. Its language is concise and profound, and its meaning is rich. Many scholars in later generations have studied and passed it down.