The Book of Poetry: Poetic History, Simple Romance

The Book of Poetry

The Book of Poetry is the first collection of poems in China, which contains 305 poems from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), and is also known as the "300 Poems". It created an excellent tradition of realism in ancient Chinese poetry. The "six meanings" of the Book of Songs refer to wind, elegance, ode, fugue, comparison, and rise, with the first three describing the content and the last three the techniques. The Wind, Elegance and Ode are divided according to the music.

Famous lines from the Book of Poetry

Throw me a papaya, and I'll return it with an agar jelly.

Interpretation: You give me fruit, I give you jade in return. When a long-distance traveler is hungry or thirsty, someone gives him a papaya or a peach or a plum to quench his thirst or to quench his hunger. But the beneficiary does not forget the gift of water, but pays it back in kind - by taking out the precious jade that he carries with him.

The man who knows me is worried about me, and the man who doesn't know me is not. The sky is so long, what kind of person is this?

Interpretation: Those who know me say that my heart is full of sorrow; those who don't know me say that I have what I want. O lofty heavens, who has done this to the country? This is expressing the mood of depression and loneliness. It is hard to find a soulmate, so cherish your friends and understand others more.

Trembling with fear and trembling, as if facing the abyss, walking on thin ice.

Interpretation: Be careful, as if walking on the edge of the abyss, as if walking on thin ice ice. This is describing that there should be a cautious attitude when doing things, and if we can have this attitude of walking on thin ice, we can do everything well.

Woe to my parents, who have charged me for my labor.

Interpretation: Sorrow, my parents have worked so hard to give birth to me and raise me. Gratitude and filial piety are the traditional virtues of our nation. From ancient times to the present, the hard work of parents has been the driving force and emotional support for children. Filial piety, in any era will not be out of date.

The stone of its mountain can attack jade.

Interpretation: The stones on other mountains can be used to carve beautiful jade for me. It is a smart person's choice to learn from others and find ways to solve problems from their experience.

Be both wise and philosophical to protect yourself.

Interpretation: Being both clear about right and wrong, as well as being wise, such a person will be able to preserve his life and reputation. We now often say that to be wise is to know how to say the right thing at the right time, so that you can live in society without hurting others and yet be very comfortable.

The tarnish of white gui is still wearable, but the tarnish of sic words is not.

Interpretation: The spots on white jade can still be rubbed away, but the stains on words cannot be taken back and deleted. So, think twice before you speak, and don't say hurtful words just because you are angry for a moment; that kind of damage can't be rubbed away.

No 忮（音置）不求，何用不藏？

Interpretation: Not to complain and not to envy, how can such a person be unkind? The best rule in dealing with people is not to demand from them, so that they will not hurt them.

Give them punishment and prevent them from being harmed.

Interpretation: I want to take the mistakes of the past as a warning to prevent them from happening again. Now we say "punish those before to prevent those after", which means that we should constantly learn the lessons of the past and correct our behavior in the future. In this way, previous mistakes become valuable.

The Story of the Book of Poetry

The Organization of the Book of Poetry

Confucius once said, "The 300 poems are, in a word, Si Wu Yi." Confucius is said to have participated in selecting and organizing the Book of Poetry. Due to the long period of time, the author of the Book of Poetry can no longer be verified, but it is certain that the book was adapted by many people.

It is generally believed that the Book of Songs was originally kept by the taiji, the music officials of the Zhou royal family. They had processed and organized the work, eliminated some and modified others. In ancient times, when transportation was inconvenient and languages were different from each other, it was impossible for the songs of different times and regions to be consistent unless they were processed and organized. It can be assumed that it was produced by the official music song, and collect and organize the folk music song, is one of the cultural undertakings of the Zhou Dynasty.

Frank life

The Book of Songs is different from the previous poetry circulating in the folklore, it seldom fantasizes and fictionalizes, but adopts a realistic approach, directly reflecting the most real aspects of people's lives, natural and simple. As an art form, it is still possible to be so real, and it is not unlikely that our lives can do the same. Although we all have a kind of self-protection psychology, we feel that the society is too complicated, and we are afraid of being hurt, so we are not willing to show the most real side of ourselves to people, but this does not prevent us from refusing to be false. When we try to open our hearts, the layer of the mask that separates others from a thousand miles away from the time, we will find that life itself is not too much of a burden, has always been our own in the torment of their own, to make themselves exhausted.

Source: Jingyi Shuyuan