The Book of Songs is the earliest collection of poems in China, which was upgraded to a national classic after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty exclusively respected Confucianism. There are 305 poems in the book * * *, which are composed of three parts: Feng (the style of fifteen countries), Ya (elegant), Ode (Zhou Song) and Ode to Shang Dynasty. But who actually compiled these poems into books? People still have different opinions.
Confucius deleted poems. The compilation of The Book of Songs is attributed to Confucius alone. This statement originated in the Han Dynasty. "Historical Records Confucius Family" contains: "There are more than 3,000 ancient poems, even Confucius; Go to its weight, take it and apply it to etiquette ... 350 songs, all sung by Confucius, in order to praise Wu Ya. " "History of Han, Art and Literature" said: "Confucius used pure Zhou poetry. There are 350 articles on taking Yin and Lu. " It is believed that Confucius chose the content of The Book of Songs.
However, the dissidents put forward some reasons to refute: first, the history books say that Confucius deleted poems, and he was nearly 70 years old after returning from Weiguo to Shandong. Before that, Confucius called it "Three Hundred Poems", so it can be seen that in the young and middle-aged period of Confucius, the Book of Songs had already numbered 300. Second, in Zuo Zhuan's Twenty-nine Years of Xianggong, the son of Wu watched in Lu, and the musicians played fifteen national styles first, then few and elegant, and finally eulogized. The order and content are basically the same as today's Book of Songs. At that time, Confucius was only eight years old in nominal age, so it can be seen that the Book of Songs was finalized at that time. Thirdly, the diplomatic exchanges between the vassal states in the Zhou Dynasty were often endowed with "poems" to express their feelings. For example, in the four years of Zuo Zhuan, Wu attacked Chu and Chu was defeated. The State of Chu sent Shen to the imperial court of Qin to ask for reinforcements, and cried for seven days and seven nights. Qin Aigong was deeply moved and wrote poems without clothes, expressing his determination to save and restore the State of Chu. If there was no unified title in the Book of Songs at that time, it would be impossible to express the aspirations in the Book of Songs. So, who compiled the Book of Songs?
One said that the king chose poems. Poetry in The Book of Songs lasted for five centuries, from the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty to Qin Mugong in the Spring and Autumn Period. The creation site covers almost the whole Yellow River basin, plus the Yangtze River and Hanshui River, stretching for thousands of miles. How to put many poems together? As early as the Han Dynasty, there was a saying that "Wang collected poems". "History of Food in Hanshu" said: "Meng Chunyue (the first month of the lunar calendar), people who live in groups are scattered, and pedestrians shake Mu Duo to the road to collect poems." Liu Xin and Shu said, "I invited three generations, with Qin Xuan, the director of Zhou Qi, as the chariot messenger, and Tijen as the messenger to patrol the road in August, asking for generations of language, nursery rhymes and songs." It is said that the emperor sent officials to collect poems all over the country by car, so that "the king stays at home and knows all the sufferings in the world;" You can know the four directions without class "(He Xiu's Biography of the Ram).
One said that the Zhou Dynasty was made up by a surname. Modern Zhu believes that the editing power of The Book of Songs is likely to be in the hands of Taishigong of Zhou Dynasty. In Classic Talk, he pointed out that during the Spring and Autumn Period, all countries raised a group of musicians, such as the troupe of the later rich, whose boss was called Taishi. Ambassadors from all over the world must play music and sing at the banquet. Masters should not only collect their own music songs, but also collect music songs from other countries. In addition to these collected ballads, there are poems written by nobles for special things, such as ancestor worship, feasting, house completion, sending troops to hunt, etc., which can be said to be ritual poems. There are also satirical poems and poems praising beauty. Poetry is dedicated to the monarch by the liegeman, and it is prepared for musicians to sing to the monarch. It can be said to be political poetry. Taishi preserved these songbooks, with more than 300 songs and lyrics, which were commonly known as "Poetry 300" at that time. Musicians and Taishi in the world are the heroes who collected and sorted out the Book of Songs, but it is the Taishi in the Zhou Dynasty who wants to achieve the overall unification of compilation. In Guoyu Lu Yuxia, there is a record that "the father revised the business name and eulogized twelve articles in Zhou Taishi". My father was a doctor in Song Dynasty, who dedicated himself to praising Taishi Gong in Shang Dynasty. There are only five "Shang Fu" in the Book of Songs, which is probably deleted by Tai Shigong on the basis of twelve. From this point of view, The Book of Songs should be compiled by the Zhou Dynasty Taishi.