Shijing Translation and Notes

Author: Zhou Zhenfu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: This is one of the earliest collections of Chinese poetry in our country and has had a broad and profound influence on later literature. However, due to the passage of time and language barriers, understanding this monumental work has become quite challenging for modern readers. The Commercial Press specially commissioned the renowned scholar Zhou Zhenfu to write this book, translating each poem from the Classic of Poetry into modern Chinese. Each poem is preceded by an introduction and followed by annotations and explanations of the main themes. The format is clear, and the explanations are concise.
The Classic of Poetry is our country's earliest collection of poetry, known as Shi in the Pre-Qin period, with over three hundred poems. Confucius referred to it as "three hundred Shi" (Analects·Politics) and also as "reciting three hundred Shi" (Analects·Pinglu). In the Mozi·Public Welfare Chapter, it is mentioned that people "recited three hundred Shi, played three hundred Shi on strings, sang three hundred Shi, and danced three hundred Shi." It is estimated that the Shi transmitted at that time consisted of only three hundred and five poems, but when speaking in round numbers, it was simply said to be three hundred.
By the Han Dynasty, the Shi was revered as a classic, hence the name Classic of Poetry. For example, in the Bian's Book of Han·Bibliography Chapter, it is recorded as "the Classic of Poetry, twenty-eight volumes, from the three schools of Qi, Lu, and Han." The Classic of Poetry is divided into three major categories: Feng, Ya, and Song. According to ancient scholars, what criteria were used for this division? Later scholars have had different views on this, with the most influential theories numbering approximately three:
(1) The theory that categorizes the Shi based on their function, represented by the Great Preface to the Mao School of Poetry.
(2) The theory that categorizes the Shi based on the identity of the authors and the content of the poems, represented by Zhu Xi's Commentary on the Collection of Poems.
(3) The theory that categorizes the Shi based on music, represented by Zheng Qiao's Great Canon of the Classics.
Personally, I agree with the third theory. Zheng Qiao said, "The music of the local customs is called Feng, the music of the court is called Ya, and the music of the ancestral temples is called Song." In ancient times, the term "Feng" referred to the tunes. The Feng of Zheng refers to the tunes of Zheng, and The Feng of Qi refers to the tunes of Qi—all are poems sung to regional musical melodies.