Classical Masterpieces Standard Edition: Annotation of the Book of Songs

Author: Chen Xuguo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The earliest poetry anthology in China is the Book of Songs. The Book of Songs is the forefather of Chinese rhymed literature. The Book of Songs is an important source of ancient Chinese literature. These propositions have long become common knowledge among the Chinese people. The Book of Songs consists of three parts: Feng, Ya, and Song. The two Nans have always been included in the Feng poems, and it is not without reason that they are kept separate from the Feng poems. My former teacher, Mr. Guo Junzhong, said: "The Zhou Nan and Zhao Nan refer to Duke Ding of Zhou and Duke Mu of Zhao, respectively. 'Bendan Shi' were their descendants, and 'Nan' refers to the southern regions of the Jianghan River. Therefore, they are somewhat related to the themes sung in the two Nans, but they originally belong to the Feng poems." Generally, Feng poems are considered folk creations, songs of the laboring people. In fact, this is not entirely true. It can even be said that out of the 300 poems in the Book of Songs, only a small portion were truly created by the laboring people. For example, apart from the fishing poems, the Ya and Song poems basically do not include works by the laboring people. While some Feng poems retain the characteristics of folk songs to this day, most are not folk songs. Many of them were originally created by the nobility. Some were refined by noble scholars, making them seem less like works by the laboring people. However, researchers should not, therefore, deny or undervalue the worth of the "300 poems of the Book of Songs."