年鉴是从历书发展而来的。《夏小正》和《吕氏春秋·十二纪》首篇是我国现存最早的月历,按月安排全年的生产、政务、祭祀等活动,具有指导生产、政务、宗教活动的功能,蕴含了原始年鉴的主要特征。这说明在二、三千年前,中国已出现了年鉴的雏形,其之所以没有发展成近代意义上的、成熟的年鉴,主要原因在于中国古代的历书是统治者的专利品,没有将它普及到人民大众中去。 Yearbook is derived from the almanac. The first articles of Xia Xiaosheng and Lu Shi Chun Qiu Shi Ji are the earliest existing calendars in our country. They arrange annual production, government affairs and sacrificial ceremonies on a monthly basis. They have the functions of directing production, government affairs and religious activities. They contain the primitive Yearbook of the main features. This shows that two or three thousand years ago, China had appeared the prototype of the Yearbook. The reason why it failed to develop into a modern and mature Yearbook was mainly due to the fact that the ancient calendar in China was the patented product of the ruler and was not popularized People in the public.