A dominant trend in Shijing scholarship over the past century has taken a markedly anthropological approach to the interpretation of these some 300 classical, Chinese poems. The collection's poems deal most directly with concerns, activities, rituals and histories intimately connected to the lives of the common folk. Their origins in a pre-literate, oral reality, combined with their later, overtly Confucian overlay, have lead many sinologists to emphasize the social, ritualized significance of the verses. One of the dominant topics of the Shijing, love and courtship, continues to fascinate anthropologists seeking to piece together the habits of the ancient enamored.
Our readings of the Shijing poems (mainly from the opening Guofeng section) will address the potential social functions indicated by the above anthropological method as well as the later Confucian interpretations and allegorizations that solemnized the poems as guides for ethical, proper behavior in civilized, courtly society (v.s. Large and Small prefaces).
Readings:
Odes Of Zhou (1-11)
Odes of Shao (12-25)
Questions:
(1) What is the tone of the various poetic voices in these poems?
(2) What do the poems convey to you about romantic or marital relationships in (pre-) classical China?
(3) How does the fact that the poems were written by men about women's relationships affect our understanding of what is conveyed in the poems?
Links:
(1) Great Preface
(2) Guan-guan
(3) Virginia's dual-language Shijing etext
Secondary references:
* Kern, Martin. "Shijing Songs as Performance Texts: A Case Study of 'Chu ci'." Early China 25 (2000): 49-111.
*Shaugnessy, Edward L. "From Liturgy to Literature: The Ritual Contexts of the Earliest Poems in the Book of Poetry." Before Confucius: Studies in the Creation of the Chinese Classics. Albany: SUNY Press, 1997. 165-197.
* Granet, Marcel. Festivals and Songs of Ancient China. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1975.
