Social context of early China-Tension between the political center (the 2 hou court) and religional lords.-Constant warfare and widespread desire for peace and order：-“This violent of competition between the domain was one of the mostintellectually creative in China’s history”(CP 5/5)-Oracle inspection in early China-The pictorial character “horses”:-Major characteristic at the beginning:-How does the sign different from a picture of horse?The-A written sign (of a single syllable) that represents (the idea of) an object ratherthan the sound of the speech as exemplified in the phonetic languageThe classic of poetry ( the book of sun)-It is an anthology of 305 ancient poems.1. The collection has been in circulation since the sixth century BC.2. It was used as a cultural encyclopedia across the social divide betweenthe high and the law:e.g., a text book, a manual for diplomatic communications, courtship, political satire and social protest, etc.Content-Popular songs： (1-160)Poems from 15 different regions:-Elegance ： (161-265)It overlaps with folk songs and political satires/allegories by elites;-Great odes ： (266-305)Ritual/ceremonial hymms and legends of the earliest periodFormat-Subject matters:Love, war, hardship of agricultural life, sacrifice, complaint of the deserted banished wife/subject, and dynastic legends, etc-Style: straight-forward in immediate imagery and musical nature-Mode: self-expensiveThe osprey (no.1; CP11-12)The scholarly version is the translation by Bernhard Karlgren (CP 12)The Osprey-“Gwan/ Kwan/Guan” is the minic sound of osprey -Lovely is the good girl whom a gentleman desire-“Controversy” on the interpretation of “the Osprey”1. Confucian scholars tend to interpret the birds as a symbol for the royalking in political allegories;2. Modern specialists perceive “The Osprey” as a love poem.Questions:A. What is the desire of this poet?B. Is there any textual reference to the queen and the king in the poem? NOC. Does the poem open the door for the claim to regulate/influence the world? (CP 13/65) political D. What is the reason to attach the poem to the royal characters?The Mao Commentary“Great preface” (CP B)-Over politicize the poem:Regulate the world/relationship with the virtue of the Queen consort (CP B/65)-The problem of this exegesis:The poem does not open the door for the allegorical assertion-Possible reasons:A. Canonization of Confusion thought:B. Make the love poem respectable:The impact-The Mao renditions became the politically correct reading of The classic of Poetry during the Han dynasty:-The allegorical imposition represses diverse voices:Lyrical mode Versus didactic code-Lyrical mode:：:poetry -Didactic code ：:to express -It aims at teaching a moral lesson;：:disere - It is designated to transform the wind with a certain set of idea; Ittends to talk above the listenersA. Poetry expresses desiresB. The self –expressive subjectivity is at the heart of the poetic creation “The Cypress-boat”(no.26, CP24)-How do we describe the poetic voice-Can wine divert the poet from the “Latent sorrow?”-Can the poet rely on brothers for help-How does the poem end?“Pondering in silence, I could not fly away”-What is the central issue in this poem?The modern contention-What does the phrase “unwashed clothes” reveal?-male political voice-Is her personal sorrow specific to the ancient period?-Is it limited to the Chinese?-Can we understand the poem across time and
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