Shijing
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- Chinese:
- “Classic of Poetry”
- Wade-Giles romanization:
- Shih-ching
Shijing, the first anthology ofChinesepoetry. It was compiled by the ancient sageConfucius (551–479bc) and cited by him as a model of literary expression, for, despite its numerous themes, the subject matter was always “expressive of pleasure without beinglicentious, and of grief without being hurtfully excessive” (Lunyu).
The book, one of theFive Classics (Wujing), contains 305 poems (and six poem titles) that are classified as popular songs, ballads (feng, “wind”), courtly songs (ya, “elegant”), or eulogies (song).
Four versions of theShijing came into existence after theQin dynasty rulerShihuangdi ordered the famousburning of the books in 213bc. The only surviving version contains introductory remarks byMao Chang, a scholar who flourished in the 2nd centurybc.
