The Book of Songs

The Book of Songs (Shi Jing) is the oldest collection of Chinese poetry, purportedly edited and arranged by Confucius ca. 600 BC and containing poems from 1000 years ago. The collection includes folk songs, ceremonial songs, and ritual hymns. Most of the poetry was intended to be sung; however, no musical instructions for performance or accompaniment were recorded. Some scholars believe that the majority of the poetry was written at the king's behest--he wished for his subjects to write poems about their concerns, so that he could know their thoughts. (Shi Jing on Wikipedia.) As the collection of poetry was held in such high esteem by Confucius, it has long been revered as a source of practical wisdom.



The poems were arranged thematically, with the first portion centered on courtship. The following reveals the importance of social responsibility to the Chinese culture--duty towards family and country always supercedes self-indulgence.

I beg of you, Chung Tzu,
Do not climb into our homestead,
Do not break the willows we have planted.
Not that I mind about the willows,
But I am afraid of my father and mother.
Chung Tzu I dearly love;
But of what my father and mother say
Indeed I am afraid.

I beg of you, Chung Tzu,
Do not climb over our wall,
Do not break the mulberry-trees we have planted.
Not that I mind about the mulberry-trees,
But I am afraid of my brothers.
Chung Tzy I dearly love;
But of what my brothers say
Indeed I am afraid.

I beg of you, Chung Tzu,
Do not climb into our garden,
Do not break the hard-wood we have planted.
Not that I mind about the hard-wood,
But I am afraid of what people will say.
Chung Tzu I dearly love;
But of all that people will say
Indeed I am afraid.

Another section pertains to war--mostly poems of home-sickness, complaints against the futility of fighting a war against other soldiers who don't want to be fighting, when life would be much more peaceful working doggedly at home to at least produce something, be it crops, livestock, or other goods.

Jagged are the rocks.
Oh, how high!
These hills and rivers go on and on.
Oh, how toilsome!
But soldiers fighting in the east
Have no time to pause.

Jagged are the rocks.
Oh, how steep!
These hills and rivers go on and on.
It seems as though they would never end.
But soldiers fighting in the east
Have no time to halt.

We met swine with white trotters
Plunging in a herd through the waves.
The moon is caught in the Net.
There will be deluges of rain.
Soldiers fighting in the east
Have no time to rest.

The lines in the final stanza ("swine...plunging in a herd through the waves'" and "the moon is caught in the Net") are signs of coming rain. Even in a poem about the hardships of war, we see the deep connection between the Chinese culture and nature. The useless struggle of war is reflected in the high, steep, jagged rocks, impossible to climb. The soldier's despondence is heightened and reflected in the certainty that rain will soon fall. The scene depicts a weary soul pushed against unbeatable forces for what seems an eternity spent in vain struggling.

The above image is the poem "Fu You" ("Mayflies") from the Book of Songs. It was found here.