Festivals and Songs of Ancient China

Marcel Granet, E.D. Edwards

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317296041
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Scienze sociali
• Categoría: Cultura e tradizioni

Granet's original work delves deep into the religious and spiritual customs of ancient China by analysing their festivals and songs from the Book of Odes including the original Chinese script. This translation, originally published in 1932, aimed to present Granet's observations to a wider English readership by omitting the Chinese characters and providing an in-depth insight into one of the most important early civilisations. This title will be of interest to students of Asian studies.

I

THE LOVE SONGS OF THE SHIH CHING

It is my intention to make a study of certain poems of the Shih ching, drawn chiefly from the first part which is distinguished by the title Kuo fêng. They are love-songs, plain-spoken and quite unambiguous.

HOW TO READ A CLASSIC

The Shih ching,¹ one of the classical books of China, is an ancient anthology of poetical compositions. It is known as the Book of Odes or the Book of Poetry and comprises four parts, the first being a collection of local songs classified by States,² while the remaining divisions contain, for the most part, songs of a ritual character.

Tradition maintains that the selection of the odes and songs was the work of Confucius: of all those preserved by the music-masters of the royal court only some three hundred pieces were adjudged by the Master to be worthy of inclusion in his collection.³ It is said that the local songs (Kuo fêng) were collected periodically in the vassal states (kuo) because they exemplified the manners (fêng) brought about there by the feudal lords.⁴ The odes of the first two sections of the Kuo fêng (Chou nan and Shao nan)⁵ are generally allowed to have been composed in the royal palace, and, when sung afterwards in the villages of the various fiefs, they were the means of reforming morals.

If the evidence of the Analects¹ may be accepted, Confucius urged the study of his Anthology on the ground that from it the practice of virtue might be learned: the habit of moral reflecion, respect for the social duties, and a strong antipathy to evil—these would be the benefits of such a study. Apart from moral lessons, much practical information would be found therein, and from the Shih ching a great deal might be learned about plants and animals.

Regarded as being of assistance in the development of the upright man and having the authority of a great saint, the Book of Poetry has become a book of instruction.

It was first used in schools, such as that which comprised the immediate followers of Confucius²: men of experience discussing³ among themselves political theories, moral precepts and ritual laws—these were the men to whom was afterwards given the title “literati”.⁴ These future government officials, these prospective masters of ceremonial, made the Shih ching the subject of their moral reflections and thus in course of time the traditional interpretation of the text became fixed.

In a company of prospective counsellors of state a knowledge of precedents is esteemed above all, and, according to the teaching of the Master, it is in this knowledge that the strength of counsellors lies.⁵ This, no doubt, is why, at an early period, scholars desired to see in the poems of the Shih ching allusions to the events of history, and why, on the other hand, the poems were quoted in the speeches and dissertations recorded in the histories.

Indeed almost all the poems of the Shih ching¹ are reproduced in the Tso chuan, and, conversely, almost all the poems are explained by events drawn from the Tso chuan.² Now, both the explanation of the Shih ching and the editing of the Tso chuan are attributed to the Confucian School.³

Thus the songs of the Kuo fêng were themselves associated with historical anecdotes and served to illustrate the precepts of moral philosophy and of politics.

Since there were in feudal China numbers of schools, itinerant and otherwise, all more or less independent of one another, it is easy to understand how different traditional interpretations of the Shih ching developed, and when, under the Han dynasty, the restoration of the Anthology burned by Ch’in Shih-huang Ti (246–209 B.C.)⁴ was undertaken, four versions⁵ made their appearance. Since, however, the differences lie only in details of orthography, there can be no doubt of the authenticity of the text, which has been handed down with only one of the systems of interpretation, that of Mao Ch‘ang. It is referred to Tzŭ Hsia, a disciple of Confucius; to him is attributed a short gloss which forms the preface. The explanations given are always historical, moral, and symbolic.

From what remains of the other versions it is evident that this method of interpretation was general. Had they all been preserved in their entirety it would have been possible by a comparison of detail to understand the state of mind of the various schools and to know exactly the characteristics of each. In the present state of the text the work is still possible if all the quotations from the Shih ching found in the histories, especially in the Tso chuan and the Lieh nü chuan, are utilized. Such a study would form a noteworthy contribution to the review of the origins of Chinese history, but would do nothing to further a knowledge of the original meaning of the songs and odes.

The essential thing is to note that, in the Han period, the symbolic interpretation was generally accepted. By this the educational value of the collection was still further increased. The Shih ching was studied not only in order to learn about natural history or national antiquities but also to understand the political history of the kingdom—to understand it better than it could be understood from the Annals, for side by side with the facts, were found, in symbolic form, opinions of weight.

Even a practical method of formulating moral judgments was discovered therein. In feudal times one of the most essential duties of the vassal was to offer advice. This was one of the ways in which his loyalty might be proved and his destiny be bound up with that of his liege lord. If his lord did evil the vassal was bound to rebuke him. Admonitions, indeed, form a large part of the subject matter of history.¹ An admonition, in order not to wound the dignity of the ruler, must not be direct. Thus it was a good plan to quote aptly and with proper emphasis, some lines from the Shih ching² which, for the occasion, assumed a symbolic value. Many songs are necessary for curbing absolute power. The habit persisted of quoting the Shih ching in the imperial councils. But the use of these poetical admonitions to correct the evil tendencies of a youthful prince whose future dignity already rendered him worthy of regard was also found to be a good method. Shortly before the beginning of the Christian era it became necessary to dethrone a bad emperor. His counsellors were punished and his tutor was also properly held responsible. He, however, avoided punishment by pleading in his own defence that he had made use of the three hundred and five poems of the Shih ching in his admonitions to the prince.¹

Such a use of symbolism throws light upon its origin and its destiny alike. The Shih ching has become a book to be used in schools, a sort of manual of ethics for the use of the young. Even the love-songs themselves, provided they are not divorced from their allegorical interpretation, contribute to the growth of virtue in the young. By reason of the fact that they have served through the centuries to inculcate morality, the traditional interpretation of the Shih ching, which has been the cause of its inclusion among the classics, has become untouchable. It must be adhered to, at any rate when speaking officially and whenever it is necessary to show respect for orthodoxy. Possibly it is interpreted differently when read privately and for pleasure.²

A book so old and so closely bound up with the history of China might well arouse in various ways the interest of western scholars.

The earliest missionaries were chiefly sensible of the nobility of the ritual odes. In some of them they discerned traces of an ancient revelation³; they referred to the whole book with sympathy. Couvreur has definitely pointed out the inadequacy of the classical interpretation, and remarked that teachers never explain to children all the poems of an Anthology in which, officially, there is not one “licentious line”. He determined to make known what was the instruction given in the schools.⁴ His translation is an exact reflection of the Shih ching as it is interpreted in our own times, and on this ground it is valuable.

Legge⁵ appears to work upon the Classics rather with ancient China in view, but it must be admitted th...

Índice

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• EDITOR’S NOTE
• INTRODUCTION
• I THE LOVE SONGS OF THE SHIH CHING
• II THE ANCIENT FESTIVALS