Book of Songs

Author: Chen Xiaoqing, Chen Shuling
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The Book of Songs is a collection of Chinese poetry. Initially known as "poetry" or "three hundred poems." It is said that Confucius once edited and organized it, and by the time Confucianism was revered as the dominant ideology in the Han Dynasty, it was honored as The Book of Songs. The book mainly collects works from the early Zhou Dynasty to the mid-Spring and Autumn Period, spanning over five hundred years, with a total of 305 poems. The time when it was compiled into a book was approximately the Spring and Autumn Period in the 6th century BC. Initially, the "poems" were songs for music, so according to musical tunes, The Book of Songs is divided into three parts: Feng, Ya, and Song.
Feng refers to folk songs from different regions, including the fifteen Feng (e.g., Zhou Nan, Zhao Nan, Bei, Xiong, Wei, Wang, Zheng, Qi, Wei, Tang, Qin, Chen, Huai, Cao, and Bin), totaling 160 poems. Most of these poems are folk songs that express the joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness of the people. Ya, meaning "proper," refers to the court music of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is further divided into Da Ya (Great Ya) and Xiao Ya (Small Ya). Da Ya has 31 poems, mostly from the Western Zhou Dynasty, with a small portion from the late Western Zhou. The authors are mainly upper-class nobles, often praising the achievements of ancestors and former kings, as well as describing banquets. Xiao Ya has 74 poems, mostly from the late Western Zhou, with authors ranging from upper-class nobles to lower-class nobles and even the less privileged. Many of these poems express grievances and criticisms. Song refers to sacrificial hymns sung in temples, divided into Zhou, Lu, and Shang Song, totaling 40 poems.
As the earliest collection of Chinese poetry, The Book of Songs pioneered eternal themes such as love, war, and banquets. With over two thousand six hundred years of history, it has endured for millennia, remaining timeless and influential. It has profoundly shaped later generations and continues to inspire admiration. In compiling this selection, we followed the principles of strong lyrical and artistic qualities with representative content. Based on faithfulness to the original poems and attention to their origins, we translated and annotated this ancient poetry with accurate, vivid, and elegant language. The goal is to help more readers overcome the difficulties of archaic literary language and freely explore the vast river of classical poetry, experiencing the joy of beauty.