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Chapter 15 Section 3 The Function of "Book of Songs" in the Social Life of the Spring and Autumn Period

Brief Explanation of Five Classics and Four Books 李思敬 2251Words 2018-03-20

The psalms in the book were originally libretto.Needless to say, the labor songs and love songs introduced in the previous section are all sung like today’s folk songs and minor tunes, even the grand poems in "Ya" and "Ode" are also used for singing. In the Spring and Autumn Period, poetry was often sung in various ceremonies and public activities, and there were certain procedures.Therefore, "Poetry", "Li" and "Le" are closely related. There are good examples in the ceremonies such as "Xiang Drinking Ceremony", "Xiang Shooting Ceremony", "Swallow Ceremony" and "Da Shooting Ceremony" in "Rituals", and "Rural Drinking Ceremony" is the most typical one.According to regulations, when the etiquette reaches a certain place, singing and music must be played.At this moment: "Yuezheng ascends first (the foreman comes on stage first), and stands on the east side of the west steps. Gongjin (musicians come in), ascends from the west steps, and sits on the north side. The minister (praiser) sits on the east side, and then he is awarded the harp, and then he descends ( Retire). Workers' songs (musicians sing) "Deer Crying", "Four Muses", "Huanghuangzhehua". Death song (after singing), the master offers his work (the master toasts the musicians)." [Then the music Notes on Workers' Drinking.Then play music] "The sheng enters the hall, the chime is south, and the north stands. Music (playing) "Southern", "Baihua", "Huashu". The master presented them on the west steps." [Then there are musicians again The etiquette of drinking.Then sing a song, play a piece of music, and perform songs and music alternately.Finally, there will be a chorus with music accompaniment] "Naijian's song "Yu Li" (Sheng "You Geng"), the song "Nanyou Jiayu" (Sheng "Chongqiu"), and the song "Nanshan Youtai" (Sheng "Youyi" ). Nai Hele's "Zhou Nan": "Guan Ju", "Ge Qin", "Juan Er". "Zhao Nan": "Magpie Nest", "Cai Fan", "Cai Ping". The worker told Yu Lezheng : 'Zhengge Bei (Zhengge is over)'! Lezheng tells Yubin, Naijiang (leaves)". [The following will be the village drinking ceremony, playing music, etc.] Through the description in "Yili", we know that there are several singing and music performances interspersed in the village drinking ceremony, and the forms are various: ⑴ song (singing), ⑵ music (playing music), ⑶ inter-song (singing a song, playing A brand song), (4) chorus (chorus with musical instruments).The predecessors understood "Jiange" as musical instrument accompaniment, which may not be accurate.Press, not the same music can not be used for accompaniment. "Hele" is the instrumental accompaniment.It is worth noting that no matter what kind of performance is performed, all poems or Sheng poems are used. There are also various forms of lyrics.Different forms suit different singing styles.Predecessors have made various singing methods: there are leading singing, unison singing, one singing and one singing, and one singing and all singing together.Although this kind of quasi-test has no basis in ancient music scores, it is still very reasonable to have the singing methods of modern folk songs as a reference.For example, "Wei Feng · Papaya" is very similar to the form of singing together (commonly known as "chomping"):

Because this singing form of everyone singing together can produce very grand and strong musical effects, Confucius once said: "The beginning of Shizhi (Taishi Zhiqi Ban), the chaos of "Guanju" (the end of "Guanju") Zhang chorus), it fills the ears (the loud sound fills the eardrums)!" It also played an important role in the foreign affairs activities among various countries in the Spring and Autumn Period.At that time, people engaged in foreign affairs activities liked to express their wishes euphemistically by composing poems, so that the other party could understand them.According to "Zuo Zhuan" records in the 23rd year of Duke Xi (637 BC), Chonger, the prince of Jin (later Duke Wen of Jin), was persecuted and exiled to Qin. One day, Duke Mu of Qin invited him to a banquet.Before going to the banquet, Hu Yan, the entourage, said: "Zhao Shuai [cui Cui]'s diction is better than mine, let him go with you!" ", Qin Mugong then wrote a song "Xiaoya·June".At this time, Zhao Shuai suddenly said loudly: "Chong'er bless you!" So Chong'er went down the steps to pay respects to Duke Mu of Qin.Afterwards, Zhao Shuai explained to Qin Mugong: "The monarch gave Chong'er the poems for assisting the emperor, how dare Chong'er not thank you!" What exactly is this matter about?It turns out that one of the original words of the poem "Mianshui" written by Chong'er Fu is:

Chong'er used this poem to express his nostalgia for his homeland, his parents, and his desire to end his life in mourning as soon as possible, thus suggesting that Qin Mugong escorted him back to his country.The song "June" inscribed by Qin Mugong is a long poem praising general Yin Jifu for assisting King Xuan of Zhou in fighting against the invasion of the northern 玁狁 [xianyun Xianyun].The theme is "Wang Yu (Yue) went out to conquer the kingdom" and "Wang Yu went to fight to assist the Son of Heaven".In the poem, he prominently praised Shanda's military appearance and Yin Jifu's contributions, saying that "Wenwu Jifu, all nations are constitutions". Why did Qin Mugong compose this long poem?I'm afraid no one will ever know.Maybe he really wanted to encourage Chong'er to cheer up and do something to help the Zhou royal family, maybe he took the opportunity to show off his hegemony, but the astute Zhao Shuai immediately grasped the theme of this poem "Yi Kuang Tianzi" and played it on the spot, from He started to write articles from a favorable angle on his own side, and reminded Chong Er to "please give me a favor" as if making a big deal.As expected, Chong'er knew how to play, so Qin Mugong went along with the flow and gave away the favor for nothing, and everyone was happy.According to this material, we can understand the important role in political life at that time, and at the same time, we also understand why Hu Yan recommended Zhao Shuai, who had a better eloquence than himself, to accompany Chonger to the banquet. The method of expressing thoughts similar to the above is called "composing poems to express ambition".This is not uncommon in "Zuo Zhuan".The psalms, so to speak, were a special diplomatic language widely used at the time.Therefore, Confucius taught students a lot of emphasis on learning.Once Confucius asked his son Kong Li, "Have you studied the Poetry?" Kong Li said, "No." "The Analects of Confucius Ji Shi") Confucius not only attaches great importance to learning, but also pays attention to practical use.He once said: "Recite three hundred poems and teach them to govern, but they will not achieve success; if they are sent to the four directions, they cannot be specially corrected; even though there are many, I still think it!" If he can't handle government affairs satisfactorily, and if he is sent to other countries and can't deal with foreign affairs independently, what's the use of learning a lot!) Therefore, the social role in the Spring and Autumn Period is not only artistic, but more importantly, political and practical.The main purpose of Confucius' teaching is also here.So he said again: "Boy, why don't you learn from your husband's "Poems"! "Poems" can be prospered, watched, grouped, and complained. Those who are near are related to the father, and those who are far away are related to the king. (Effective idea: Why don’t students study Poetry? Poetry can inspire people, understand society, communicate ideas, and criticize politics. You can honor your parents at home, serve the king when you go out, and get to know many animals and plants ("The Analects of Confucius·Yanghuo") After the Han Dynasty, the four characters "Xing, Guan, Qun, and Resentment" became the general outline of the old Confucian classics, which is the so-called "Poetry Teaching".The "big preface" (that is, a large paragraph of text in front of the first poem "Guanju") and "small preface" (that is, a few sentences before each poem explaining the gist) in this book are the Han Chinese from the "Poetry Teaching" "The article made out of the guiding ideology.There are certainly some useful things in it, but most of them are far-fetched Confucian political preaching.Even so, when we study the history of Chinese literary criticism and political thought, the "Preface to Poems" is also a historical material that is sufficient for reference and cannot be discarded.

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