从前，大概在距今两千五百多年前的春秋时期

[Confucius_Pythagoras]

从前，大概在距今两千五百多年前的春秋时期，有一个人叫子路，他是孔子最年长的学生。

 

Hi all. I found this in the Standard Course Book of HSK5. Can you help me to understand it? Actually, I do have 2 specific questions:

 

1) What is the difference between 距今 and 前. Are they both really needed or just one is enough?

 

2) What is the meaning of 春秋? Spring and autumn? Year? Time?

 

Thanks in advance.

[mungouk]

Hi, welcome to the forums.

 

春秋    Chūn qiū    Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC); Spring and Autumn Annals, chronicle of Lu State (722-481 BC)

Actually it does say "春秋时期", Spring and Autumn period.

 

 

[phills]

I'm not that good at grammar, but I'll give you my interpretation, at the risk of Chinese malpractice.  Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong

 

1. 距今 means counting back from now.  So 2500 years previous to the current era.  前 just means before. 

 

In many cases, you don't need the 距今, and people will just count back from the current time.

 

在两千五百年前的春秋时期，有一个人叫子路  (2500 years ago, during the Spring Autumn Period, there was a man called Zi Lu).

 

As to whether you can just drop 距今 in the sentence as currently structured? 

 

That formulation looks like something you see a lot in historical tales, staring with 从前 (once upon a time).  You get a kind of historical tale feeling.  If you mess with it, it might sound odd.  On the other hand, Chinese grammar is pretty flexible.

 

从前，大概在两千五百多年前的春秋时期，有一个人叫子路

 

I think that looks ok too.  So my guess is yes.