Weight of early poetry felt through the ages

By Zhao Xu | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2025-06-09 07:32
Share
Share - WeChat
Two children play with a moon-shaped balloon printed with ancient poems in Huainan city, Anhui province, last September. [PHOTO BY CHEN BIN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Bureaucrats in ancient China had to have knowledge of verse as reflection of their soul, Zhao Xu reports.

What did poetry mean to the ancient Chinese? Confucius (551-479 BC) offered an answer. "Poetry can inspire the mind, offer insight, foster social connection, and give voice to discontent," he declared in The Analects, a philosophical text composed of sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and his disciples.

As ancient China's foremost moral guide, Confucius was referring to a specific collection of poems: the Shi Jing (literally Classics of Poetry, more commonly translated as the Book of Songs), the oldest surviving anthology of Chinese poetry, containing 305 works dating from the 11th to 6th centuries BC. Alongside The Analects (Lunyu in Chinese), the Book of Songs has long been regarded as a cornerstone of Confucian thought. For over two millennia, it was essential reading for aspiring bureaucrats, who were required to demonstrate their understanding of its verses in the rigorous civil service examinations.

"To select officials based on their knowledge of poetry — though it may seem slightly odd at first — rests on a deeper logic: that writing, and poetry in particular, is a reflection of the soul," says Zhang Yinan, a researcher from the National Library of China.

"A poet remains a poet even when not writing verse, for being a poet is an existential state of mind: One that fosters heightened sensitivity and the ability to see from a broader, more historical perspective. Those lacking such depth were deemed unfit to govern."

In other words, the act of writing poetry, as an often idiosyncratic if not entirely whimsical pursuit, was deeply entwined with politics in ancient China. That tradition was set by Shi Jing, says Tan Zuowen, who teaches ancient Chinese literature at Beijing's Capital Normal University.

1 2 3 Next   >>|

Related Stories

Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产chinasex对白videos麻豆| 在线观看污污网站| 亚洲丝袜第一页| 精品三级66在线播放| 国产欧美日韩综合精品二区| av在线手机播放| 抬头见喜全集免费版| 亚洲av第一网站久章草| 爱做久久久久久久久久| 四只虎免费永久观看| 91香蕉视频黄色| 国产精品麻豆va在线播放| 一区二区在线看| 日本亚洲色大成网站www久久| 亚洲小说图片视频| 秦老头大战秦丽娟无删节| 国产亚洲精品无码专区| 在线观看福利网站| 天天综合天天综合| 中文字幕伊人久久网| 日韩免费无砖专区2020狼| 亚洲成人中文字幕| 男人扒开女人下面狂躁动漫版| 国产v在线播放| 黄网站色视频大全免费观看| 国产精品高清视亚洲一区二区| yy6080亚洲一级理论| 插鸡网站在线播放免费观看| 九九电影院理论片| 欧美成人天天综合在线视色| 伊人色综合网一区二区三区| 美女扒开腿让男人捅| 国产在线观看麻豆91精品免费| 2021国内精品久久久久久影院| 天天躁日日躁狠狠躁一区| 中文国产成人精品久久app| 日本花心黑人hd捆绑| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区dv| 欧美日韩亚洲区久久综合| 亚洲高清日韩精品第一区| 精品久久久久久亚洲精品|