Chou Kung was a talented, deep-thinking, practical man. After he had helped the Chou emperor to conquer the Yin Dynasty and established the capital, he made a code of rites, composed music, and developed both governmental and educational systems. When peace was established, he turned over the rein of the government to Emperor Cheng, for whom he had been acting as regent, and took Chou (now Chishan Hsien, Shensi) as his fief. At his death he was buried at Piyuan (now sou thwest suburb of Siking). When we read the poem of Chih Hsiao, we cannot help but admire how the Duke of Chou loved his country and people and how solicitous he was for the upbringing of Emperor Cheng. This poem was one of earliest and best known pieces of literature.
The Chinese civilization began to take shape in the Chou Dynasty. The laws and government system of the Chou Dynasty might not have been all originated from the Duke of Chou, but he was the main source of inspiration. The Duke was born in Shensi. Therefore, I once said the spirit of Shensi was the spirit of ancient culture.
Confucius was born in the state of Lu, which was the fief of the eldest son of the Duke of Chou. In the time of West Chou, it was an important feudal state in the east. By the time of East Chou, it had become an important cultural center. The cultural heritages of the Chou Dynasty were preserved in Lu in larger measure than in any other country. As a citizen of Lu, Confucius realized very well the importance of the music and rituals that Chou Kung had made. He not only knew them well but loved them. Of the six arts of his time, Confucius most often mentioned the Book of Poetry, the Book of History, rites and music. These were the required courses of study for his disciples. Both the Book of Poetry and the Book of History were the most valuable books of ancient times. The former was literature; the latter history. Both music and rites were part of the literary and historical traditions of ancient times.
The Book of Poetry had a great deal to do with music. The three hundred poems selected and edited by Confucius were all lyrics with musical accompaniments. The three hundred songs were, therefore, standard music of ancient times. The Book of Poetry and the rituals were also closely related. During the Chou Dynasty whenever there was a big festive occasion in the government, there were singing, music, and dances. If we want to give a good account of Confucius' teaching of the Book of Poetry, we will do well by going into the motive which prompted Chou Kung to institute rites and music.
Generally speaking, the greatest contribution of the political thoughts and institutions of the early Chou Dynasty to the ancient world was the feudal system. There were two schools of thought about the original of the feudal system. Liu Chung Yuan of the Tang Dynasty thought feudalism was a natural development and not due to any invention on the part of any individual. Liao Cheng, however, thought the feudal system was no accidental development but was carefully thought out as such. In reality, the feudal system at the beginning of the Chou Dynasty was a mixture of both. It was in part the system left over from the preceding Hsia and Yin Dynasties and in part instituted by Chou Kung.
Personally, I think feudalism served the dual purpose of absorbing the strong features from the different localities and extending the central government system and spirit to the different principalities so that the whole country might move forward in unison. Through the feudal system, the culture of the imperial house went together with settlers of new territories and expanded outward. Therefore, the culture spread in different directions to different localities. In the time of the Spring and Autumn, the Chinese civilization grew in multiple directions. This was due to the fact that as a result of the feudal system the culture of various localities combined to form a central culture and a greater nationalism. After several hundred years at the time of Confucius, the area within the confines of the Yellow Sea and Pohai and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River had all become civilized.
Feudalism seems to carry an unpleasant connotation to the ordinary people. The fact is that in the ancient Chinese system, the feudal lords represented local power, while the emperor represented the power of the central government. The system adopted at the beginning of the Chou Dynasty developed later into a unified country, so it may be said to have accomplished its historical mission. During the height of power of the Han and Tang Dynasties the government paid equal attention to balancing the powers between the central and the local governments. Therefore, the demarcation of powers between the local and the central authorities as defined in the Constitution of the Republic of China may be traceable to the ancient feudal system.
After we have become acquainted with the feudal system, then we can proceed to explain the meaning and the interrelations of the Feng, Ya, and Sung sections of the Book of Poetry. Feng includes local climate, products, manners, and culture. It is folklore. The fifteen national Feng in the Book of Poetry include in them the folklore of the different states of the Chou Dynasty. They may be sung with music. As they represented local literature and music, they were naturally highly regarded by the then central government. After Confucius' selection and editing, they have become the source of national spirit for the Chinese people.
Ya means China. In ancient times, the word Ya and Hsia (China) were interchangeable. The Ya language means standard Chinese language, which is like present-day Kuoyu. The dialect of the capital at the beginning of Chou Dynasty was like the modern Shensi dialect. But after three thousand years, as a result of the many migrations and the intermingling of the races, the spoken language cannot help being modified. Kuo Feng includes many local dialects and its intonation is far from pure. Ta Ya and Hsiao Ya, however, are entirely Kuoyu. The difference betweep Kuo Feng and Ya lies, therefore, in that the former represents literature and music mixed with local dialects while the latter is expressed purely in Kuoyu.
Furthermore, we can say that Ta Ya represents the court music while Hsiao Ya consists also of folklore. This is based on the interpretation of Chu Hsi, but it agrees with other authorities. From the relations between the central government and the local authorities, Kuo Feng brought the folklore from the different localities to the capital while Ta Ya and Hsiao Ya brought the national music to the different localities.
Sung means complexion and carries with it the meaning of excellence both in music and complexion. Both Ya and Sung were music pieces. The difference lay in the fact that Sung, aside from being sung, might be accompanied by dancing. In any national festivity, when a celebration was called for, Sung was used. It consists mostly of ballads used for the exaltation of the glory of the ancestors to stimulate the people's nationalism and patriotism. Aside from Chou Sung, there are Lu Sung, Shang Sung. Lu was the fief for the descendants of Chou Kung, and Shang those of the Yin and Shang Dynasty. Both enjoyed special status because of their ancient lineage.
The three sections of the Book of Poetry - Feng, Ya, and Sung - include the songs of the Chou court and those of seventeen other states, or eighteen in all. Nearly five hundred years intervened between Chou Kung and Confucius, and a large number of poems had accumulated in the eighteen states. According to Sze Ma Chien's Historical Records, the total of such poems reached three thousand. When Confucius edited the Book of Poetry, he selected the best three hundred from this total. In so doing, he contributed to the unification of dialects and musical tunes. It has since become a national textbook by which nationalism in later generations was fostered and national spirit stimulated. Its importance cannot be too strongly exaggerated.
Confucius said: "The Poetry may serve to stimulate, to be observed, to be sociable, and to express the feeling of resentment." Their function to stimulate may well be found in another of his saying when he said: "Kwan Tsui (name of the first poem of the Book of Poetry) is expressive of enjoyment without being licentious and of sorrow without being grief-stricken." This is revelation of the true meaning of life and the essence of the gold mean. A great part of the poems in the section of Kuo Feng consists of love poems. Mention has been made of Kwan Tsui. The first verse of Kwan Tsui tells the writer's love for a beauty. The second verse tells of failure in love-making and the lover's tossing about in bed. It conveys a tone of sadness. The third verse tells definitely that love is not requited but says that the lover will try to find consolation in music. It is for this reason that Confucius said: "In the Book of Poetry, I can sum it up with one sentence, namely, there is no depraved thought."
The Poetry and music are inseparable. To look at the music is to look at The Poetry, which is the reason why Confucius said: "When I returned from Wei to Lu, the music was reformed and the Ya and Sung all found their proper places." When Confucius heard the piece of music called Shao, he was so enchanted that he lost the taste of meat for three months. In his late years he edited the music accompaniments of the three hundred poems so that they might be of value educationally. He once said to the Grand Master of Music of Lu: "How to play music may be known. At the commencement of the piece, all the parts should sound together. As it proceeds, they should be in harmony while severally distinct and flowing without break, and thus on to the conclusion." When music is sung, it is expressed in poetry.
As has been said before, Sung was usually accompanied by dancing. So were Kuo Feng and Ta Ya and Hsiao Ya. For solemnity and grandeur, there was the court dance. In the Book of Rites, the dancers are described as having pleasant looks and slender body. The music pieces used in court dances at that time were mostly epics depicting great men and stirring events. "The Grand Master of Music," says the Book of Rites, "controls the academy and administers the schools and the youngsters of the country." The academy was the highest educational institution of ancient times. It is equivalent to the present university. The reason that it was controlled by the Grand Master of Music was that music constituted the central theme of the Chinese educational philosophy. The Poetry was necessary for the control of the masses. This was also the reason why The Poetry could be sociable.
Among the three hundred poems, there are many which express the resentment of the people against the nobility and the government of the time. That was the reason why Confucius said that The Poetry could express the feeling of resentment. In the Analects, Confucius said: "The trouble (for the rulers of state) does not lie in scarcity but rather in unequal distribution; nor in poverty but rather in discontent." This was what prompted the poets to express their feelings of discontent.
Therefore, from the saying: "The Poetry may serve to stimulate, to be observed, to be sociable, and to express the feeling of resentment," we may see the reasons for Chou Kung's instituting rites and making music and for Confucius' editing of the Book of Poetry.