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

Fav

瞻卬

《大雅·荡之什》

瞻卬昊天，则不我惠。孔填不宁，降此大厉。邦靡有定，士民其瘵。

蟊贼蟊疾，靡有夷届。罪罟不收，靡有夷瘳。

人有土田，女反有之。人有民人，女覆夺之。此宜无罪，女反收之。

彼宜有罪，女覆说之。

哲夫成城，哲妇倾城。懿厥哲妇，为枭为鸱。妇有长舌，维厉之阶。

乱匪降自天，生自妇人。匪教匪诲，时维妇寺。

鞫人忮忒。谮始竞背。岂曰不极？伊胡为慝？如贾三倍，君子是识。

妇无公事，休其蚕织。

天何以剌？何神不富？舍尔介狄，维予胥忌。不吊不祥，威仪不类。

人之云亡，邦国殄瘁。

天之降罔，维其优矣。人之云亡，心之忧矣。天之降罔，维其几矣。

人之云亡，心之悲矣。

觱沸槛泉，维其深矣。心之忧矣，宁自今矣？不自我先，不自我后。

藐藐昊天，无不克巩。无忝皇祖，式救尔后。

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.