Robert Oxnam :: The importance of agriculture, ritual, and the Mandate of Heaven is reflected in the teachings of the philosopher Confucius, who lived in the sixth century before the Common Era, the century in which the Book of Songs, or Classic of Poetry, began to evolve into its final form.**
And indeed, legend has it that Confucius played a major role in the compilation of
the Book of Songs.
Stephen Owen :: It was believed that Confucius defined, not only selected, all the poems in the Classic of Poetry, but also that he defined the order of the poems in the anthology, to show the rise and fall of the Zhou dynasty.
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** The Book of Songs is also known as the Book of Poetry, the Classic of Poetry, and sometimes the Book of Odes. These are all possible translations of the Chinese title, Shi jing [Shih-ching in Wade-Giles romanization]. |