Book of Songs

China's oldest poetry collection. It contains 305 poems that were sung in the countries along the Yellow River and in royal courts, and is considered one of the Confucian scriptures (the so-called Five Classics) along with the Book of Documents, the Book of Changes, the Spring and Autumn Annals, and the Book of Rites. It is estimated that the works were written over a period of about 500 years, from the early Western Zhou period (11th century BC) to the mid-Eastern Zhou period (6th century BC). The content is diverse, ranging from cheerful lyric poems appropriate for the relatively stable era of the Zhou dynasty to dark epic poems reflecting the turbulent times, but love poems make up the majority (about half of the total, including marriage poems). Therefore, the Book of Songs is a rare example of romance literature or women's literature in the history of Chinese literature, which flourished in the golden age of ancient songs before Confucianism.

It is not clear when the orally handed down works were transcribed into written language and edited, but the extant "Book of Songs" is the "Mao Shi" (annotated as "Mao Chuan"), said to have been handed down by Duke Mao of the Han dynasty, and is composed of three parts: Feng, Ga, and Shou. The Feng section (160 poems from the Fifteen National Styles) is mainly composed of folk songs from various feudal states, and their themes generally fall within the coordinates shown if the singing scenes of love, marriage, life, and war are plotted on the vertical axis and emotions such as passion, joy, sorrow, and play are crossed on the horizontal axis, but 80% of the work is focused on the joys and sorrows of love and marriage. Songs such as "Kouro" (Shonan), "Shindai" (Haifu), and "Souchu" (Yofū) sing of love games set against the backdrop of festive singing festivals, while "Junshihonpon" (Yofū), "Hyoubai" (Hyōyūbai), and "Kensho" (Zhengfeng) sing of bold courtship songs using symbols of plants and animals, throwing fruit, and crossing rivers. Many of his works convey the passionate spirit of ancient women, such as "Tei Feng," the epic poem "Bo" (Wei Feng) depicting the outcome of a love affair, "Gu Feng" (Diao Feng), "Bomen" (Chen Feng), and "Shikyo" (Hinpu) which describe the tragedy and conflict of lost love, and "Zai Chi" (Jian Feng), which depicts the suffering caused by the constraints of marriage. The Ya (74 Xiao Ya, 31 Tai Ga) are mainly set in the imperial court, society, the battlefield, and history, and include poems on themes such as blessings and welcomes at aristocratic banquets, soldiers' longing for home, generals' military exploits, sorrows over the loss of one's country, and anger at social evils. They also include epic poems about the origins and founding of the Zhou dynasty (such as "Shengmin," "Men," and "Wen Wang"). In addition, the Xiao Ya also includes national-style songs on love and marriage (such as "Cai Lu," "Xiao Bian," and "He Ren Si"). The Odes (31 Zhou Ode, 4 Lu Ode, 5 Shang Ode) are set in ritual sites, and are mainly odes to ancestors or on the theme of seeking fortune. Although the language used in the Book of Songs is extremely difficult to understand, various characteristics can be identified through stylistic analysis. For example, the basic national style of poetry is based on a four-syllable rhythm, with a four-line stanza repeated three times.

Shunan - Kyuuboku (A tree entwined with vines sings of the happiness of a man who receives the active love of a woman)
Ⅰ
In the southern country, on a weeping tree, the vine grows. In the joyful gentleman, the happiness of a good man is brought.
In the south, weeping trees are covered with kudzu grass. ...
In the south, weeping trees grow vines. ...

This is a similar form to traditional children's songs, but the linguistic technique is extremely advanced. Words (a and b) that are transformed by repetition are arranged in horizontal columns with phonetic similarities and vertical columns with semantic similarities (paradigms), creating the effects of gradation and perspective. In addition, by arranging nature (the first two lines) and humans (the last two lines) in parallel in each stanza, he invented a method (called "Xing") of discovering or creating metaphors between two unrelated things. In addition, there are formulae that can be seen in ancient and medieval Western literature, and methods similar to Japan's Honka-dori, and together with the abundant rhetoric, it is a source of Chinese poetics. The Book of Songs was already considered a source of education for intellectuals from the time of Confucius, but the original meaning of the poem was gradually forgotten, and after the burning of books in the Qin Dynasty, four texts emerged. However, only the Mao Shi survived, which was given a systematic interpretation by the commentary by Zheng Xuan of the Later Han Dynasty (called Zheng Zhuan). The Mao Zhuan and the commentary by Kong Yingda of the Tang Dynasty (called Mao Shi Zhengyi), which expanded on Zheng Zhuan, are collectively called the ancient commentaries, and are contrasted with the new commentary by Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty (called Shishu Zhuan). The new commentaries are not as rigid as the ancient ones, but they share the same historicist and moralistic interpretations. Attempts to approach the true nature of the Book of Songs, freed from Confucian hermeneutics, began in the 20th century. The sociological study by Marcel Granet of France (1919) set the stage, followed by Wen Yiduo's folkloric study (1937). An excellent English translation by the British author Arthur Waley (1937) and a linguistic study by the Swedish author B. Carlgren (1942) also appeared, and a new "study of the Book of Songs" began.

[Kano Yoshimitsu]

"Selections of Chinese Poets 1 & 2: The Book of Songs, National Style, Vol. 1 & 2 , translated and annotated by Yoshikawa Kojiro (1958, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Translated and annotated by Mekada Makoto, The Complete Series of Chinese Classical Literature 15: The Book of Songs and the Chu Citation (1969, Heibonsha)" ▽ "Translated and annotated by Mekada Makoto, The Book of Songs, Vol. 1 & 2, translated by Takada Shinji (1966, 1968, Shueisha)" ▽ "Research on the Establishment of the Various Chapters of the Book of Songs, Vol. 1 & 2, translated by Matsumoto Masaaki (1980, 1981, Kaimei Shoten)" ▽ "Study of the Book of Songs, General Commentary, translated by Shirakawa Shizuo (1981, Houyu Shoten)" ▽ "Translated by Kano Yoshimitsu, The Chinese Classics 18 & 19: The Book of Songs, Vol. 1 & 2, translated by Kano Yoshimitsu (1982, 1983, Gakken)" ▽ "Selections of Chinese Poetry and Prose 2, translated by Nakajima Midori " "The Book of Songs" (1983, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "The Book of Songs by Tadahisa Ishikawa (1984, Meitoku Publishing)" ▽ "The Complete Commentary on the Book of Songs by Takeo Sakai (1984, Kokushoin)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国最古の詩集。黄河流域の諸国や王宮で歌われた詩歌305首を収めたもので、『書経』『易経』『春秋』『礼記(らいき)』とともに儒教の経典（いわゆる五経）の一つとされた。西周初期（前11世紀）から東周中期（前6世紀）に至る約500年間の作品群と推測されている。内容は、周王朝の比較的安定した時代にふさわしい明るい叙情詩から、混乱期を反映する暗い叙事詩まで多彩だが、数のうえでもっとも多いのは恋愛詩である（婚姻詩を含めて全体の約半数）。したがって『詩経』は、儒教以前の古代歌謡の黄金時代に花開いた中国文学史上まれな恋愛文学ないし女流文学の一面をもっている。

　口頭で伝承された作品群がいつ文字言語に写され編集されたか明らかでないが、現存の『詩経』は漢の毛(もう)公の伝えたとされる『毛詩』（その注釈が『毛伝』）で、風(ふう)・雅(が)・頌(しょう)の3部から構成されている。風（十五国風(こくふう)、160首）は諸侯国の民間歌謡を主とし、そのテーマは、恋愛、結婚、生活、戦争という歌いの場を縦軸に、熱情、喜び、悲しみ、戯れなどの感情を横軸に交差させて示すと、たいていこの座標に収まるが、8割は恋愛・結婚の喜び・悲しみに集中する。歌垣(うたがき)的な祝祭を背景に恋愛のゲームを歌う「行露(こうろ)」（召南(しょうなん)）、「新台(しんだい)」（邶風(はいふう)）、「桑中(そうちゅう)」（鄘風(ようふう)）、動植物や投果・渡河などの象徴を用いて大胆な求愛を歌う「鶉之奔奔(じゅんしほんぽん)」（鄘風）、「摽有梅(ひょうゆうばい)」（召南）、「褰裳(けんしょう)」（鄭風(ていふう)）、愛の顛末(てんまつ)を描いた叙事詩「氓(ぼう)」（衛風(えいふう)）、失われた愛の悲劇や葛藤(かっとう)をつづる「谷風(こくふう)」（邶風）、「墓門(ぼもん)」（陳風(ちんふう)）、「鴟鴞(しきょう)」（豳風(ひんぷう)）、婚姻のしがらみによる苦悩を描く「載馳(さいち)」（鄘風）など、古代女性の熱烈な息吹を伝える作品が多い。雅（小雅(しょうが)74首、大雅(たいが)31首）は宮廷、社会、戦場、歴史が主舞台で、貴族の饗宴(きょうえん)での祝福や歓迎、兵士の望郷や将軍の武勲、亡国の憂いや社会悪への憤りなどをテーマとする詩、また、周の起源や建国を歌う叙事詩（「生民(せいみん)」「緜(めん)」「文王(ぶんおう)」など）、そのほか小雅には国風的な恋愛・結婚の歌も含まれている（「采緑(さいりょく)」「小弁(しょうはん)」「何人斯(かじんし)」など）。頌（周頌31首、魯(ろ)頌4首、商(しょう)頌5首）は祭場が舞台で、おもに祖先への頌歌や求福をテーマとする。『詩経』で使用されている言語は甚だ難解であるが、文体論的分析を通して種々の特徴がとらえられる。たとえば国風の基本詩形は四言（4シラブル）のリズムを基調とし、4詩行をもつ連(れん)（スタンザ）が3回反復される。

　周南・樛木(きゅうぼく)（つる草に絡みつかれる木でもって、女の積極的な愛を受ける男の幸福を歌う）
Ⅰ
南有樛木　南の国のしだれ木に
葛藟壘(a)之　かずら草のはうという
楽只君子　喜びあふれる殿方に
福履綏(b)之　良き人の幸(さち)もたらさる
Ⅱ
南有樛木　南の国のしだれ木に
葛藟荒(a)之　かずら草のおおうという
楽只君子　喜びあふれる殿方に
福履将(b)之　良き人の幸みたされる
Ⅲ
南有樛木　南の国のしだれ木に
葛藟栄(a)之　かずら草のめぐるという
楽只君子　喜びあふれる殿方に
福履成(b)之　良き人の幸とげられる

　これは伝承童謡と似た形式であるが、言語の技巧は甚だ高度である。反復で変換される語（a・b）は、横の列に音声上の類似性、縦の列に意味上の類似性をもつ語（パラディグム）を配置し、漸層法や遠近法の効果をつくりだす。また、各連で自然（前半2行）と人間（後半2行）を並べる平行法により、無関係の二物間に隠喩(いんゆ)（メタファー）を発見ないし創造するという手法（「興」という）を編み出した。そのほか、西欧の古代・中世文学にもみえる定型句（フォーミュラー）の手法や、わが国の本歌取(どり)に似た手法もあり、豊富なレトリックと相まって中国詩学の源泉となっている。『詩経』はすでに孔子(こうし)のころから知識人の教養とされたが、詩の最初の意味はしだいに忘れられ、秦(しん)の焚書(ふんしょ)を経て、四つのテキストが出現した。しかし後漢(ごかん)の鄭玄(じょうげん)の注釈（『鄭箋(ていせん)』という）により解釈の体系性を与えられた『毛詩』のみ生き残った。『毛伝』と『鄭箋』を敷衍(ふえん)した唐(とう)の孔穎達(くようだつ)の注釈（『毛詩正義』）をあわせて古注といい、南宋(なんそう)の朱子(しゅし)の新注（『詩集伝』）と対する。新注は古注ほど硬直していないが、歴史主義的、道徳主義的解釈では共通する。儒教的解釈学から解放されて『詩経』の真の姿に迫ろうとする試みは20世紀に始まった。フランスのマルセル・グラネの社会学的研究（1919）が先鞭(せんべん)をつけ、聞一多(ぶんいった)の民俗学的研究（1937）が続く。イギリスのアーサー・ウェーリーの優れた英訳（1937）、スウェーデンのB・カールグレンの言語学的研究（1942）も現れ、新しい「詩経学」が緒についた。

［加納喜光］

『吉川幸次郎訳注『中国詩人選集1・2　詩経国風　上下』（1958・岩波書店）』▽『目加田誠訳『中国古典文学大系15　詩経・楚辞』（1969・平凡社）』▽『目加田誠著『詩経訳注』上下（1983・龍渓書舎）』▽『高田真治著『漢詩大系1・2　詩経　上下』（1966、68・集英社）』▽『松本雅明著『詩経諸篇の成立に関する研究』上下（1980、81・開明書店）』▽『白川静著『詩経研究　通論篇』（1981・朋友書店）』▽『加納喜光訳『中国の古典18・19　詩経　上下』（1982、83・学習研究社）』▽『中島みどり著『中国詩文選2　詩経』（1983・筑摩書房）』▽『石川忠久著『詩経』（1984・明徳出版社）』▽『境武男著『詩経全釈』（1984・汲古書院）』

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