Selections From the Book of Songs

In seventh moon Fire Star west goes;In ninth we make dresses all day long.By and by warm spring growsAnd golden orioles sing their song.The lasses take their baskets deepAnd go along the small pathwaysTo gather tender mulberry leaves in heapWhen lengthen the vernal days,They pile in heaps the southernwood,Their heart in gloomy mood,For they will say adieu to maidenhood. The Book of Songs, also known as the Confucian Odes, is one of the main pillars of the Chinese classical literary canon. This accessible version of the Book of Songs is designed for general readers and contains historical notes and anecdotes. The Book of Songs is divided into four parts: the Book of Lyrics (Guofeng), the Book of Odes (Xiaoya), the Book of Epics (Daya), and the Book of Hymns (Song). The songs contained herein were collected from the fifteen city-states of the Zhou dynasty (1046�256 BC) and were created not only by the noble classes, but also by working people—farmers, soldiers, and minor government officials; men as well as women. What emerges from this collection is a dynamic and intimate window on traditional life in ancient China.