+ About the Speakers

RELATED TOPIC:
The Book of Songs and China's Literary Tradition

RELATED TOPIC:
Legends of the Zhou and the Nature of Chinese Society

RELATED TOPIC:
"The Great Preface" and Five Notions about Poetry

RELATED TOPIC:
Individual Voices in the Book of Songs

 
THE BOOK OF SONGS
AND THE HAN DYNASTY CODIFICATION

Imputed Role of Confucius in Compilation of Book of Songs
Confucius (551-479 BCE) lived during the Spring and Autumn Period and traveled among the feudal states of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (771-256 BCE), seeking to advise the feudal lords on how to establish and maintain social order.

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.