Chinese Poems The Shijing And The Chuci

Chinese Poems: The Shijing And The Chuci Essay, Research Paper

Michael Yu

Chinese Literature 471

Professor Rolston

10.16.00

Ancient Chinese Poems: The Shijing and The Chuci

Two of the most important collections of poems in the long history of Chinese literature are the Shijing (Book of Odes) and the Chuci (Songs of Chu). The Shijing is the oldest collection of Chinese poetry; it dates from the 10th through 7th centuries B.C., during the Zhou Dynasty, and Northern Chinese feudal nobility are thought to have authored most of the works. The poetry of the Shijing is not very complex; rather it is characterized for its realistic subject matter, which tended to be the many aspects of contemporary life of the time. The Shijing has four sections: “Daya” (Great Odes), “Xiaoya” (Lesser Odes), the “Guofeng” (Airs) and “Songs” (Hymns). The collection has been cut to and added to through the years; it is said that Confucius from an original body consisted of over 3000 poems, selected 305 poems for it.

The Chuci, on the other hand, originates from South China. Much of the earlier works in it, such as “Lisao,” are credited to Qu Yuan (340 –278 B.C.), an under-appreciated official during the Warring States period kingdom of Chu. There is a religious theme in many of the poems of the Chuci, with shamanism as a prevailing theme, particularly in the “Jiuge” (Nine Songs).

Chinese poetry is difficult to understand and interpret, with the need for translation and cultural ignorance being two of the main culprits hindering a complete understanding. This paper will compare and contrast these two collections of poetry in order to gain a better understanding of Chinese poetry. In the attempt to do so, these two collections (with an emphasis on the Chuci) will be extracted, explored, and explicated.

The Shijing: “Great Odes” and “Smaller Odes”

The “Great Odes” consists of 31 poems. In general, the poems of the “Great Odes” take the form of 8 stanzas consisting of 8 lines per stanza. Many poems of the “Great Odes” are historical poems; the origins of the Zhou Dynasty and the great achievements of the Zhou rulers are reoccurring themes. Take “Spreading,” which is an account of the settlement of the “plain of Zhou.” Stanza three reads:

The Plain of Zhou was fat and fair,

Where thistle and buttercup tasted like honey.

There he started, there he reckoned, there he pierced our tortoise shells.

Stop, it was, and Stand, in this place they built houses.

In the later parts of this poem, there is a description of the Zhou city and the expansion of the kingdom by conquering surrounding kingdoms. There is almost an epic feel to this poem; the reader gets the sense that the founder (Dan-fu) of the Zhou is legendary.

“The Greater Brightness” is another example of a poem in the “Great Odes,” gives an account of how the Zhou came to power through good deeds, strategic marriages, and by following the plan from the Charge of Heaven to rule. “The Greater Brightness.” The beginning of the second stanza reads:

From Zhi the second daughter, Ren,

went from the land of Yin and Shang.

She came to marry into Zhou, in its great city, foreign bride.

Together then with Ji the King they did that work of Power.

Owen calls poems that celebrate the dynasty’s anointment by right of receiving Heaven’s Charge “propaganda of Zhou.” Some of this “propaganda of Zhou” is seen in the fourth stanza:

Heaven scanned the land below,

its charge was laid upon him.

In the first doing of King Wen

Heaven made a mate for him.

In the sixth stanza we read:

There was a charge from Heaven,

a charge for Wen the King….

I who preserve you, charge you

to join and smite the great Shang.

Later on in the poem, the Zhou would destroy the Shang. It is important to note that a lot of the poems in the “Greater Odes” focus on the king and Heaven, thus giving the poems a more mythic tone to them. The “Lesser Odes” also contains poems concerning military affairs, but as Owen points out, the focus of the poems in the “Lesser Odes” is not on the high ruler or Heaven, rather the spotlight is on the officers and soldiers. Political satire was also a common subject matter of the “Odes,” and there are even blatant complaints pointed towards those in power. The poems of the “Lesser Odes” can be in the first person, whereas in the “Great Odes” the poems are more in the third person.

“Airs”

The largest and latest section of the Shijing is known as the “Airs.” It is estimated that this section of poetry became fixed around the seventh century B.C. There is a scholarly debate as to whether the “Airs” represents the voice of the Zhou people, or whether the “Airs” came to fruition under the guidance of the Zhou feudal courts. If one looks at the works, this can be argued both ways. From the perspective of the Mao commentary, every poem is interpreted as in some way dealing with the “moral history of the Zhou Dynasty.” Therefore, any poem is seen as in some way as an allegorical reference to how the Zhou Dynasty dealt with dilemmas or attained greatness.

“Hymns”

The “Hymns” contains forty poems. It is important to note that in the other three sections of the S

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