The Book of Songs

The Book of Songs

The Book of Songs is China's earliest collection of poetry. It offers a window into how poetry emerged in ancient times. It contains 311 poems from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the mid-Spring and Autumn Period (approximately from the 11th century B.C. to the 6th century B.C.). During the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the royal court dispatched envoys to collect folk songs across the land during the busy farming seasons. These songs were then compiled and edited by official historians and musicians to allow the ruler to have a glimpse of his people's lives and their opinions.

The Book of Songs can be divided into three parts based on the topics they deal with: Airs of the States or guofeng; Hymns or ya; and Eulogies or song. Airs of the States are mostly folk poems totaling 160 with strong regional characteristics. Hymns are musical pieces used in ceremonies and banquets during the Zhou Dynasty (770-256 B.C.). They are further divided into Minor Court Hymns and Major Court Hymns, totaling 105 poems. Eulogies are religious poems used in imperial sacrifices, including Eulogies of Zhou, Eulogies of Lu, and Eulogies of Shang, totaling 40 poems.

The Book of Songs reflects various aspects of life during the Zhou Dynasty. Its simple and natural artistic style, together with its beautiful, rich and expressive language, has had a profound impact on the development of Chinese literature.

《詩經》

《詩經》是中國最早的一部詩歌總集，是中國古代詩歌的開端。《詩經》收錄了西周初年至春秋中葉（約前11世紀—前6世紀）的詩歌，共311篇。西周初年，朝廷派出專門的使者在農忙時到全國各地采集民謠，由史官和樂師編纂整理后給天子看，目的是了解民情。

按內容不同，《詩經》可分為《風》《雅》《頌》三部分。《風》又稱《國風》，大多數是民間詩歌，帶有濃烈的地域色彩，共160篇。《雅》是指周朝統治地區的音樂，分為宴請賓客的音樂《小雅》和群臣朝拜的音樂《大雅》，共105篇。《頌》是宗廟祭祀用的詩歌，分為《周頌》《魯頌》和《商頌》，共40篇。

《詩經》內容豐富，真實反映了周代社會生活方方面面，其樸素自然的藝術風格、優美豐富的語言表達，對中國文學發展產生了深遠影響。