The Book of Songs is the beginning of ancient Chinese poetry and the earliest poetry collection. It collects poems from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period (11th century BC to 6th century BC). The following is an introduction to the Six Meanings of the Book of Songs that I have collected and compiled. It is for reference only. Everyone is welcome to read it.
Nouns from the Book of Songs. The words come from the "Preface to Poetry": "Therefore, poetry has six meanings: one is wind, the second is fu, the third is comparison, the fourth is xing, the fifth is elegance, and the sixth is song." It is generally believed that Feng, Ya and Song are the meanings of Feng, Ya and Song. Classification of poetry; Fu, Bi and Xing are the expression techniques of poetry.
Feng, Ya, Song
"Wind" is also called "Guo Feng". There are 15 groups in one song. "Wind" is the general name of music. The 15 sets of national styles are not music from 15 countries, but music from more than a dozen regions. The national style includes 160 songs from Zhou Nan, Zhao Nan, Bei, Yong, Wei, Wang, Zheng, Hui, Qi, Wei, Tang, Qin, Bin, Chen and Cao. Guofeng was a popular local song at that time, with local flavor. In terms of content, most of them are folk songs. Most of the authors are folk singers, but there are also some nobles.
More common chapters, such as "Guanyong", "Jianjia", "Taoyao", "Dingzhifangzhong", "Bozhou", "Gentlemen grow old together", "Fatan", "Shuo" "Rat", "Fake", "Dongshan", "Hongyan", "Lingtai", "Meng", "July", etc.
There are various views on the understanding of "Ya". One view is that it refers to the music in the areas directly ruled by the Zhou Dynasty. "Ya" means "righteousness", and this kind of music is regarded as "zhengsheng", which is intended to show the difference from music in other places. Some people also say that "Ya" is connected with "Xia", and Xia is the name of the area directly ruled by the Zhou Dynasty. There is also a view that "Ya" refers to elegant music that everyone can understand. There are 105 chapters in "Ya", divided into 31 chapters in "Daya" and 74 chapters in "Xiaoya". Most of "Ya" are works by court officials and officials, and a small part are folk songs. The contents are almost all about politics, some praising good people and good governance, and some satirizing bad governance. There are only a few poems expressing personal feelings. But there are no love poems.
Common chapters include "Cai Wei", "Lu Ming", "Jiang Han", "Siqi" (the first two belong to Xiaoya, the last two belong to Daya), etc.
"Ode" is a piece of music used by nobles to worship ghosts and gods in their family temples and praise the merits of rulers. It is accompanied by dance when played. It is divided into "Zhou Song", "Lu Song" and "Shang Song", with a total of 40 chapters. Among them, 31 "Songs of Zhou" are believed to be works of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and most were written before King Zhao and King Mu of Zhou; 4 "Songs of Lu" are believed to be works of Duke Xi of Lu; "Songs of Shang" are believed to be It is a work of the Song Dynasty before the Spring and Autumn Period.
Common chapters include "My General", "You Guest", "Xuanniao", etc.
Fu, Bi, Xing
"Fu, Bi, Xing" are the expression techniques of poetry. "Fu" is to tell the story directly and describe the process of an event. "Bi" is a metaphor, using one thing to compare another thing. "Xing" means to associate one thing with another. "Song" is music specially used for worship in ancestral temples. "Preface to Mao's Poems" says: "The person who eulogizes is a description of his beauty and virtue, and he is the one who tells the gods about his success." This is the meaning and purpose of the ode. Wang Guowei said: "The sound of the song is slower than that of wind and elegance." ("Shuo Zhou Ode") This is the characteristic of its music.
"Fu" according to Zhu Xi's "Collected Poems", "The person who writes poems is the one who tells the story and speaks directly." That is to say, Fu directly lays out the narrative. It is the most basic expression technique. For example, "The bond between life and death is broad, and it is said to the child. Hold the hand of the child, and grow old together with the child." This is a direct expression of one's feelings.
"Bi", according to Zhu Xi's explanation, means "comparing that thing to this thing", which also means metaphor. There are many places where metaphors are used in the Book of Songs, and the techniques are also varied. For example, "Meng" uses the change of mulberry trees from flourishing to withering to describe the rise and fall of love; "Crane" uses "stones from other mountains can attack jade" to describe the need for wise men to govern the country; "Shuo Ren" continuously uses "catkins" The word "congealing fat" is used to describe a beautiful woman's hands, "congealing fat" is used to describe a beautiful woman's skin, "hu rhinoceros" is used to describe a beautiful woman's teeth, etc. These are all good examples of the use of "bi" in the Book of Songs.
"Fu" and "bi" are the most basic expression techniques in all poetry, while "xing" is a unique technique in the Book of Songs and even Chinese poetry. The original meaning of the word "Xing" is "rising", so it is often called "rising", which plays an important role in exaggerating the atmosphere and creating artistic conception in poetry. "Xing" in "The Book of Songs", according to Zhu Xi's explanation, means "preface other things to trigger the words to be chanted", that is, to use other things to pave the way for the content of the chant. It is often used at the beginning of a poem or chapter. Sometimes when a sentence in a poem seems to be Xing, you can judge whether it is Xing by whether it is used at the beginning of a sentence or paragraph. For example, in Wei Feng·Meng, "the mulberry trees have not yet fallen, and their leaves are like woruo", which means they are prosperous. . Probably the most primitive "Xing" is just an origin and has no meaningful relationship with the following text. It shows that thoughts wander and associate for no reason. Just like Qin Feng's "Morning Wind", it is difficult to find the meaningful connection between the beginning of "The morning breeze and the gloomy northern forest" and the following "I haven't seen the gentleman yet, and I am worried about him". Although in this case, it may be incomprehensible due to the age gap, this situation must exist. Even in modern ballads, we can still see this kind of "xing".
The concept of "Fu Bixing" has been around as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, and it has been continuously accumulated. It was first summarized by "Zhou Li·Chun Guan·Master": "Teach six poems, say wind, say fu, say Bi, it is called Xing, it is called Ya, it is called Song. The six virtues are the foundation and the six rhythms are the sound." The author of the "Preface to Mao's Poems" in the Han Dynasty proposed the "Six Meanings of Poetry" based on the "Li" of Zhou: "Therefore, poetry has six meanings, one is wind, the second is fu, the third is comparison, and the fourth is xing. The fifth one is Ya, and the sixth one is Ode. "Furthermore, "Xing" also has more practical uses such as metaphor, symbol, and foil. But precisely because "Xing" is originally caused by the wandering thoughts and associations for no reason, even if it has a more practical meaning, it is not so fixed and rigid, but ethereal and subtle. For example, "Guanju dove, in the river island" at the beginning of "Guanju" was originally used by the poet to use the foreground to create the following "A graceful lady, a gentleman is fond of hunting". However, the harmonious singing of Guanju can also be used as a metaphor for courtship between men and women. Or the harmonious love between men and women, but its metaphor is not so clear and definite. Another example is the poem "Peach Blossoms", which begins with "The peach blossoms shine brightly", describing the beautiful atmosphere when the peach blossoms bloom in spring. It can be said to be a realistic writing, but it can also be understood as a metaphor for the beauty of the bride. , it can also be said that this is to set off the warm atmosphere during the wedding. Because "Xing" is such a subtle technique that can be used freely, later generations of poets who like the implicit and euphemistic charm of poetry are particularly interested in it. They each show off their skills, revise the old and bring out the new, and so on. , constitutes a special flavor of Chinese classical poetry.
Feng, Ya, and Song belong to the stylistic categories of the Book of Songs, while Fu, Bi, and Xing are not explained. Kong Yingda of the Tang Dynasty said in "Mao Shi Zhengyi": "Fu Bixing is the purpose of poetry, and Fengya Ode is the formation of poetry." This means that the former is the method of poetry, and the latter is the style of poetry. Generally speaking, Fu and Bi are relatively clear, while Xing is doubtful, and there are many different interpretations by later generations. There is no conclusion yet. Liu Xie's so-called "wind is connected and Fu is the same", that is, the style and elegance are connected, and Fu is a general expression method of poetry. It is the same as "the wind is connected with the changes and the beauty is the thorn". These are all easier to understand, but the issue of comparison and harmony is the same. There are many explanations throughout the ages. To sum up, there are generally three methods of explanation, namely political explanation, linguistic explanation and literary explanation.