Shi book of songs, or shi jing chinese, chinas first collection of poems made its debut in the 7th century bc. The title shi jing is usually translated in english as the book of songs or sometimes as book of odes. The classic of poetry contains the oldest chronologically authenticated chinese poems. It comprises 305 poems written from the 11th to the 2nd century bc. The shi jing represents the confucian ideal of poetry and was compiled. The christian book of odes bible the arabic kitab alaghani. This complete edition of the book of odes shijing features both english and chinese side by side for easy reference and bilingual support. The religious portions of the shih king wikisource, the. Bilingual edition, english and chinese classic of poetry, book of songs ebook. Book of poetry full text database, fully browsable and searchable. The shih ching contains 305 songs, which tradition claims were selected by confucius. The book of odes, also known as the classic of poetry, is the oldest existing collection of chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries bc.
Shijing, translated variously as the book of songs, book of odes or simply known as the odes or poetry chinese. Shihching, classic of songs, classic of poetry, book of odes source. Translated variously as the classic of poetry, the book of songs or the book of odes, the shi jing is the first major collection of chinese poems. Before its elevation as a canonical classic, the classic of poetry shi jing was known as the three hundred songs or the songs. The shi king, the old poetry classic of the chinese.
Sfnp the majority of the odes date to the western zhou period 1046771 bc. The book of odes may refer to one of the following. Kuo feng the morals of kingdoms, hsiao ya little odes, ta ya big odes, and sung hymns, each of which is actually a separate book with its own themes, emotions, and means of artistic expression, including musical accompaniment. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. Of these six texts, the book of rites and the spring and autumn annals enjoy the honor and the status of a jing, without having the syllable in the titles. Shihching, translated variously as the book of songs, book of odes, or simply known as the odes or poetry chinese.
Pei and yung were, after a short time, absorbed in wei, which had a long history. Xuepen sun and xiaoqian zheng, university of virginia chinese text initiative creation of digital images. Shijing project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. This version says the book of odes shijing by launcelot cranmerbyng. Odes are divided further into lesser odes xiaoya and greater odes daya.
Shi jing the book of odes is the earliest collection of chinese poetry, and was originally called shi poems, containing 305 poems from the western zhou dynasty 11th centuary771bc to the mid spring and autumn period 770476bc and including three sections, namely, feng songs, ya odes and song hymns. Contra the consensus view of the shi jing classic of odes and chu ci verses of chu as the products of two distinct literary cultures, one northern and one southern, this article argues on the basis of intertextual analysis that the chu ci developed in direct response to the shi jing. The odes of wei introduction ode 4, stanzas 1 and 2. The same word shi later became a generic term for poetry. Shi jiu full text database, fully browsable and searchable online. The book of odes, also known as the classic of poetry, is the oldest existing collection of chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to.
Nov 04, 2011 the shi jing is the quintessential product of the sum of ancient chinese poetry. Most poems in feng are the folk songs from various places, differentiated as da ya. Virtually every chinese student memorizes this poem. The book of songs is also known as the book of poetry, the classic of poetry, and sometimes the book of odes. Revered as one of the confucian classics, shi jing is also known as the. Shijing the book of songs is the earliest collection ofchinese poems including 305 poems of the zhou dynasty 1122256 b. Shi jing for other uses, see shijing disambiguation.
Translations of its title into english vary and include classic of history, classic of documents, book of history, book of documents, or book of historical documents. Fair, fair, cry the ospreys the following poem is the first poem appearing in maos ordering of the shih ching, but is often numbered 87 in english versions of that anthology. Excerpts from the book of odes shi jung oxford first. This site has a very useful feature in its dictionary componentsrolling over a character with your mouse will display a rollover menu with a pronunciation guide and meaning. Repetition, rhyme, and exchange in the book of odes jstor. Shi jing project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. Shi jing zhtspwtspshi jingwshih ching, translated variously as the classic of poetry, the book of songs or the book of odes, is the earliest existing collection of chinese poems. Calligraphy and poetry 1 shi jing the classic of poetry, the book of songs, or the book of odes.
The book appeared a few hundred years before the famous epic of homer of the ancient greeks, and marked the starting point of chinas literary development. The shi jing is the quintessential product of the sum of ancient chinese poetry. Guan ju the first ode of guo feng, zhou nan external links. A study of the shi jing the book of odes manuscript. It comprises 305 poems and songs dating from the 11th to 7th centuries bc. Shi jing book of odes anonymous creation of machinereadable version. Shi jing article about shi jing by the free dictionary. The shijing chinese poetry translated to english wiki fandom.
This complete edition of the book of odes shijing features both english and chinese sidebyside for easy reference and bilingual support. Also published under other transliterations, as well as the book of songs and the book of odes, it is one of the classics of chinese literature. Shi, is the oldest existing collection of chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries bc. It was the confucians of the han dynasty who gave it the name shijing. Shi jing shi jing is a transliterated name of an ancient collection of about 300 chinese poems and songs. Excerpts from the book of odes shi jung oxford first source over 300 poems of various lengths were anthologized and transmitted by confucius in the early fifth century bce. It was originally called shi poems and shi sanbai three hundred poems. Shi jing, also known as the book of odes, is the oldest compendium of chinese poetry, including works between the 11th and 7th century bc. Readers should also be forewarned that cranmerbyngs translation is incomplete and has little scholarly or literary value. Shi jing is a transliterated name of an ancient collection of about 300 chinese poems and songs. The book of lord shang, a classic of the chinese school of law. It comprises 305 poems dating from the beginning of the. In any case, legge did translate these, but i read arthur waleys version, in an edition published as the book of songs and edited by joseph r.
Pei was one of three principalities which king wu created after he overthrew the dynasty of shang. It was burned along with other confucian books in 2 b. Geographically, these poems were collected from the area which is now central. Shi jing shuo yue shikyo setsuyaku, a commentary on the shihching, the book of odes mengling gu. Shang shu the book of documents, also called shu jing the book of history, is one of the five classics of the confucian canon that greatly influenced chinese history and culture.
It is a collection of three different types of songs originating in the shang. Shih ching book of odes, classic of poetry, an anonymous work of chinese literature written between the 11th and sixth centuries b. Shih ching, translated variously as the classic of poetry, the book of songs or the book of odes, is the earliest existing collection of chinese poems. The shi jing represents the confucian ideal of poetry and was compiled from sources as far back as perhaps bce. Legges translation of the shi jing at chinese text initiative. The foremost poem in the anthology, the li sao partings sorrow emerges as a. Chinese literature begins with shi jing book of odes, an anthology of songs, poems, and hymns. It included epics, satirical poems, ballads, love songs, battle songs, odes, seasonal rhymes, and work chants. Ancient classics book of poetry lessons from the states odes of cao shi jiu 1. Asian topics on asia for educators the book of songs. Chinese literature begins with shijing book of odes, an anthology of songs, poems, and hymns. It consists of 311 poems 6 without text dating from the zhou. Lord shang is the name of a 4th century bc thinker.
The shijing chinese poetry translated to english wiki. Believed to be compiled by confucius, shih ching or book of odes is a collection of 305 poems, dating from to 600 bc. Shi jing shuo yue shikyo setsuyaku, a commentary on the shih. It comprises 305 poems dating from the beginning of the western zhou period 1046771 bce to the midspring and autumn period approx. These are all possible translations of the chinese title, shi jing shihching in. It comprises 305 poems, some possibly written as early as bc. It comprises 305 poem s, some possibly written as early as bc. Xuepen sun and xiaoqian zheng, university of virginia chinese text initiative university of virginia library. Shijing the classic of poetry, or the book of odes is the earliest existing anthology of poetry in china. Classic of poetrywadegiles romanization shihching, the first anthology of chinese poetry. It is one this complete edition of the book of odes shijing features both english and chinese sideby. Shi jing the book of odes is the earliest collection of chinese poetry, and was originally called shi poems, containing 305 poems from the western zhou.
The book argues that a state needs to be rich and have a strong army, and a system of laws, punishments and rewards. Shi, is the oldest extant collection of chinese poetry. The book of odes, translated by bernhard karlgren, stockholm. A case study of the 2600 years chinese hermeneutic tradition kuang yu chen prelude shijing or shi, also known as the book of odes, the book of poetry, or the book of songs, is a collection of 305 pieces of poems, presumably compiled over a period spanning from early zhou dynasty 11001 to the time of chunqiu 722 to 481.
Classic of poetry wikisource, the free online library. The collection is divided into three parts according to their genre, namely. Annotated edition of the book of documents world digital. Allen, who also translated a few of the odes that waley left out of his original editions. To learn more about this famous collection of poems, click here. The classic of poetry, also shijing or shihching, translated variously as the book of songs, book of odes or simply known as the odes or poetry, is the oldest existing collection of chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries bc. Shijing book of songs or book of poetry or book of odes, also known as maoshi maos version of the book of songs is one of the confucian classics.
It was compiled by the ancient sage confucius 551479 bc and cited by him as a model of literary expression, for, despite its numerous themes, the subject matter was always expressive of pleasure without being licentious, and of grief without being hurtfully excessive. Classics in english translation chin 342 542 classical. The earliest chinese poetry begins with the shi jing, a collection of 305 poems of varying length, drawn from all ranks of chinese society. In a general sense, this thesis examines several aspects of the shijing chinese characters the book of odes manuscript excavated at fuyang chinese characters, anhui province, the peoples republic of china. Read the shi jing the book of odes, the oldest classic chinese scripture, in chinese and with legges translation. The poems are linked and organized for easy reading. I cant gauge the accuracy, but as poetry these are all serviceable.