The Book of Songs (Alternative translations: "Classic of Poetry", "Canon of Odes")

Fav

巧言

《小雅·节南山之什》

悠悠昊天，曰父母且。无罪无辜，乱如此幠。昊天已威，予慎无罪。昊天大幠，予慎无辜。

乱之初生，僭始既涵。乱之又生，君子信谗。君子如怒，乱庶遄沮。君子如祉，乱庶遄已。

君子屡盟，乱是用长。君子信盗，乱是用暴。盗言孔甘，乱是用餤。匪其止共，维王之邛。

奕奕寝庙，君子作之。秩秩大猷，圣人莫之。他人有心，予忖度之。跃跃毚兔，遇犬获之。

荏染柔木，君子树之。往来行言，心焉数之。蛇蛇硕言，出自口矣。巧言如簧，颜之厚矣。

彼何人斯？居河之麋。无拳无勇，职为乱阶。既微且尰，尔勇伊何？为犹将多，尔居徒几何？

Introduction to the *Book of Songs*:

1. The Book of Songs marks the beginning of ancient Chinese poetry and is the earliest anthology of poetry. It collects poems from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period (11th century BCE to 6th century BCE), totaling 311 poems. Among these, six are "title-only poems"—that is, they have titles but no content—known as the Six Title-Only Poems (Nan Gai, Bai Hua "Hua Shu," "You Geng," "Chong Qiu," and "You Yi"), reflecting the social landscape over approximately five centuries from the early to late Zhou period.

2. The authors of the *Book of Songs* are anonymous; the vast majority cannot be verified. It is traditionally attributed to Yin Jifu for collection and Confucius for compilation. In terms of content, the *Book of Songs* is divided into three sections: *Feng*, *Ya*, and *Song*. The *Feng* consists of folk songs from various regions of the Zhou dynasty; the *Ya* comprises the formal and elegant music of the Zhou people, further divided into *Xiao Ya* (Minor Elegance) and *Da Ya* (Major Elegance); the *Song* consists of ritual songs performed at the Zhou royal court and in the ancestral temples of the nobility, further divided into *Zhou Song*, *Lu Song*, and *Shang Song*.

3. Confucius summarized the purpose of the Book of Songs as “without deceit” and taught his disciples to read it as a standard for both speech and conduct. Among the pre-Qin philosophers, many quoted the Book of Songs; for instance, Mencius, Xunzi, Mozi, Zhuangzi, and Han Feizi frequently cited passages from the Book of Songs to enhance the persuasiveness of their arguments.

4. Artistic Characteristics of the *Book of Songs*:

(1) The use of the three poetic techniques—direct narration (fu), analogy (bi), and evocation (xing)—is a hallmark of the *Book of Songs*’s artistic style and established the fundamental methods of ancient Chinese poetry composition.

(2) The verse structure is primarily based on four-character lines, though mixed-length lines are also used. Structurally, the work frequently employs repeated stanzas and parallel lines, enhancing the poetry’s rhythmic sense and musical beauty.

(3) The language is rich and varied, making extensive use of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, rhyme, and word repetition, which render the poetry vivid and visually striking, with harmonious sound and rhythm.