The Book of Songs: The Ancient Chinese Classic of Poetry

This is a great compilation of poems with amazing footnotes and detailed history of the poems. It's the first poetry book I've read on my own in 15 years and I LOVED it. By the time I was done, I was (almost) able to see the rhythm of poems, their unique points of view, and could visualize them. Before reading this book, I was no where near that level.

After reading modern and contemporary poetry, it's a pleasure to taste the clarity and feeling of verse written prior to the era of Confucius. This is a beautiful book both to hold and to read. The new format orders the poems by geography and dynasty, as in the original Chinese version, which I find much more informative than ordering the poems by theme. Waley's notes are a great help in understanding the historical and literary context of the poems. The Book of Songs is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the possibilities and breadth of poetry.

Excellent book. This is not just a reprint of Waley's earlier version. It restores the original order of the verses (Waley reorganized the order according to his personal preference), and the editor, Stephen Owen, has translated and included some dozen of the poems that Waley deleted from the collection. Beautiful layout, and crystal-clear translations, plus a valuable study of the history and content of this collection of some 300 poems from ancient China. In my view, the best translation of this important collection of early Chinese verse.

"The Book of Songs" is the oldest of the Chinese classics, a collection of 305 songs that date back over two thousand years to the Zhou kingdom. These songs/poems held a huge importance in Confucianism and in Chinese literature. They are presented in the order they appeared in the classic edition known as the Mao version. I knew little about this prior to reading the book, and I apologize for any mistakes I've made in my comments.Now classed as poetry, the original versions derived from songs: folk songs, songs from rituals, ceremonial songs -- some of them perhaps courtship songs with men and women singing in call and response, some of them perhaps accompanied by dance as well as music. Although they arose from songs, the music has been lost. Add to this the difficulty of translating lyrics, where it is almost impossible to preserve rhythm, rhyme, sound, and it doesn't surprise me that I found the English renditions rather flat. I imagine reading a song like Greensleeves in translation and without the music.This book contains Arthur Waley's translation of the bulk of the songs along with his comments. In addition, it contains a foreword by Stephen Owen, plus Joseph R. Allen's translations of fifteen songs that Waley omitted, plus Allen's comments and an extensive postface that Allen wrote on the literary history of "The Book of Songs." The foreword and postface help explain the origins of the songs/poems, their historical importance, and the commentaries and interpretations that were attached to them.The postface uses song 81 as an example of how later material attached to the text. Here is Allen's translation: Along the Highroad If along the highroad I caught hold of your cuff, Do not hate me; Old ways take time to overcome. If along the highroad I caught hold of your hand, Do not be angry with me; Love takes time to overcome.The influential Mao version of the book, dating from about two thousand years ago, contained accompanying notes both of a lexical nature and on the general meaning. Of number 81, it says, '"Along the Highroad" describes thinking of one's noble lord; Duke Zhuang of Zheng neglected the proper way and the noble lords abandoned him. The men of the state longed for them/him.' [Note that the original contains no mention of Duke Zhuang.]Another influential version of the book, Kong Ying-da's version from 641 CE, went into greater length on the general meaning--still tying it to Duke Zhuang--and on specific words. (Allen's postface quotes the discussion of the word translated as cuff.)Whereas in the 12th century, a paraphrase by Zhu Xi has no mention of Duke Zhuang, saying instead "A licentious woman was abandoned by someone; upon the point of him leaving her, she grabbed his cuff in order to detain him.... These too are the lyrics of a love song between a man and a woman."Historically, the interpretations that attached to "The Book of Songs" were very important. For myself, I am most interested in what the songs/poems show of life in China thousands of years ago: farming, courtship, being a soldier or a servant or a wife, divination, beliefs about ancestors. I liked it when I felt the emotion behind the songs/poems. I liked how some of the lines remain very timely, e.g. from number 195: Shallow words are what they heed, And shallow words make their debate.Some of the notes are fascinating, for instance the brief statement on number 280 that "Musicians were generally blind men," or the explanation preceding number 209 that a young man, referred to as the Dead One, would impersonate their dead ancestor during sacrifices.As poetry, stripped of music, translated into English, this book is somewhat lacking. As a record of a Chinese classic, plus a discussion of its historical importance, plus a glimpse into life thousands of years ago, it is fascinating. Hard to rate overall, but I'll settle on 4 out of 5 Confucian stars.About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

Like to get and read the book so much.

A terrific investment

I can't find the name or artist anywhere in the book (upper left hand corner).So many beautiful poems, like # 143 on page 111Moon Rising......A moon rising brightIs the fairness of my lovely one.Ah, the gentle softness!Heart's pain wounds me.........

How do you give a star rating to a book that has influenced a major culture in such an astounding way? The Book of Songs is similar, in some ways, to the Bible -- a wide variety of texts edited together, used as scripture by many generations, influencing the language and thoughts of hundreds of generations. This edition is wonderful, due to the excellent translations and the intelligent re-ordering of the poems into their original order. Before you read "Dream of the Red Chamber" or any other more recent Chinese classics, read this.

It is simply beautiful.

The poems/songs in this book are really well done. The translations and extra tidbits the author/translator supplies are great. They're pretty much essential in understanding some poems actually since the book is from another time. Birds circling doesn't mean the same thing or as much in today's world, but the translator makes you the reader sees the poem in its historical context so the poem can truly mean what it ought. It's makes the book so much better with said extras. I don't usually like poetry, and these songs do come across as poems to me. The point is that I do like these poems. The book arrived in good condition and in quick order. There are no complaints on any end with this purchase.

I had heard of this book in a movie series I was watching on Netflix...it was a chinese romance and in it the chef prepared food according to many of the poems in this book, so I had to purchase for myself. I simply love it. Must comment the translator for the difficult task in translating this collection to capture the original meaning.