The Book of Songs: The Ancient Chinese Classic of Poetry

Description

First published in 1937. The Book of Songs is a collection of ancient Chinese songs, dating from 800 to 600 B.C. Until this was published in 1937 it had not been translated into English since the middle of nineteenth century, when sinology was still in its infancy. For the first time the original meaning of 290 out of the 305 songs is given, use being made of the advances in the study of old Chinese. The result is not merely a clear picture of early Chinese life, but also the restoration to its proper place in world literature of one of the finest collection of traditional songs. Preface Contents Important Legendary and Historical Figures Foreword The Airs of the States, Poems 1 - 160 South of Zhou,1-11 South of Shao, 12 - 25 Airs of Bei, 26—44 Airs of Yong, 45 - 54 Airs of Wei, 55 - 64 Airs of the Royal Domain, 65 - 74 Airs of Zheng, 75- 95 Airs of Qi, 96—106 Airs of Wey, 107 - 13 Airs of Tang, 114 - 25 Airs of Qin, 126 - 35 Airs of Chen, 136 - 45 Airs of Gui, 146 - 49 Airs of Cao, 150 - 53 Airs of Bin, 154 - 60 The Minor Odes, Poems 161 - 234 The Major Odes, Poems 235 - 65 The Hymns, Poems 266 - 305 The Zhou Hymns, 266—96 The Lu Hymns, 297 - 300 The Shang Hymns,1 301- 05 Waley’s Notes on Books Used Waley’s Additional Notes Appendix: Waley’s Original Topical Categories and Order of Poems Postface: A Literary History of the Shi jing Selected Bibliography: Studies, and Translations of the Shi jing in English