Odes of Yong

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJul 2024

4.6

Word count: 1K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

The Yong Feng is a section of the Guo Feng in the Classic of Poetry, which consists of three parts: Feng, Ya, and Song. "Feng," also called "Guo Feng," according to earlier scholarship, comprises the poems of Bei, Yong, and Wei, all of which belong to the state of Wei. There are ten poems in total. They are folk songs of the Chinese people of the Yong region. The Classic of Poetry is the first anthology of poetry in the history of Chinese literature. It has had a profound influence on later poetry and became the source of the realist tradition in classical literature.

Editor's review

The Yong Feng is one of the three sections—Bei, Yong, and Wei—of the Guo Feng in the Classic of Poetry. According to earlier scholarship, the poems of Bei, Yong, and Wei are in fact poems of the state of Wei, ten in all. This edition, prepared and published by Bashu Publishing House, offers readers a convenient way to study this group of poems in a focused manner. The ten poems of the Yong Feng cover diverse subjects: there are the steadfast vows of "Cypress Boat," the biting satire of "Look at the Rat," and the patriotic anxiety of "Driving My Chariot," spanning a wide emotional range and exhibiting a style that adheres to no single mold. As part of the Classic of Poetry, it carries the realistic concern and the bi-xing (comparison and evocation) tradition of pre-Qin folk songs and is an important sample for understanding the characteristics of "Feng" poetry. When reading, one may place it in the context of the three Feng of Bei, Yong, and Wei as a whole and observe the similarities and differences in themes and techniques among poems from the same regional culture. For learners of classical literature, this selection is both a suitable unit for thematic study of the Classic of Poetry and a literary window onto the social conditions and ritual customs of the state of Wei.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners of classical literature systematically studying the Guo Feng section of the Classic of Poetry
Teachers who need regional textual units for thematic instruction
General readers interested in pre-Qin folk songs and realistic subjects
Enthusiasts of literature and history who wish to understand the historical and cultural background of the state of Wei

Not a good fit for

Casual readers who only want a selection of famous pieces from the Classic of Poetry
Readers who need complete annotations or a full translation and commentary of the Classic of Poetry
Beginners who lack patience for classical Chinese texts and prefer vernacular works

Reading tips

First read through all ten poems and group them by theme—marriage and love, satire, homeland and state, and so on—then read each group closely.
Using the context of the three Feng of Bei, Yong, and Wei as a whole, compare the similarities and differences in themes and techniques among poems from the same region.
For satirical poems such as "Look at the Rat," pay attention to the bi-xing technique and the calibration of tone, and appreciate the critical wisdom of folk song.
After finishing each poem, summarize its emotional tenor and core imagery in your own words, then return to the annotations to verify your understanding.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
序
柏舟
墙有茨
君子偕老
桑中
鹑之奔奔
定之方中
蝃蝬
相鼠
干旄
载驰

FAQ

Why are the three Feng of Bei, Yong, and Wei regarded as poems of the single state of Wei?

According to earlier scholarship, Bei, Yong, and Wei were closely related geographically and historically and gradually merged after the early Zhou enfeoffments, so the poems collected in the three Feng are mostly regarded as works of the state of Wei. This finding helps readers understand the themes and styles of these poems from the perspective of the regional culture as a whole.

What subjects do the ten poems of the Yong Feng roughly cover?

The ten poems of the Yong Feng cover relatively diverse subjects, including vows of love and marriage, family obstruction, satire of ugliness, and anxiety for homeland and state. Different poems place emphasis on different emotional tones and expressive techniques; there are short pieces that speak directly from the heart as well as works that evoke through objects and lodge satire in metaphor, together embodying the Guo Feng tradition of staying close to reality.

How does reading the Yong Feng help in understanding the Classic of Poetry as a whole?

As a regional unit of the Guo Feng, the Yong Feng concentratedly displays the character of "Feng" poetry—arising from events and confronting reality directly. Through this group of poems, one can concretely observe the use of bi-xing technique, four-character lines, and folk-song tone, providing a moderately sized entry point for understanding the realist tradition of the Classic of Poetry.

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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.