Analysis and Interpretation of the Book of Songs

Author: Nie Shiqiao, Han Zhaoqi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-03-01
Features: As the annotations to the Book of Songs were nearing completion, the long-awaited bamboo slip document Confucius on the Book of Songs was finally published by Shanghai Guji Press at a high price. This is exciting news for anyone interested in the Book of Songs 300 poems, and the author felt a considerable sense of tension: after reading the Book of Songs for many years and doing some annotations and discussions, had they not been doing quite a bit of self-satisfied and unconventional work? If fortunate, could the claims on the bamboo slips verify even a few of their own modest insights? Fortunately, before the annotations were printed, there was a considerable amount of time spent reading the text on the bamboo slips, observing others' research findings, and absorbing the content of Confucius on the Book of Songs into the annotations of this book. This should be made known to the respected readers.
The newly discovered bamboo slip document Confucius on the Book of Songs from the Warring States period holds significant value for interpreting the Book of Songs. First, it can correct long-standing misunderstandings of certain poems, such as the Han Guang from the Zhou Nan section. The Han Dynasty's Mao School of the Book of Songs misinterpreted it as a poem that expressed the moral "education" of "King Wen," while modern scholars view it as a love poem. Looking at the bamboo slips, it turns out that the poem was originally a warning to the young men of the Zhou family not to pursue the "southern water" and the "maiden" of the southern lands, hence the Confucius on the Book of Songs calls it "impossible to conquer without attacking" and "knowing the constant."
Another example is the Guan Ju section. Ancients discussed it in terms of "praise and criticism," but in the Confucius on the Book of Songs, Confucius focuses on its "using beauty to illustrate ritual," which not only allows for a fresh understanding of the poetic views of the Han Dynasty but also corrects the modern misconception of viewing it as a love poem. The Guan Ju and Han Guang are not love poems, and the author had already sensed this while annotating the Book of Songs for a publishing house in Shaanxi. Now, with the confirmation from the Warring States bamboo slips, it is truly a gratifying experience! This is not to say they are particularly clever, but rather that carefully comprehending the text and meticulously examining the documents, striving to find connections between the meaning of the poems and the logic of their historical context, is the right way to interpret classic texts.
Reading Confucius on the Book of Songs can also validate some old theories. For instance, the various records from the Han Dynasty about the "officials collecting poems" are clearly stated in the bamboo slips. The author has written a short essay discussing this issue, which is attached for reference. Another important point concerns the arrangement of the current Book of Songs. When discussing the "Songs of Praise" (i.e., the Zhou Songs), the Confucius on the Book of Songs calls them "extensive virtue"; when discussing the "Great Xia" (i.e., the Great airs), it calls them "splendid virtue," and when discussing the "Small Xia" (i.e., the Small airs), it states: "full of difficult words and grievances, it is declining." When specifically discussing poems like Jie Nan Shan and Shi Yue Zhong from the Small Xia, it says, "all speak of the decline of the superiors, and the kings and nobles are ashamed." "Extensive virtue" refers to broad virtue. From the "extensive virtue" of the Zhou Songs to the "splendid virtue" of the Great airs, and then to the "decline" of the Small Xia, it is clear that the Zhou Songs and the Great and Small airs follow a chronological order.
There have been various speculations about dividing the "airs" into the Great and Small, but now it is clear that the division into the Great and Small primarily reflects the chronological order of the era. As for certain works in the current Great airs that are indeed from the late Western Zhou period, they were likely assigned by later editors for specific purposes. In other words, the arrangement of the Book of Songs has been altered by others after the Confucius on the Book of Songs. If this book has any value, beyond what has been mentioned, it lies in its dating of some poems, especially in the Great and Small airs, as well as its pursuit of understanding the original meaning of the poems, which is the goal of the annotator. Whether it has been done well or not depends on the readers' criticism and corrections.
Having studied the Book of Songs for many years, the author first studied under Professor Xia Chuancai, later ( is a Chinese idiom meaning "" - fortunate) joined the school of Professor Qi Kegong and Professor Nie Shiqiao, and in both cases, they studied the Book of Songs under their teachers' guidance. Later, after entering the workforce, they annotated the Book of Songs twice. However, on many issues, they still felt powerless, truly making them feel ashamed of their limited abilities! Now, this book is merely a summary of their stage of learning.
It must also be noted that nearly twenty poems in the Feng section were drafted by their classmate Cao Yizhen and later revised by the author. Cao Yizhen is meticulous in their studies and provides annotations for each poem of the Book of Songs, which is very good training. The author went through the same process back then.