Shi Jing: Classic of Poetry

The Book of Songs (Shijing) is the earliest anthology of Chinese poetry and one of the Five Classics of Confucianism. It contains 305 poems dating from the early Western Zhou to the mid-Spring and Autumn period, divided into three sections: Feng, Ya, and Song. As both the origin of Chinese literature and a vital record of ancient ritual music, politics, and social life, it was highly praised by Confucius as “having no depraved thoughts,” exerting a profound influence on later poetic creation and literary criticism.

The Feng section consists largely of folk songs from various states, reflecting themes of love, labor, parting, and the hardships of the common people. The Ya section is subdivided into Greater Ya and Lesser Ya, comprising mainly court songs and political satires. The Song section contains hymns used in ancestral temple sacrifices, praising the merits and virtues of forebears. Its artistic techniques, such as narrative exposition (fu), comparison (bi), and evocation (xing)—especially the tradition of “comparison and evocation”—became fundamental modes of expression in Chinese poetry. Famous pieces like Guan Ju, Jian Jia, Shuo Shu, and Qi Yue are noted for their elegant language and profound imagery, and have been recited for generations.

During the Han dynasty, the Book of Songs held a lofty position in classical studies. The Mao School, transmitted by Mao Heng and Mao Chang, gained the widest circulation, with Zheng Xuan providing annotated commentaries. Scholars throughout the ages have studied the Book of Songs from perspectives of philology, phonology, material culture, and history, giving rise to the vast academic tradition of “Shijing studies.” Together with the Chu Ci, it is regarded as Feng and Sao, representing the two great origins of Chinese literature: realism and romanticism.

As a classic of Chinese culture that is richest in musicality and the breath of everyday life, the Book of Songs preserves the emotional structure and linguistic beauty of ancient society. To read this book is to touch the very origins of Chinese poetry and to experience the sincere expressions of our ancestors concerning love, labor, justice, and the Mandate of Heaven.