The Book Of Odes, Shi-King: The Classics Of Confucius

by Confucius, Launcelot Cranmer-Byng

The Book of Odes, also known as Shi-King, is a collection of ancient Chinese poems that has been considered a classic of Confucianism for centuries. This particular edition, translated by L. Cranmer-Byng, provides a complete and faithful rendition of the original work, including all 305 poems and their corresponding annotations. The poems cover a wide range of themes, from love and nature to politics and morality, and offer a valuable insight into the cultural and social context of ancient China. The translation is accompanied by an introduction that provides historical and literary context, as well as an overview of the major themes and motifs of the collection. This edition is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in Chinese literature, philosophy, or history.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, China, Nonfiction, History, Asia, Philosophy

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 651

About the author

Chinese philosopher Confucius, originally Kong Fuzi and born circa 551 BC, promoted a system of social and political ethics, emphasizing order, moderation, and reciprocity between superiors and subordinates; after his death in 479 BC, disciples compiled the Analects , which contains a collection of his sayings and dialogues.

Teachings of this social thinker deeply influenced Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese life.

孔子 - Kong Zi
孔夫子 - Kong Fuzi (Kung Fu-Tzu)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

Reviews

[Yasmeen Asha · Rating 4 out of 5]

اسم الكتاب: الأغاني "مختارات من الأدب الصيني الكلاسيكي"


* تعريف موجز عن كتاب الأغاني الصيني "الشيجينغ"

إن الشيجينغ هو أول مجموعة شعرية عامة في الصين
ظهر الكتاب في القرن السابع قبل الميلاد ، فيرجع تاريخه الى ما قبل أكثر من ألفين وخمسمائة سنة.

يحتوي الكتاب على ثلاثمائة وخمس من القصائد والأغاني تم جمعها على مدى خمسمائة سنة .

كاتبه ليس واحداً ومعظم المحتويات تمثل الأشعار الغنائية والاهازيج الشعبية الشائعة في زمنها ، أما الأخرى فهي أغان كانت تغنى في الفعاليات الاحتفالية والمراسم الرسمية .

الأغاني
يقسم الكتاب لمجموعة من الاقسام والعناوين وصنفت ما يلي :

القسم الاول "الأغاني/ القصائد الإقليمية"

قصائد تشو نان / قصائد شاو نان /باي فونغ/يونغ فونغ /
وي فونغ / وانغ فونغ / تشنغ فونغ /تشي فونغ / ويوي فونغ / تشين فونغ /تشن فونغ/كواي فونغ / تساو فونغ

القسم الثاني "القصائد الغنائية"
_القصائد الصغرى
_القصائد الكبرى

قسم الثالث " المدائح الملكية "
مدائح تشو
مدائح دولة لو
مدائح دولة شانغ

وكل قسم يتفرع لمجموعة عناوين تحتوي على مجموعة قصائد فعدد القصائد كبير

ليست اول مره لي مع الادب الصيني فهذا الكتاب الثالث الذي اقرأه في الادب الصيني ؛ وصدقاً احببت الادب الصيني واتوقع اذا اتيحت لي الفرصه لقراءة المزيد لن اقول لا 😁

احببت الكتاب وما يحتويه من قصائد بعضها غريب وجميل وبعضها ممتع وبعضها تشعر كأنك تقرأ قصة وبعضها يتحدث عن عاداتهم وعن المزارعين وعن الملوك وغيرها

كانت تجربة ممتعة وجميلة

[Barack Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

362-Classic of Poetry-Anonymous-Poetry-1100BC

Barack
2021/09/2 0

"The Book of Songs" was created from the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period (from the 11th century to the 6th century). It is the beginning of ancient Chinese poetry and the earliest collection of poems. There are 311 pieces in total, of which 6 are Sheng Poems, that is, they have only titles and no content, so they are called the Six Sheng Poems. It reflects the social outlook for about 500 years from the beginning of the week to the end of the week.

"The Book of Songs" was called "Poems" in the pre-Qin period, or "Three Hundreds of Poems" in whole numbers. In the Western Han Dynasty, it was revered as a Confucian classic, and it was first called "The Book of Songs" and is still used today. The Book of Songs is divided into three parts: "Feng", "Ya" and "Song". "Wind" is a ballad from all parts of the Zhou Dynasty; "Ya" is the Zhou people's righteous and elegant music, divided into "Xiaoya" and "Daya"; "Ode" is the ritual song of the royal court of the Zhou Dynasty and the noble ancestral temple, and is divided into "Zhou Songs, Songs to Lu and Songs to Shang.

Group work. Most of the anonymity of the author of "The Book of Songs" cannot be verified.

Table of Contents
1. the wind
1.1. Zhou Nan
1.2. Shannan
1.3. Bei Feng
1.4. Feng Feng
1.5. Wei Feng
1.6. Wang Feng
1.7. Zheng Feng
1.8. Qi Feng
1.9. Wei Feng
1.10. Tang Feng
1.11. Qin Feng
1.12. Chen Feng
1.13. Cypress
1.14. Cao Feng
1.15. Dining
2. Ya
2.1. Xiaoya
2.2. Daya
3. Ode
3.1. Zhou Song
3.2. Lu Song
3.3. Business Ode

" Customs cock J ū dove JI ū at River Island Yo Y ǎ O Tiao Ti ǎ O lady good gentlemen H ǎ O K. Qi Ú reference C ē n- difference C ī Nymphoides X ė ng dish flow around the Pygmalion HTTP W Ù Mei m è I seeking the wish Wu Mei Si serving leisurely tossing mixed Nymphoides mining of about Pygmalion harps Limerick mixed Nymphoides about Mao m à O of Pygmalion three hundred music L è the "

Whether times are ahead 3 000 years or back 3 000 years, human emotions are always similar. So family, love, and friendship are always so fascinating.

" Peach’s Yaoyao burns zhu ó Zhuo Qihua hu ā ’s son is in the family of Guiyiqi, Tao Zhiyao has an f é n In fact, the son of Tao Zhiyao is in the family’s family, Tao Zhiyao and its leaves are zh ē n Zhen ’s son Yu Go to his family "

Peaches have no emotions, but when people associate them with human emotions, they have emotions. The world may be objective, but because of its connection with people, every plant is so cute.

" Wild have died DEER J ū n- Imperata package of female Huaichun custard entice Lin Park P Ú Su S Ù wild deer have died Imperata pure T Ú n- beam female jade comfortable and off TU ė off Xi no sense h à the n- my handkerchief shu Ì Come without the shaggy dog m á ng also bark "

Which teenager is not good at love, which girl is not good at cherishing spring. When we 3 0 years old think 2 0 -year-old love, perhaps smiled, I feel a little naive. However, that kind of fascinating heartbeat may be difficult to have again.

" Drumming boring its enthusiastic use of troops soil Chinatown canal c á O and I alone southbound from Sunzi Zhong Ping Chen and Song not to return my worry has distressed Yuan yu á the n- residence at Yuan Yuan mourning his horse to a view of the forest of, " Death and life Qikuo and Zicheng said that holding the hand and the child grow old in x ū I live in x ú n Xi does not believe in me "

The Book of Poetry has been around for a long time, and some poems have been around for a long time, but whether it describes love or fellowship, etc., there is no final conclusion. But all emotions, in the depths, probably reach the same goal by different routes?

" Pan He Bo Zhou in Peru River Dan D à n- He two bang m á O real dimension I instrument vector extravagant death is also the mother days only not understanding people only Pan Peter Bo Zhou in Peru riverside to each other two manes Dan real dimension I especially the death of vector extravagant evil thought t è mother only days also do not forgive people only. "

If there are people you like, how does the external environment form resistance, it is probably difficult to dismantle them? This kind of decisive emotion is too little, so it is so desirable, right?

" Phase XI à ng murine skin have people meter without people meter without dying What is with a murine toothed man without dead man without stopping die soon where S ė phase has a body murine person rude person rude Hu, not Trent chu á n die "

How can one not pay attention to one's own appearance? Regardless of the track, the heart is not perfect. In most cases, people evaluate others by their speech and behavior. How can people not always pay attention to their words and deeds when dealing with other people?

"A great man has his qi q í clothed brocade Ji ǒ ng clothes Qihou's son Wei Hou's wife Donggong sister Xing Hou's aunt Tan Gongwei private hands are like a catkin t í skin is like a fat collar like a qi ú q í teeth are like a pot H Ù rhinoceros the X- ī cicada q í the n- first Crescent Qiaoxiaoqianxi eyes hope Xi Hiroto Ao Ao said shu Ì in rural farming four male has pride Zhu Fen f é the n- darts BI ā O Biao Zhai d í Fu- f ú to towards the doctor back Su no labor sympathizing water YY North live stream Gu ō living administered large fishing net G ū dirt Hu Ò dirt Zhan ZH ā n- tuna W ě I hair P ō hair Jia JI ā Tan T ǎ n- take off the cane ginger sin Ni è The evil generalist has a qi è ”

Leaving aside the Book of Songs, the take of these insects to animal metaphor, in fact intuitively not so good. Because most people feel the natural insects may not be liked, but to some resentment and even fear, can these verses in a time of blessing, but has a sense of beauty.

" Meng of Chi CH ī Chi hold silk cloth trade bandit to trade silk to which I seek ever been involved Ki As Farmington bandit I trespass qi ā the n- period sub unscrupulous media will qi ā ng child without anger autumn that period multiplied by each other dilapidated gu ǐ Yuan yu á the n- to look GATT seen GATT Qiti Lian Lian only see GATT load carrier laugh statement Er Boer Divination SH Ì body Harm Introduction to the car to Seoul to bribe me to move Sang hardly ever its leaves Waugh If in the X- ū sigh dove Come no food mulberry SH è the n- sigh female Come no with disabilities delay scholar delay Xi still be said TU ō also women of the delay Xi can not say mulberry fall carry on its yellow and fall from the sky the y- ǔ the n- self CU c ú Seoul -year-old food poor Qishui soup SH ā ng soup gradually JI ā the n- car curtain Sang CH á ng women are also unhappy with disabilities II t è deeds H á ng Guests also she went twenty-three its German -year-old woman is extravagant room workers carry Suxingyemei extravagant toward zh ā O men made by men Accomplished As for violent men brothers, I do not know bite the X- ī its men laugh static thinking of words Gongzi Mourning d à O men and Seoul have cried old I blame Qi, there are shore Xi the X- í there Pan the p- à the n- total angular feast made laugh Yan Yan vowed not think the anti- anti do not think has also zai Yan "

When people say that I love you, I probably really do it. Later, for various reasons, people changed their minds and said, when I didn't love you, they probably didn't pretend. The elusiveness of love makes it impossible to expect eternity but to grasp the present.

" Vote for me to papaya, quoted by Joan Kui bandit newspaper also never thought good also vote for me to peach trees quoted by Qiong Yao bandits also reportedly never thought good also vote for me to wooden Lee quoted by Joan Nine bandit newspaper also never thought that good and "

Emotions are mutual. If only one party pays for a long time, it cannot last. Must perceive each other's pay, and he is to respond, interact together, it might go away.

[Yu · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a native speaker in Chinese, I compared this one with the Chinese version and the English version translated by Xu YuanChong, which translate the classic the Book of Odes (诗经）in beautiful and exact English.
An example to compare these two versions :
it shows that the version of Xu yuanChong does not only keep the rhythm and tones of the "song " but also translate more accurately the meaning.
Here I just quote one sentence randomly.

燕燕 - Yan Yan
燕燕于飛、差（cī）池其羽。 之子于歸、遠送于野。 瞻望弗及、泣涕如雨。
A Farewell Song
A pair of swallows fly, With their wings low and high. You go homein your car; I see you off afar. When your car disappears, Like rain fall down my tears. [Xu Yuanchong]

The swallows go flying about, With their wings unevenly displayed. The lady was returning [to her native state], And I escorted her far into the country. I looked till I could no longer see her, And my tears fell down like rain.

[Clurtle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is was just a sweet and feel good collection. I’m a sucker for poetry, so a run down of some ancient poems describing ancient life and strife with uncannily similar bains of dread, was an unexpectedly nice treat to read. It’s a bit short overall, but the presentation of the materials is really respectful and high quality, so I give it pass. Another great addition to my library. This has been an extremely fun and intriguing way to learn something of Chinese culture and some of its origin.

[Laura Scribner · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was well put together, in that the book itself is pretty, but I couldn’t connect with any of it. I understand the why (the translator all but tells the reader they probably won’t get it. Gee thanks), but if it’s already known that this really won’t make much sense to a modern day, western reader, why not add some context for flavor?

[Effy Dagmar Lindström · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few of my favourite lines from the poems:

‘The tyranny of heaven is hard to bear’

‘Heaven spreads its cruel nets’

‘My four fine white horses fly along, although the road is long and winding’

^ Lines like this are the reason folklore is one of my great loves!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Just Beautiful

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty aight, only the Airs are accessible really.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very nice print that would look beautiful on a bookshelf, and the translation work is very good, but I'm a little disappointed by how little of the Book of Songs that it actually contains

[Steven Severance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthraling and hynotic translations. Takes you to another world.

[Roaa Wahab · Rating 4 out of 5]

"كتاب الأوتار او القصائد " أو "The Book of Odes" هو مجموعة من القصائد الصينية القديمة التي تعود إلى فترة الفتح (1046-256 قبل الميلاد) في تاريخ الصين. يُعتبر كتاب الأواشي واحدًا من النصوص الكلاسيكية الأربعة في الأدب الصيني، إلى جانب كتاب التاريخ وكتاب الشعر وكتاب التعاليم. يُعتقد أنه تم تجميعه وتأليفه في الفترة الزمنية التي تمتد من القرن الحادي عشر قبل الميلاد إلى القرن السادس قبل الميلاد ، تم تنقيحه وترتيبه في العصور اللاحقة، خاصة في عهد أسرة هان في الصين. تُعتبر هذه الفترة فترة الدول المتحاربة وأسرة هان فترة مهمة في تاريخ الصين القديم، حيث تأثرت الأدب والثقافة بشكل كبير خلالها. يُعتبر هذا الكتاب أحد أهم الأعمال الأدبية في التراث الصيني، حيث تتنوع قصائده بين الحب والحرب والطبيعة والحياة اليومية. القصائد في كتاب الأواشي كتبت باللغة الصينية القديمة وتمثل قمة الأدب الصيني القديم. يضم الكتاب أكثر من 300 قصيدة، تمتاز هذه القصائد بأسلوبها الشاعري الجميل والعميق الذي يعكس حكمة الشعب الصيني القديمة وتقاليدهم الثقافية. بالرغم من مرور القرون على إنشائها، إلا أن روعة العواطف والأفكار التي تحملها ما زالت تلامس قلوب إلى اليوم. يتألف الكتاب من مجموعة متنوعة من المواضيع والمشاعر. تتنوع هذه القصائد بين التأملات الفلسفية والمشاعر العميقة للحب والفرح، إلى الحزن والشوق، وحتى الغضب والحرب. يتميز الكتاب بتعبيراته الشاعرية الرائعة والصور الجميلة التي ترسم لنا لوحات حية لحياة الصين القديمة وتحولاتها الثقافية والاجتماعية. من خلال قراءة هذا الكتاب، استمتعت بالغنى اللغوي والثقافي للأدب الصيني القديم، وفهم أعمق لقيمهم ومعتقداتهم. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، يمكن أن يكون هذا الكتاب مصدر إلهام للقراء الذين يبحثون عن رؤى جديدة وتجارب حياة ملهمة من حضارة قديمة لها تأثير عالمي . ( باختصار، “The Book of Odes” ليس مجرد مجموعة من القصائد القديمة، بل هو نافذة مذهلة إلى عالم مليء بالحكمة والجمال والعاطفة، يستحق الاستكشاف والتأمل من قبل القراء المهتمين بالأدب الصيني والثقافات العالمية بشكل عام )

سبب أختياري لهذا الكتاب هو أنني كنت ابحث في التاريخ الكوري القديم ووجدت ان لهذا الكتاب تأثير كبير على التاريخ والثقافة الكورية خلال العصور القديمة و تأثر شبه الجزيرة الكورية بشكل كبير بالثقافة والأدب الصيني. وقد تم تقديم الكثير من الأعمال الصينية الكلاسيكية، بما في ذلك "كتاب الأوتار"، إلى الكوريين من خلال التبادل الثقافي والتجاري بين البلدين. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، استوحى الكوريون من الأدب الصيني نماذج للشعر والأدب الخاص بهم، وتأثرت القيم والأخلاق الصينية بشكل عام بثقافة الكوريين. بالتالي، يمكن القول إن "كتاب الأوتار" وغيره من الأعمال الصينية الكلاسيكية كان لها تأثير ملحوظ على التاريخ الكوري والتطور الثقافي للشعب الكوري.

وذكر ان الملك جيونجو تأثر بهذا الكتاب ( الملك جيونجو /ملك في الفترة من 1213 إلى 1259) وأنه كان من بين الحكام الذين أظهروا اهتمامًا بالثقافة والأدب الصيني، بما في ذلك قراءة "كتاب الأوتار".
و يعتقد أن الملك جيونجو كان مهتمًا بالثقافة الصينية والأدب، وقد قام بدعم الدراسات والمشاريع الثقافية التي استوحت من التقاليد الصينية. و قد يكون قد استوحى من الحكم الصيني والأفكار المطروحة في "كتاب الأوتار" في سياق صنع القرارات وتوجيهات الحكم. بالتالي، يمكن القول إن "كتاب الأوتار" له تأثير على الملك جيونجو وعلى أسلوب حكمه واهتماماته الثقافية في فترة حكمه.

وذكر ان قصيدتهُ المفضلة من الكتاب كانت بعنوان "North Wind (北風)" التي كانت تعبر عن مكان يعيشه من قصة حُب مع محظيته المفضلة، السيدة سونغ دوك-إيم (المعروفة أيضًا باسم Ui-bin Seong) في تلك الفترة عندما كان وليًّ للعهد و تعتبر قصتهم واحدة من الحكايات الرومانسية الشهيرة في تاريخ جوسون .

نص من قصيدة " رياح الشمال " ص ٤١ :

" الرياح الشمالية باردة ، والثلج المتساقط كثيف
إذا كنتِ حنونة …
مع من احبهُ ويحبني …
سأمسك بيده وأذهب معهُ
لمَ تترددين هكذا ؟
هناك ضرورة مُلحة !
إذا كنتِ حنونة وتحبيني ..
فإني سأمسك بيدكِ واذهب معكِ
هل الثعالب حمراء فقط والغربان سوداء فقط ؟
إذا كنتِ حنونة وتحبيني ..
سأمسك بيدكِ وأذهب في عربتكِ.. "

[CivilWar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Korean translating an ancient Chinese classic based largely on Japanese studies - what could go wrong? Not much seemingly - this is probably the best English rendering of the Shi Jing, or part of it rather, that I've yet seen.

The Shi Jing is based on very short lines, mostly four characters equating to four syllables per verse though this does change - it is a very ancient type of purely aesthetic Chinese, and not the easiest for the modern reader to understand, even if he be a native speaker. Specifically, multiple lines have entirely different interpretations. Thankfully, Ha Poong Kim bases himself on the excellent work of late Japanese Sinologist Shizuka Shirakawa who was an expert in the origins of Chinese culture and really had a way with getting folklore and ancient customs out of these songs in his work on them, so much so that Ha Poong Kim's version feels much more lively AND accurate, for a given meaning of accurate of course, than, say, the Arthur Waley one, or the Ezra Pound one where the man barely knew what he was reading (you can read Shirakawa's works online in Chinese, if you know where to look).

The translation here has a limpid, river water-like clearness to it that I find truly refreshing when compared to older translations, though inevitably almost every verse comes out to far more syllables than the original - that Ha Poong Kim seems to have taken deliberate steps to use as little syllables as possible in most places is greatly appreciated.

The book has very short but quite nice intro and outro discussing the influence of the work on Confucianism and how Confucians could only read it in moralistic, allegorical terms, often stretching out the meaning of the songs quite thin. He shows that Confucius himself read the songs aesthetics and the influence it had on his intellectual thinking. They are quite nice at giving a bit of context to this book, for it is, along with the oracle bones of Shang China which are even more laconic, mysterious and ancient, our one true visage into the daily life, of the average people no less - unlike Homer, the similar "first book" of the West and of any European languages (complete with the Linear B tablets as the equivalent for the oracle bones!), focused as it is exclusively on warrior-princes, kings, queens and other elites, with the masses appearing only as anonymous lamenters and gang-pressed serfs that are only here and there merely mentioned. The contrast between the two is striking - here, only the voice of the "common folk" exists (unlike the rest of the Shi Jing), even when the topic is a nobleman that they happened to hold in reverence.

All-in-all, a compulsively readable translation of the Guo Feng part of the Shi Jing and probably the one that I would recommend the most. The only two flaws are that 1) why not just translate the whole thing? The best full translation of it is still Waley's, which is far from ideal, and 2) that although interpretations of the songs come up in notes every now and then, I would appreciate one for each song, or at least every one of Shirawaka's interpretations in the commentary, since his works are not available to the average English reader! Other than that, as the version is even bilingual, there is nothing to complain about.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The core Confucian canon consists of The 4 Books (discussed elsewhere on this GoodReads list, including the Analects) and The 5 Classics. The most famous of the 5 Classics to Americans is undoubtedly the Book of Changes (I Ching or Yì Jīng, discussed elsewhere on this GoodReads list), but the most important, or at least the one most cited by the Analects and other later Chinese texts, is undoubtedly the Book of Songs (Shih Ching or Shī Jīng). The Shijing is the primary work of poetry of Axial Age Chinese literature. However, unlike its poetic counterparts in Greek and Sanskrit traditions (e.g. the Odyssey and the Mahabharata), the poems are very short and very numerous (305 of them). [interestingly, the Chinese literary tradition does not contain any epic myths of any sort, whether poetic or not]. The 305 poems are divided into 4 sections, of which the 1st and longest (160 poems) is called the Guó fēng ("Airs of the States"), subdivided further by the feudal and feuding principalities into which the ancient Zhōu dynasty was disintegrating. The poems were supposedly selected and organized by Confucius himself, and as mentioned earlier the Analects and other texts use of them to illustrate principles of moral, ethical, and political behavior to garner harmony in the family, the kingdom, and the universe. Surprising then that the Airs of the States are a folksy lot. Most are fun and simple in their beauty. Common themes are love and lust, longing and loss. There is youthful exuberance and there is heartbreak. Strikingly, both male and female voices speak, as do those of both commoners and aristocrats. A glimpse of all of a society can be seen from the point of view of diverse members of that society, something less evident in the Greek and Sanskrit counterparts. Often it seems that the Confucian lessons cited in the Analects are rather stretched. This translation of the Airs, 1 of 3 that I read, explicitly downplays the Confucian connection and explicitly interprets the book in simple, human, non-didactic terms.

[Gabriel Gioia Ávila Oliveira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shijing, traduzido para o Inglês geralmente como "Book of Odes", não é uma obra só, mas sim um compilado de poemas populares chineses entre os séculos XII A.C. e VI A.C. A compilação é atribuída ao famoso filósofo chinês Confúcio, por volta do século VI A.C., e resume de maneira encantadora a vida na China da antiguidade.

O principal mérito do Shijing está na origem dos poemas. Em sua grande maioria, não são poemas da elite, ou feitos simplesmente para glorificar imperadores, mas sim odes (ou louvores) de coisas cotidianas, como o casamento de dois camponeses, os diferentes tipos de pássaros chineses, espécies vegetais relevantes para a cultura chinesa, o trabalho majoritariamente agrário, entre outros temas simples, mas que expressam, como toda grande poesia, o que há de mais humano nessa sociedade tão singular de tantos séculos atrás.

Se a minha leitura clássica me tirou da zona de conforto e me trouxe até a China de Confúcio, esse livro teve completo sucesso em me ajudar a familiarizar com a cultura chinesa, da qual conheço pouco. Fiquei muito feliz por tê-lo lido.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am grateful to anyone who undertakes the translation of ancient Chinese poetry into a form which I can read, and I appreciated the bilingual edition and the notes, but I did wish for more explication at great length and fewer references to Japanese-language texts which I cannot read. I am of course glad he cited his sources, but 'I agree with so-and-so's interpretation of this' when so-and-so has written up her interpretation in a language I cannot read is somewhat frustrating.

[Rebeca F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first approach to this classic, so I don't have much knowledge to compare, but I really enjoyed this translation, I thought it was quite good. The notes along with the preface and essay at the end were a nice add on to understand the text better, and I really liked the choice of the translator to take the songs in their original meaning predating any Confucian interpretation of them.

[Lindsay Fink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this edition of the Book of Songs. It's hard to properly understand the carefulness of the word choice and the clear and elegant forms of the poems just looking at the English translations, so the combined Chinese and English text adds a lot.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ode

A classic on confucianism. I don't know why this is a book of poetry, though the content was a compilation of odes and ritual. The content more on explanation about that ode and ritual needed.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

[Jane Marga · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cultural artifact, indeed.