Book of Songs (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Huaxia Publishing House
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The Classic of Poetry is a collection of Chinese poetry. In the Pre-Qin period, it was known as "Poetry" or "Three Hundred Poems" and was edited by Confucius. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, following Dong Zhongshu's suggestion to "suppress all schools of thought except Confucianism," "Poetry" was elevated to the status of a classic and named The Classic of Poetry. The existing Classic of Poetry contains 305 poems, including folk songs and temple hymns from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the mid-Eastern Zhou Spring and Autumn Period, spanning over 500 years. Traditionally, it is divided into three categories: Feng, Ya, and Song. The Classic of Poetry has a history of over 2,500 years. For modern readers, understanding it requires not only knowledge of its historical and cultural background but also familiarity with its language. The language of the Classic of Poetry belongs to ancient Chinese, which differs greatly from modern Chinese in terms of phonology, vocabulary, and grammar. The differences in phonology are evident in many poems that no longer rhyme when read in modern Chinese, whereas they did rhyme during the time of the Classic of Poetry. This is a result of the evolution of Chinese phonology. The differences in vocabulary are even more apparent, and this is one of the key aspects this book focuses on. The book strives to explain the various modern Chinese words found in the Classic of Poetry in clear and fluent language. The differences in grammar are also significant. The book has made efforts in this regard, explaining specific ancient Chinese sentence structures such as negative sentences, interrogative sentences with the object of a pronoun placed before the verb, and other formats. Additionally, it explains certain grammatical terms like "yu," "yu," "yan," and "qi," aiming to help readers understand the original text. As a classic, the Classic of Poetry has been studied by scholars throughout the ages, yielding abundant achievements. This book incorporates many annotations from previous scholars but does not blindly follow ancient interpretations.