The Book of Songs: The Hymns (Song)

AnonymousNov 2014

4.3

Word count: 22K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

The Shijing (Book of Songs) is the earliest collection of poetry in China, compiled around the Spring and Autumn Period. In pre-Qin times it was called the Shi (Poems), also known as the 'Three Hundred Poems,' collecting 305 poems from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, a span of more than five hundred years. In the Western Han Dynasty it was honored as a Confucian classic and began to be called the Shijing, a name still used today. This book presents the third part of the Shijing, the 'Song' (Hymns), which are song and dance lyrics used for ancestral temple sacrifices, mostly praising the achievements of ancestors. The 'Song' consists of 31 pieces of the 'Zhou Song,' 4 of the 'Lu Song,' and 5 of the 'Shang Song,' 40 pieces in total, all works of aristocratic literati.

Editor's review

The Hymns (Song) is the most ceremonial section of the Classic of Poetry, containing the Zhou Hymns, Lu Hymns, and Shang Hymns, forty pieces in all. Originally performed with music and dance at ancestral temple sacrifices and court assemblies, its lines are solemn and spare. Unlike the Airs (Guofeng), which stay close to everyday feeling, it preserves the collective memory of ancestral achievements, agricultural abundance, and the order of Heaven's mandate, making it indispensable for understanding pre-Qin ritual and musical culture. The pieces are mostly short with a steady rhythm, and their refrains convey a grave atmosphere; the plainness of the Zhou Hymns, the elaboration of the Lu Hymns, and the retrospective cast of the Shang Hymns each have their own character. For readers who want to understand the relationship between Chinese poetry and ritual from its source, this section offers a rare sense of immediacy. Read slowly and treat it as ritual text rather than lyric poetry; learn the background first, then go through the pieces one by one, and you will better feel its restrained power.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in pre-Qin ritual and music institutions and ancestral sacrifice culture
Readers who wish to read all three sections of the Classic of Poetry and complete the Hymns
Students of ancient literature, history, or folklore
Readers who enjoy short, solemn pieces and are willing to read the classics slowly

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong lyricism and plot and read for pleasure
Beginners with no classical Chinese who are unwilling to consult annotations
Readers looking only for famous lines to copy out

Reading tips

Read the preface and notes on the contents first to understand the periods and uses of the Zhou, Lu, and Shang Hymns
Read each piece through once, then check annotations to confirm wording and ritual background
Read in the order Zhou, Lu, Shang, noting differences in tone and form across the three sections
Compare with the Airs and Odes sections of the Classic of Poetry to understand the different functions of poetry and music

版权信息
目录
公版书总序
世相人情风雅颂，一言蔽之思无邪——《诗经》
正文
周颂
鲁颂
商颂
如是我闻
一、《诗经》名句
二、《诗经》取名
三、《诗经》中涉及的部分历史人物
四、中华诗祖尹吉甫
五、《诗经》主要思想内容
六、《诗经》的影响
七、名人对《诗经》的评价
编辑手记

FAQ

What are the main differences between the Hymns and the Airs and Odes?

The Hymns are dance-song texts used in ancestral sacrifices, sung as part of ritual, and solemn in tone; the Airs are mostly folk songs, and the Odes are mostly court banquet songs. Their uses and occasions differ, and so do their ways of expressing emotion.

Can I understand the Hymns without a foundation in classical Chinese?

Yes, but you will need annotations and translation. The language is archaic and the background unfamiliar, so choose an edition with full annotation and translation, read the introduction before the text, and do not try to memorize ritual terms; grasp the general meaning first.

How do the Zhou, Lu, and Shang Hymns differ?

The thirty-one Zhou Hymns are mostly sacrificial pieces from the early Western Zhou, plain and short; the four Lu Hymns are more elaborated and bear the flavor of the Lu court; the five Shang Hymns recall the Shang ancestors and are relatively more expansive. The three differ in period and regional background.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.