Part II The Book of Songs诗诗诗（）

The Book of Songs

The history of Chinese Literature begins with

《The Book of Songs》-- 诗诗诗《》 in Chinese characters —

（pronounced as “Shī Jíng”）.《The Book of Songs》is

a record of verbal poems appeared more than 2,500

years ago. We know that music was already very

developed at the time when the book came into

being, as a matter of fact all the verses in the

book could be sung.

The poems in 《The Book of Songs》were collected by

scholars. There had been four versions of 《 The

Book of Songs 》 . That is to say four scholars

engaged in the work of collections. They were

Lu(诗), Qi 诗诗（）, Han 诗诗（） and Mao Heng. Qi’s version

got lost during the Three-Kingdom Period, Lu’s

version got lost during the West Jin Period and

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Han’s version disappeared after Southern Song

Period. Only Mao Heng’s collection survived, and

《 The Book of Songs 》 we read today is actually

Mao’s version. Unfortunately we can not find any

traces of the other three versions today.

According to documents of Qin and Han Dynasties,

there were two sources for the book; firstly,

designated officials of the Zhou Court (referred

to as “travelling officials” at the time) were

responsible for collecting local ballads for

purpose of providing to the King’s Court. Such

collection carried strong local flavor and

reflected local attitude towards the rule of the

King. Assisted by duke states, these “travelling

officials” were able to cover a very broad land

expanses and gather ballads from localities;

secondly, there was a system of “contributing

poems” at the Court of Zhou, dukes and officials

should present poems to the King at special

occasions. A considerable number of the poems in

the Part of “Ya” was gathered through such

presentations.

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Some people held that Confucius made some

deletions on 《 The Book of Songs 》 . But most

historians tend to denial of such a conclusion,

because they couldn’t find any proof to support

it. However, Confucius must have read these

poems, since he mentioned them in his works. He

died in 479 B.C., so the book was compiled

earlier, probably in the 6th century B.C., It has

been verified that the earliest poems included in

the book came into being around 1122 B.C. when

Zhou Defeated Shang. Aside from these poems, 《The

Book of Songs》also included those appeared until

mid Spring and Autumn Period (7th century B.C.).

So, the book covers a period of 500 years.

In the Han Dynasty, 《 The Book of Songs 》 was

formally listed as one of the Five Classics that

should be taught at schools. (The other four

classics are 《The Book of Changes》,《The Book of

History》,《The Book of Rites》and《The Spring and

Autumn Annals》.

The book is usually divided into three parts:

The first part is entitled “ 诗（ feng ”） , which

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means ballads. So, this part is a collection of

local ballads, As a matter of fact, it is a

collection of ballads in 15 states.

The second part is called “ 诗 (ya)”, which means

dynastic hymns. So, this part is a collection of

dynastic hymns. Why is that? Because “ya” were

pronunciations of the Qin dialect. During the

Spring and Autumn period, the area Qin occupied

as where Zhou Dynasty was, therefore, “ya” was

Zhou music, to be exact, and it was the music of

the central government. “Ya” is sub-divided into

“Greater Ya” and “Minor Ya”.

The third part is named “ 诗 (song)”, which means

song, ode, eulogy. In ancient times, “song” also

meant “appearance”. So, “song” music was dancing

music, music for both singing and dancing. Such

music was used when offering sacrifices to

ancestors. So, “song” was poems for sacrificial

songs.

It should be noted that the three parts used to

be arranged in order of “Feng”, “Ya” and “Song”.

Yet, in August 2000, a news dispatch from

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Shanghai reported that the city’s museum, after

studied on 31 pieces of bamboo slips of the state

of Chu, fount out the arrangement revealed by

these slips was in a reversed order: “Song” was

the first part followed by “Greater Ya” and

“Minor Ya”, the part of “Feng” came last.

How many poems are there in 《The Book of Songs》?

In the part of “Feng”, there are 160 poems. In

the part of “Ya”, there are 111 poems. In the

part of “Song”, there are 40 poems. So, all

together 311 poems. However, in the part of “Ya”,

there are six poems with only titles and no

content, so if you delete the six, there are 305

poems. That’s why we always refer to the 《 The

Book of Songs》as “300 poems”.

The Part of Song

This part is usually sub-divided into three

sections: Zhou Song, Lu Song and Shang Song.

Being the earliest of all poems in the book, most

poems in Zhou Song were devoted to the ancestors’

temples and ceremonies in the content of offering

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sacrifices, songs, dances and prayers. The

nobility mostly wrote them. People used to devote

more attention to the first poem of each part and

refer them as “four starters” (Greater Ya and

Minor Ya here stands as an independent self.) The

first poem—The Quiet Temple in this part is from

Zhou Song, it reads (letters in the bracket is

how the line sounds in Chinese):

诗诗诗诗， Wu mu qing miao诗诗诗诗！ Su yong xian xiang!诗诗诗诗， Ji ji suo shi,诗诗诗诗； …. Bin wen zhi de;诗诗诗诗， Dui yue zai tian,诗诗诗诗诗。 Jun ben zou zai miao.诗诗诗诗， Pi xian pi zheng,诗诗诗诗诗！ Qu yi yu ren si!

Ah, the solemn and quiet temple.

Dukes assisting the ceremony look serious and sober

So many officials gathered in the hall.

They have carried on the virtues of King Wen;

To sing praise of King Wen’s soul in the sky,

They are running and preparing swiftly in the temple.

The virtue of King Wen is so illustrious and celebrated,

He will be remembered forever!

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This poem does not rhyme in the original. Yet its

success lies in the way it depicts the virtue of

King Wen of Zhou. If the method of direct

description is applied, many more words would

have to be used.

The Temple of King Wen of Zhou

Since farming was quite developed in Zhou

Dynasty, there are many poems about farming in

the book. The poems that depict farming tools are

better ones, for instance “Weeding (zai shan, 诗

诗)” and “Good Farming Tools (liang si, 诗诗).were

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well composed, they can also serve as important

historical data. Lu Song and Shang Song appeared

after the imperial court of Zhou Dynasty moved

eastward. Some people believe that this part is

of comparatively low artistic value, because of

its crude writing technique and poor use of

rhyme.

The Part of Greater Ya

Most poems in Greater Ya were for the occasion of

sacrificial banquets. Among them 7 poems can be

considered the epics of Western Zhou (11th century

–771 B.C.), which depicts important deeds of the

Zhou ancestors. The first poem of this part is

entitled “King Wen”, which recalls the virtue of

the hero, explains why Zhou could successfully

replace Yin Dynasty. The poem was intended to

serve as a lesson for King Wen’s successors.

诗诗 Weng Wang

诗诗诗诗， Wen wang zai tian,诗诗诗诗。 Wu zhao yu tian.诗诗诗诗， Zhou sui jiu bang,诗诗诗诗。 Qi ming wei xin.

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诗诗诗诗， You zhou pi xian,诗诗诗诗。 Di ming pi shi.诗诗诗诗， Wen wang zhi xiang,诗诗诗诗。 Zai di zuo you.

诗诗诗诗， Wei wei wen wang,诗诗诗诗。 Ling wen bu yi.诗诗诗诗， Chen xi zai zhou,诗诗诗诗诗。 Hou wen wang sun zi.诗诗诗诗， Wen wang sun zi,诗诗诗诗。 Ben zhi bai shi.诗诗诗诗， Fan zhou zhi shi,诗诗诗诗。 Pi xian yi shi.

诗诗诗诗， Shi zhi pi xian,诗诗诗诗。 Jue you yi yi.诗诗诗诗， Si huang duo shi,诗诗诗诗。 Sheng ci wang guo.诗诗诗诗， Wang guo ke sheng,诗诗诗诗。 Wei zhou zhi zhen.诗诗诗诗， Ji ji suo shi,诗诗诗诗。 Wen wang yi ning.

诗诗诗诗， Mu mu wen wang,诗诗诗诗诗。 Wu ji xi jing zhi.诗诗诗诗， Jia zai tian ming,诗诗诗诗。 You shang sun zi.诗诗诗诗, Shang zhi sun zi,诗诗诗诗。 Qi li pi yi.诗诗诗诗， Shang di ji ming,诗诗诗诗。 Hou yu zhou fu.

诗诗诗诗， Hou yu zhou fu,诗诗诗诗。 Tian ming mi chang.诗诗诗诗， Yin shi fu min,诗诗诗诗。 Luo jiang yu jing.诗诗诗诗， Jue zuo luo jiang,诗诗诗诗。 Chang fu fu xu.诗诗诗诗， Wang zhi jin chen,诗诗诗诗。 Wu nian er zu.

诗诗诗诗， Wu nian er zu,诗诗诗诗。 Yu xiu jue de.诗诗诗诗， Yong yan pei ming,

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诗诗诗诗。 Zi qiu duo fu.诗诗诗诗诗， Yin zhi wei sang shi,诗诗诗诗。 Ke pei shang di.诗诗诗诗， Yi jian yu yin,诗诗诗诗。 Jun ming bu yi.

诗诗诗诗， Ming zhi bu yi,诗诗诗诗。 Wu e er gong.诗诗诗诗， Xuan zhao yi wen,诗诗诗诗诗。 You yu yin zi tian.诗诗诗诗， Shang tian zhi zai,诗诗诗诗。 Wu sheng wu xiu.诗诗诗诗， Yi xing wen wang,诗诗诗诗。 Wan bang zuo fu.

A portrait of King Wen

King Wen

The soul of King Wen has ascended to the Heaven,

His soul is illustrious and celebrated there.

Though Zhou is an old state,

It is instructed by the Heaven to build a new one.

The glorious and honorable Zhou,

Abides by the will of the Heavenly Emperor in the total.

The soul of King Wen has ascended to the Heaven,

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So lofty to be aside by the Heavenly Emperor.

The diligent and enterprising King Wen,

Your name will be spread forever.

The Heavenly Emperor granted him the task of building Zhou,

Granted endless happiness to his offspring.

Proliferates for generations.

All officials inherited the ranks of nobles,

Their families will be glorious for long.

To enjoy glory for long,

One has to be farsighted, respectful and diligent.

Numerous able and virtuous talents,

Have been born in this state.

To develop this state,

Rely on these pillars.

Having gathered so many talents,

King Wen could set at ease his mind.

The bearing of King Wen so serious and respectful,

He is above-board and cautious.

Decided by the order of the Heaven,

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The offspring of Shang are now subjects of Zhou.

The offspring of Shang,

Are numerous in number.

Since the Heavenly Emperor has voiced his will,

The complied and submitted to Zhou.

Submitted themselves to Zhou,

Inconsistent is the heavenly will.

The submitted Yin nobles work hard,

They are servants at the sacrifice in the capital.

They work at the sacrificial ceremony,

With sacrificial outfit and Yin caps on them.

Being now devoted subjects of the King,

You have to thank your ancestors.

In thanking your ancestors,

You should cultivate your virtue and conduct.

Forever comply with the will of the Heaven,

You will be able to get various happiness.

When Shang hasn’t lost the heart of the people,

It conformed to the will of the Heaven.

Take Yin as a lesson,

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What may change is the will of the Heaven.

Though the will of the Heaven may change,

You shouldn’t alienate yourself from the Heaven.

Try to spread your good name,

Be cautious and respectful as desired by the Heaven.

This is how the Heaven acts,

Without smell and sound.

Learn from the example of King Wen,

You would win the trust of states under the Heaven.

We should note the arrangement that the last line

in each paragraph is partially or entirely

repeated in the first line of the next paragraph

is for purpose of stressing and changing of rhyme

as well.

Some of the poems in this section touch on very

specific things, for instance, “诗诗， sheng min or

The Birth of People” depicts the life of Hou Ji,

the first ruler of Zhou and how he promoted the

growing of five crops. Another example would be

“诗， mian, Continuation”, which is somewhat like a

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narrative poem that recorded how King Tai moved

his court to Qixia.

Some satirical poems written at the fall of Zhou

are well composed. “诗诗， sang rou, The Softness of

Mulberry” is the longest poem in 《 The Book of

Songs》， it is compact, well organized, coherent

and voiced the poet’s opinions on politics of the

time.

The Part of Minor Ya

“The Minor Ya” part includes not only poems

written around the late Zhou period, but also

those written after the imperial court was moved

to the east.

The first poem of this part, “The Deer Call” was

a song used at official banquets in the Zhou

Dynasty. According to the customs of rites at the

time, music must be played during banquets, and

“The Deer Call” was often sung at such occasions:

诗诗诗诗诗诗， You you lu ming,诗诗诗诗。 Shi ye zhi ping.

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诗诗诗诗， Wo you jia bin,诗诗诗诗。 Gu se cui sheng.诗诗诗诗， Cui sheng gu huang,诗诗诗诗。 Cheng kuang shi jiang.诗诗诗诗， Ren zhi hao wo,诗诗诗诗。 Shi wo zhou xing.

诗诗诗诗， You you lu ming,诗诗诗诗。 Shi ye zhi hao.诗诗诗诗， Wo you jia bin,诗诗诗诗。 De yin kong zhao.诗诗诗诗， Shi min bu tiao,诗诗诗诗诗诗。 Jun zi shi ze shi xiao.诗诗诗诗， Wo you zhi jiu,诗诗诗诗诗诗。 Jia bin shi yan yi ao.

诗诗诗诗， You you lu ming,诗诗诗诗。 Shi ye zhi qin.诗诗诗诗， Wo you jia bin,诗诗诗诗。 Gu se gu qin.诗诗诗诗， Gu se gu qin,诗诗诗诗。 He yue qie zhan.诗诗诗诗， Wo you zhi jiu,诗诗诗诗诗诗诗。Yi yan yue jia bin zhi xin

.

The Deer Call(Based on the translation of James Legge1)

1 When I was contemplating how to render this poem into English, I searched

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The deer call to one another with pleased sounds,

Eating the wormwood of the fields.

I have here admirable guests,

For them we blow the bamboo organ and play the lutes.

The blow shakes all the organ’s tongues,

I present to them baskets of offerings.

For they love me,

And will show me the perfect path.

With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,

Eating in the fields the artimisia.

The admirable guests are here,

Their virtuous fame is an example of grandeur.

They show us not to conduct frivooous behavior,

All gentlemen wish to be their follower.

I have excellent liqueur,

With which I treat my guests for their pleasure.

for a long time proper words for the first line, which reads, “you you lu ming”, “you you” is the sound a deer gives when it calls, “lu” in Chinese isa deer, “ming” is to call, to cry, or to bell. Frustrated, I turned to my long time friend Professor Jan Walls in Canada for help. He provided me withJames Legge’s translation of the poem, and advised that “deer’s cry” can be used. Almost at the same time, my British colleague in Reykyavik came up with the word “bell”. But, most of those who attended my lectures at the University of Iceland thought “call” is a better word. So, I used the word “call” and revised the rendering, which is the only translation in this bookthat is not entirely mine.

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The deer call to one another with pleased sounds,

Eating the celery of the fields.

I have here the admirable guests,

For them we play lutes and other string instruments.

Playing lutes and other string instruments,

Our joy lasts long and is so harmonious.

I have excellent liqueur,

To feast and make glad the hearts of my admirable guests.

Aside from banquet poems and satirical poems,

there are lyric poems as well. Many poems in the

Minor Ya section are beautifully composed. Let me

quote part of Chapter XI of “ 诗 诗， cai wei,

Collection of Rose”:

诗诗诗诗， Xi wo wang yi 诗诗诗诗， Yang liu yi yi 诗诗诗诗， Jin wo lai si, 诗诗诗诗。 Yu xue fei fei

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诗诗诗诗， Xing dao chi chi, 诗诗诗诗。 Zai ke zai ji. 诗诗诗诗， Wo xin shang bei, 诗诗诗诗。 Mo zhi wo ai.

The Returning Soldier

I thought of the time when left home,

Flapping was the branches of willow.

Today, I am returning home,

Falling thick and fast is flakes of snow.

With heavy legs I stroll,

With thirst and hunger my steps and slow.

I am so miserable,

Who knows about my sorrow?

This poem is about a soldier. When he left for

war, it was nice and warm with willow branches

flapping, he was returning home after his troops

won the war, yet, he didn’t feel happy, on the

contrary, he was miserable, not only because it

was snowing so heavily, he lost so many of his

fellow fighters and the war didn’t do his family

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any good. The poem does give a vivid and concrete

picture, and the reader can feel how miserable

the soldier was. This poem has been popular and

on the lips of many people. There are also love

poems, let’s take “诗诗， xi sang, Mulberry on the

Lowland”:

诗诗诗诗， Xi sang you e, 诗诗诗诗。 Qi ye ze nuo. 诗诗诗诗， Ji jian jun zi, 诗诗诗诗。 Qi le ru he.

诗诗诗诗， Xi sang you e, 诗诗诗诗。 Qi ye you wo. 诗诗诗诗， Ji jian jun zi, 诗诗诗诗。 Yun he bu le.

诗诗诗诗， Xi sang you e, 诗诗诗诗， Qi ye you you. 诗诗诗诗， Ji jian jun zi, 诗诗诗诗。 De yin kong jiao.

诗诗诗诗， Xin hu ai yi, 诗诗诗诗？ Xia bu wei yi? 诗诗诗诗， Zhong xin cang zhi, 诗诗诗诗？ He ri wang zhi?

Beautiful mulberry trees on the low land,

Its leaves full and round.

Now I see my man,

I’m filled with delight.

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Beautiful mulberry tres on the low land,

Its leaves fertile and soft.

Now I see my man,

With joy I feel wild.

Beautiful mulberry trees on the low land,

Its leaves deeply green.

Now I see my man,

When talk about love there is no end.

I love you by heart,

Why I dare not mention it?

I burry it deep in heart,

On which day can I forget?

I think you would agree that the feeling this

poem projected is very sincere and we know that

the girl will never forget her love.

The Part of Feng

This is a part of local ballads. Most poems in

this part are lyrics depicting labor, love and

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ordinary social life. We regard it as the cream

in 《 The Book of Songs 》 , because these poems

reflected the experience and expectations of the

laboring people of the time; simple as they were,

they were vivid and lively; verbal poems as they

were, they were also observations and reflections

on the society from the people with their own

eyes, they were therefore a true revelation of

the actual society of the time and at the same

time an expression of the life and desire of the

people. That’s why we say this part contains much

realism and affinity to the people. It is the

most brilliant part among all the ‘300 poems”. It

is actually the beginning of the realistic

tradition of the Chinese classic literature.

Let’s now read the first poem of this part, “The

Warbling Ospreys”, a ballad of the State of Zhou

Nan. As a matter of fact, “Feng”, or “Local

Ballads” has always been put at the beginning of

《The Book of Songs》. When you open 《The Book of

Songs 》 , the first thing that meets your eye is

“The warbling Ospreys”:

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诗 诗诗 Feng. Zhou Nan

诗诗 Guan Ju 诗诗诗诗, Guan guan ju jiu, 诗诗诗诗。 Zai he zhi zhou, 诗诗诗女 , Yao tiao shu nu, 诗诗诗诗。 Jun zi hao qiu.

诗诗诗诗, Cen ci xing cai, 诗诗诗诗。 Zuo you liu zhi. 诗诗诗女 , Yao tiao shu nu, 诗诗诗诗。 Wu mei qiu zhi. 诗诗诗诗, Qiu zhi bu de, 诗诗诗诗。 Wu mei si fu. 诗诗诗诗, You zai you zai, 诗诗诗诗。 Zhan zhuan fan ce.

诗诗诗诗, Cen ce xing cai, 诗诗诗诗。 Zuo you cai zhi. 诗诗诗女 , Yao tiao shu nu, 诗诗诗诗。 Qin se you zhi. 诗诗诗诗, Cen ci xing cai, 诗诗诗诗。 Zuo you mao zhi. 诗诗诗女， Yao tiao shu nu, 诗诗诗诗。 Zhong gu yue zhi.

Two ospreys in the cover of 《The Book of Songs》

The Warbling Ospreys

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On a sand bar in the river,

Two warbling ospreys are sitting together.

To match that pretty and graceful girl,

For a gentleman it would be most ideal.

Trying to catch fromf left and right,

The unevenly grown water plant.

That pretty and graceful girl,

Is whom he chases after when asleep or awake.

While his efforts frustrated,

He still misses her day and night.

The longing for her cann’t be suppressed,

He cann’t help toss and turn himself in bed.

Trying to collect from left and right,

The unevenly grown water plant.

Playing seven and twenty-five stringed instrument,

To win the pretty and graceful girl’s heart.

Trying to pick from left and right,

The unevenly grown water plant.

To please that pretty and graceful girl,

Bells and drums were struck.

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This poem depicts how a man pays court to a lady

and finally succeeds and marries her. It is a

serious matter, not a one-time affair, not merely

a leisurely conduct. Yet, you find no hot passion

in it. The feeling it projects to you is

controlled and moderate. So, why is it the first

piece of the entire book? Nobody thoght it was

put there randomly. It was the only poem in the

book Confucius commented on. He said the poem

depicted “pleasure, but not licentiously; greif,

but not in a heart-broken way.” Some critics

thought that this poem is the most representative

of the part of “Feng”, they even went so far as

to say that when the “Feng” is prevails, it could

set right the relationship of husband and wife.

Ancient Chinese held that human relationsn

started with those between a husband and his

wife, and on which all perfect ethics is based.

“ 诗 诗 , qi yue, July” among “ 诗 诗， bin feng, The

Ballad of the State of Bin” described the life of

farmers in a year during which they laboured

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endlessly, yet by the year end they didn’t even

have coarse cloth to cover their bodies. The poem

draws clearly a true picture of how poor the

labouring people were. Following are the first

two paragraphs of the poem:

诗诗诗诗， Qi yue liu huo, 诗诗诗诗。 Jiu yue shou yi. 诗诗诗诗诗一， Yi zhi ri bi fa, 诗诗诗诗诗， Er zhi ri li lie, 诗诗诗诗， Wu yi wu he, 诗诗诗诗。 He yi zu sui. 诗诗诗诗诗， San zhi ri yu si, 诗诗诗诗诗， Si zhi ri ju zhi, 诗诗诗诗， Tong wo fu zi, 诗诗诗诗， Ye bi man mu, 诗诗诗诗。 Tian ju zhi xi.

诗诗诗诗， Qi yue liu huo, 诗诗诗诗。 Jiu yue shou yi. 诗诗诗诗， Chun ri zai yang, 诗诗诗诗。 You ming cang geng. 诗诗诗女 ， Nu zhi yi kuang, 诗诗诗诗， Zun bi wei xing, 诗诗诗诗。 Yuan qiu rou sang. 诗诗诗诗， Chun ri chi chi, 诗诗诗诗。 Cai fan qi qi. 诗诗诗女 ， Nu xin shang bei, 诗诗诗诗诗诗。 Dai ji gong zi tong gui.

In July descend in the west is the Mars,

Others get their winter cloths in September.

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A painting describing the poem

North wind roars in November,

It is even cloder in December,

Our bodies have nothing to cover,

How can we spend the year?

In January we repair hoes,

In February we are busy in the fields,

We work with our wives and sons,

Soup and food sent to the fields,

Farming officers are all smiles.

In July descend in the west is the Mars,

Others get winter cloths ready in September.

In spring the sun is warmer,

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Orioles are chirping louder.

Girls carry big baskets,

Walking on a small path,

To go and collect mulberry,

The spring sun is in no hurry,

They get so much white wormwood.

The girls really worry,

The son of the lord may take all the wood away.

The poem entitled “Cutting Down Sandalwood” in “诗

诗 ， wei feng, The Ballad of the State of Wei”

voiced ordinary people’s anger towards rulers.

Please read the first paragraph:

诗诗诗诗诗， Kan kan fa tan xi, 诗诗诗诗诗诗， Zhi zhi he zhi gan xi, 诗诗诗诗诗诗诗。 He shui qing qie lian yi xi. 诗诗诗诗， Bu jia bu se, 诗诗诗诗诗诗诗？ Hu qu he san bai chan xi? 诗诗诗诗， Bu shou bu lie, 诗诗诗诗诗诗诗诗？ Hu zhan er ting you xuan huan xi? 诗诗诗诗， Bi jun zi xi, 诗诗诗诗。 Bu su can xi.

Cutting down the sandalwood,

Lay it on the riverside,

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Ring upon ring, the ripples of the water look like.

You never plant and harvest,

How come you take away so many bundles of wood?

You never hunt,

Why you hang so many badgers in your courtyard?

Ah, you gentlemen,

You do nothing, yet profit.

In this part, you can find poems describing a

man’s feeling about serving in the army and about

giving up farming and working in corvee. “诗诗， bao

yu, Wings of a Bustard” in “ 诗 诗， tang feng, The

Ballads of the State of Tang” is such a poem.

Please read the first paragraph:

诗诗诗诗， Su su bao yu, 诗诗诗诗。 Ji yu bao xu. 诗诗诗诗， Wang shi mi gu, 诗诗诗诗诗。 Bu neng yi ji shu. 诗诗诗诗？ Fu mu he hu? 诗诗诗诗， You you cang tian. 诗诗诗诗？ He qi you suo?

Bustard flaps its wings,

It can’t rest assured in the nest on the ork.

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There is no end in the corvee,

No time to attend crops.

Who’s going to care if parents die of hunger?

Ah, my limitless heaven.

When could there be a place for my shelter?

This part also contains a good number of rich and

beautiful poems of love and marriage. For

instance, “诗诗， mu gua, Papaya” in “诗诗，wei feng,

The Ballads of the State of Wei” says, “You give

me a papaya, I return a piece of jade to you,

this is not a return gift, but a keepsake for a

long lasting love.” Isn’t it a simple expression

of mutual love and dedication? Let me now quote

“诗女， jing nu, The Quiet Girl” in the Ballads of

the State of Bei:

诗 诗诗女 ， Jing nu qi shu, 诗诗诗诗诗。 Si wo yu cheng yu. 诗诗诗诗， Ai er bu jian, 诗诗诗诗。 Sao shou chi chu.

诗 诗诗女 ， Jing nu qi cuan, 诗诗诗诗， Yi wo tong guan. 诗诗诗诗， Tong guan you wei, 诗诗 诗女 。 Yue yi ru mei.

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诗诗诗诗， Zi mu kui ti, 诗诗诗诗。 Xun mei qie yi. 诗 诗诗诗女 ， Fei ru zhi wei mei, 诗诗诗诗。 Mei ren zhi yi.

The Quiet Girl

The quiet girl is so pretty,

She dates me at the corner tower of the city.

She tries to hide from me,

I tweak my ears and scratch my cheeks in anxiety.

The quiet girl is so beautiful,

She gives me a handful of red grass.

I like the red grass for its freshness,

I like the red grass for its beautiful color.

It is collected from the pasture for me,

I like it for its unique beauty.

It’s not its unique beauty that I like,

It’s the fact that it’s given to me by a real beauty.

The poems describes a man’s profound love. There

is also something different, one that depicts a

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girl’s agony when she is disappointed in love is

“诗诗， jiao tong, The Cunning Boy” in “诗诗， zheng

feng, the Ballads of the State of Zheng”, which

诗诗诗诗， Bi jiao tong xi, 诗诗诗诗诗。 Bu yu wo yan xi. 诗诗诗诗， Wei zi zhi gu, 诗诗诗诗诗诗。 Shi wo bu neng can xi.

诗诗诗诗， Bi jiao tong xi, 诗诗诗诗诗。 Bu yu wo shi xi. 诗诗诗诗， Wei zi zhi gu, 诗诗诗诗诗诗。 Shi wo bu neng xi xi.

You cunning boy,

Never speak to me again.

Because of you,

I have no heart to dine.

You cunning boy,

Never have meals with me again.

Because of you,

I can not sleep night out and in.

It is not possible to go to each poem in 《 The

Book of Songs》, however, one should remember that

the poems cover a wide range of content, some

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voiced the sadness of women after they were

abandoned by men, some cried out their pains for

having no freedom in love.

Features of 《The Book of Songs》

Of course, the basic feature of 《 The Book of

Songs 》 is that all the poems it contains were

verbal poems and they were verses of songs. Yet,

the following should also be noted:

I. All together, 2, 949 characters are being

used in the book (some have been used more

than once). Among them, many are polysemics.

If we consider the meanings, all the

polysemies (the same word that contains many

different meanings) expressed, there are more

than 3,900 single sylaable characters and

almost 1,000 disyllable words are used in the

book. So, if we put them together, we can say

《The Book of Songs》contains 5,000 characters.

They appear in the form of nauns, verbs,

adjectives, reiterative locations and

function words.

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II. There are 7, 284 lines in the book, among

which 6, 724 are four-character lines, which

take up 92% of all the lines. Generally

speaking, 《 The Book of Songs 》 is basically

four-character-a line poems.

III.Some poems have ten chapters (paragraphs),

some have only one. Some chapters

(paragraphs) contain 22 lines, some only two.

In some poems, the structure and the words

used in different paragraphs are almost the

same, with only a few changes of characters.

This method of repetition enables a full

expression of feelings, enforces the power of

appeal. This striking feature of the language

in 《 The Book of Songs 》 has a far-reaching

influence on Chinese poetry.

IV. Ways of rhyme: you can find alliterations in

the book, for instance “诗诗， pronaunces as chi

chu”. But it is not the main form of rhyme in

Chinese poetry. Alliteration has always been

regarded as a way of diction. End rhyme has

always been the main form. There are three

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ways of rhyming in the book: (a) every line

rhymes; (b) every other line rhymes, usually

the second and the fourth lines rhyme; (c) if

the last line is an odd number, it can repeat

the rhyme or simply go without rhyme. In the

poems which have only four lines, every line

rhymes, but the third.

V. The composing techniques used in the book are

very original. Chinese scholars summed them

up with three Chinese characters: the first

is 诗， which pronounces as “fu” and means

“direct description; the secocnd is 诗, which

pronounces as “bi” and means analogy; and the

third is 诗， which pronounces as “xing” and

means metaphor. Xie Zhen, a scholar of the

Ming Dynasty calculated that the method of

direct description was used in the book 720

times, analogy 110 times and metaphor 370

times.

VI. There are quite a number of natural

antithesis in the book. High quality of

antithesis occupies an important place in

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composing Chinese poetry. The following two

examples are from the poems we have read:

1.诗 诗 诗 诗 诗， 诗 诗 诗。（xi wo wang yi, yang liu yi yi）--pronounciation of the line In the past I left, branches of poplar and willow flapped.—literaltranslationI thought of the time when left home, flapping was the branches ofwillow.—writer’s translation

In the following line, corresponding words

have to be used in corresponding places, and

in this case:

诗 诗 诗 诗 诗， 诗 诗 诗。（jin wo lai si, yu xue fei fei）--pronounciation of the line.Today I came home and thought, rain and snow falling thick.—literaltranslationToday, I am returning home, falling thick and fast is flakes of snow.—writer’s translation

2.Similarly, the first two lines in the poem

“July” are antithesis:

诗 诗 诗 诗，（qi yue liu huo）--pronounciation of the line.(in) July stars decend—literal translationIn July descend in the west are the Mars.—writer’s translation

诗 诗 诗 诗。（jiu yue shou yi）--pronounciation of the line.(in) September cloths obtained.—literal translationOthers get their winter cloths in September.—writer’s translation

There have been serious studies on 《The Book of

Songs》ever since it was compiled. Numerous books

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have been written about it. Some tried to explain

what ideas the poems intended to express; some

tried to analyse the utensils and farming tools

the poems describe; others tried to expound the

social systems, political situations and local

traditions the poems refer. Mao Heng and Zheng

Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Zhu Xi of the Song

Dynasty, Guo Moruo and Wen Yiduo of modern times

are most outstanding and influential in such

studies.

《The Book of Songs》has exerted a great influence

on the development of Chinese literature. Ever

since Han Dynasty (206B.C.), Confucianists had

regarded it as a classic; it has been widespread

as a textbook in the society for more than 2,000

years. We can therefore say that there is no poet

in the history of Chinese literature that has not

been influenced by 《The Book of Songs》.

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