The legend was made up by Confucius. According to the different tunes of the works, it is divided into three parts: style, elegance and vulgarity, and praise. The creation time of each article is generally from the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, and most of the authors have no way to verify it. After a long period of accumulation, these works were re-edited by Confucius at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period as textbooks for his students. The pre-Qin period was called "Poetry" or "Poetry 300". In the Han Dynasty, Confucianism regarded it as a classic and called it The Book of Songs.
The existing Book of Songs is said to have been handed down by Mao Heng in the Warring States Period and Scapharca subcrenata in the Han Dynasty, so it is called Shi Mao.