The Wild Geese Pieces

AnonymousJinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2024

4.6

Word count: 1.3K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

"Hong Yan" (The Wild Geese) is a poem from "Hong Yan Zhi Shi," a section of the Minor Odes (Xiao Ya) in the Classic of Poetry (Shi Jing). It is a Han Chinese poem from the pre-Qin era.

Editor's review

Hong Yan Zhi Shi is a group of pre-Qin poems in the Minor Odes (Xiao Ya) section of the Classic of Poetry that take the wild goose as their opening image. This edition is printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company and is a collated reprint of a traditional classic text. The poem "Hong Yan" uses the mournful cries and toilsome flight of wild geese as a metaphor for people displaced and wandering, with a deeply somber tone; it is a representative work in the Minor Odes reflecting the hardships of the common people. The language of the whole group is plain and concise, with typical bi-xing (metaphorical opening) technique; it can be used both to understand pre-Qin social life and ritual-music culture and to help readers appreciate the expressive method of the Classic of Poetry, which moves from objects to emotions and from scenes to events. For readers who want to read the Classic of Poetry systematically, this kind of edition grouped by "shi" (sections of about ten poems) is convenient for cross-reading with other annotated editions; for lovers of classical poetry, the imagery and structural arrangement in the book are also worth repeated savoring. Note that this book prints a traditional text; readers should consult commentaries or modern translations and annotations to understand words and background, and avoid misreading due to the gap between eras.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Classical literature enthusiasts reading through the poems of the Classic of Poetry systematically
Chinese majors who need to study the text of the Minor Odes and its bi-xing technique
General readers interested in pre-Qin social life and the expression of folk songs
Writers who wish to accumulate imagery and allusion material from classical poetry

Not a good fit for

Beginning readers who need vernacular translations and detailed annotations
People who only want to read selected famous poems from the Classic of Poetry and do not plan to read the whole text
Readers who prefer modern literature or contemporary fiction and have little patience for classical Chinese expression

Reading tips

First read "Hong Yan" through once, then return to the other poems in the same group to feel the emotional connections among them.
Consult annotated translations of the Classic of Poetry or a dictionary for unfamiliar words, and avoid guessing meanings from character forms alone.
Read the whole text aloud to feel the rhythm of four-character lines and the repetition of structure; this makes the emotions easier to grasp than silent reading alone.
After reading, note the opening image and the event described in each poem, and sort out the correspondence between the bi-xing imagery and the theme.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
序
○鸿雁
○庭燎
○沔水
○鹤鸣
○祈父
○白驹
○黄鸟
○我行其野
○斯干
○无羊

FAQ

What is the relationship between Hong Yan Zhi Shi and the Classic of Poetry?

Hong Yan Zhi Shi is a group of poems in the Minor Odes (Xiao Ya) section of the Classic of Poetry; "shi" was an ancient unit of grouping about ten poems. This group, represented by "Hong Yan," consists of Han Chinese poems from the pre-Qin era and is part of the text of the Classic of Poetry, not a work independent of it.

Can I read this book without a foundation in classical Chinese?

Yes, but it is advisable to use an annotated translation. This book prints a traditional text; the four-character ancient language is obscure, and there is a certain gap in vocabulary and background. Beginners can first use modern translations or a dictionary to clarify the meaning, then return to the original to appreciate the bi-xing imagery and rhythm; the difficulty will be noticeably reduced.

What is the poem "Hong Yan" mainly about?

"Hong Yan" opens with the mournful cries and toilsome flight of wild geese and describes the hardship and sorrow of people displaced and conscripted for labor; its tone is somber, and it is a work in the Minor Odes reflecting the hardships of the common people. Understanding of specific words and lines should be combined with commentaries; it is not advisable to read it directly through modern linguistic intuition alone.

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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.