The Book of Songs, an anthology comprising 305
odes sung to the accompaniment of music and
dance, is the earliest collection of Chinese poems.
The actual date of its composition remains undetermined,
even though two traditions account for
the origin and survival of the songs.
The first tradition asserts that CONFUCIUS selected
the songs from an earlier corpus of over
3,000 songs. He chose only songs that best exemplified
his ideas about statecraft and harmonious
human relations and revised the musical scores before
placing them in order. The second tradition,
currently held by Chinese scholars, believes that
the Zhou (Chou) dynasty ruler sent out court officials
to collect folk songs in the feudal states of his
kingdom. The feudal lords collected the songs and
forwarded them to the ruler, who would listen to
them and ascertain whether his subjects lived happily
under his reign. The songs also enabled the officials
in the royal court to gather information
regarding the prevailing customs of the vassal
states. Despite these differing traditions,Confucius
was, in both cases, credited with the selection and
editing of the collection now known to us as the
Book of Songs.
The songs are generally written in four-syllabic
verses with occasional irregular meter. This restrictive
structural style was later abandoned in favor of
the freer and variant five- and seven-syllabic verses.
The anthology is divided into three unequal
sections: 160 feng, or folk songs; 105 ya, or court
songs; and 40 song (sung), or sacrificial songs. The
feng (“air of the states”) songs collectively represent
each of the 15 feudal states in ancient China.
The stylistic uniformity among them suggests that
the songs have been reworked. Simple in style and
spontaneous in expression, often about courtship
and love, the feng songs look at the lives of common
people, examining their hardship, joys, misgivings,
and work. Since they make the common
people their protagonist, the feng poems are read
as social commentaries and protests at the state of
Chinese society. Scholars suspect these may be the
latest poems in the book, dating to the period of
chaos and disorder following the decline of the
Chou dynasty.
The section of the Book of Songs containing the
ya, or “courtly” songs, is divided into two main
parts: 74 xiao ya (hsiao ya; “Lesser Courtly Songs”)
and 31 da ya (ta ya; “Greater Courtly Songs”). The
hsiao ya contain songs devoted to praises of the
king and deal with concerns of courtly or royal life,
such as ceremonies, feasts, and hunting expeditions.
The da ya section, whose poems are considerably
longer, discusses the legendary heroes and
myths of the Zhou dynasty. The ya poems, which
celebrate the pleasures of the world, were most
likely written by aristocrats at the Chinese court.
The song odes are hymns of praise and ritual
songs describing religious ceremonies and celebrating
a particular dynasty’s victories in military
campaigns. This section contains 40 religious and
sacrificial hymns divided into three parts on the
basis of geographical origin. Thirty-one odes are
attributed to the Zhou court, four to the Lu court,
and five to the Shang dynasty. These songs, accompanied
by music and dancing, were performed
while the king worshipped his ancestors and celebrated
their heroic deeds. The song odes are believed
to be the earliest of the songs collected in the
book, and their religious character and pompous
style suggest they were commissioned by the kings
and written to glorify the glory of the Chinese state.
By the time of the Han dynasty, the Book of
Songs had entered the Chinese canon of literary
texts. Confucius’s interest in the book played an
important part in its survival. In addition, his advice
to his disciples best summarizes the importance
of the work in Chinese literary tradition:
Young men, why do you not study the Songs?
They can be used to inspire, to make you fit for
company, to express grievances; near at hand
they will teach you how to serve your fathers,
and, looking further, how to serve your sovereign;
they also enable you to learn the names of
many birds, beasts, plants, and trees.
English Versions of the Book of Songs
Legge, James. The Chinese Classics, with a translation,
critical and exegetical notes, prolegomena, and copious
indexes. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University
Press, 1960.
The Book of Songs. Translated by Arthur Waley. New
York: Grove Press, 1996.
Works about the Book of Songs
Hu, Patricia Pin-ching. “The Book of Odes.” In Random
Talks on Classical Chinese Poetry. Hong Kong:
Joint Sun Publishing Co., 1990.
Lynn, Richard J. “Introduction.” In Guide to Chinese
Poetry and Drama. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1984.