People who regard poems as classics think that these poems have sacred status and are classics; People who regard poetry as history think that these poems are historical records and reflect the social, political and cultural conditions at that time. In the academic field of studying the Book of Songs, there are indeed two main schools: one is Confucianism and the other is literature.
The Confucian Classics School regards The Book of Songs as a classic and holds that it has sacred status and value. In their view, The Book of Songs is not only a literary work, but a carrier of China's ancient culture and thoughts, and it is one of the Confucian classics. Therefore, the School of Confucian Classics pays attention to studying the Book of Songs from the perspective of culture and thought, and explores its philosophical, moral and political significance and value.
Literary schools regard The Book of Songs as an ancient literary work, and pay attention to studying it from a literary perspective. They believe that The Book of Songs is a treasure of ancient literature in China and one of the representatives of ancient poetry in China, with unique artistic value and aesthetic significance. Therefore, literary schools pay attention to the study of the style, rhetoric and expression of The Book of Songs, and explore its artistic achievements and literary contributions.
Appreciation of The Book of Songs:
1. As far as artistic achievements are concerned, The Book of Songs has a unique style and characteristics. Its expressive techniques are diverse, such as fu, comparison and xing, which provide important reference and enlightenment for later poetry creation. Metaphors, symbols, hints and other rhetorical devices are widely used in The Book of Songs, which makes the poem more vivid and appealing. The Book of Songs also has superb ideological and artistic quality, covering many aspects such as love, affection, friendship, loyalty and filial piety, and profoundly reflecting the diversity and richness of human nature.
2. From the content, The Book of Songs is mainly divided into three parts: style, elegance and vulgarity, and fu. Among them, the wind music part is mainly folk songs, which reflects the social outlook and people's living conditions at that time; The elegant part is the work of the aristocratic class, which reflects the political, economic and cultural situation of the Zhou Dynasty. The ode part is a sacrificial music song, which is used to worship ancestors and gods. These poems show the social outlook and people's living conditions at that time from different angles, and provide important materials for us to understand ancient history and culture.