The first collection of the poems since the end of the Shang Dynasty the Book of Songs had taken in three hundred five pieces of poems dating from the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the mid spring and autumn period, which makes it the earliest collection of the imperial literature and the folk literature. It is quite necessary for foreigners who are going to learn Chinese in China to take a closer view.
The section of “National Customs” in the Book of Songs had contained and preserved many pieces of the oral works of the people of that period, it is still rich in the features of folk literature although having had been embellished during the final draft, which may seem interesting for people to study Chinese in China in the present society.
The “National Customs” the Book of Songs had depicted and reflected the living status of the people with distinct pictures, which had helped in expressing their resentfulness toward the exploitation and the suppressions, as well as their fine benedictions and faiths towards life, which can make the book the earliest realistic poems, all of which are perceivable to people who are going to study Mandarin in China. For example, the July had revealed the common people’s miserable life featuring endless laborious work without necessities of cloth and food. As foreign friends who are about to take a trip to learn Chinese in China can see that the poems of shì wēi, jī gǔ,dōng shān, xǐ gū,and yáng zhī shuǐhad reflected the sufferings of the common people under the heavy corvee and military services.
Students who are waiting to study Chinese in China can also see that the poems such as fá tán and shuò shǔ had litigated and condemned the slave owners, which were full of revolt and rebellious. The ballads expressing the themes of love and marriage account for a large portion in the “National Customs” in the Book of Songs. As can also be understand by friends who are about to take a trip to study Mandarin in China that the poems in “National Customs” such as máng, gǔ fēng,jìng nǚ, and mù guā, etc, had either expressed the revolt against the feudal marriages and the hatred of the deserters, or the depictions of the miserable encountering and the tortuous of love. Those folk literatures in the Book of Songs were mostly authentic folk literature works, people expecting to learn Chinese in China must be interested about the literature form of the collection “National Customs”, there are usually four characters in a line, with the alternate rhymes, but without starchiness to that.
What’s interesting for people to study Chinese in China to take notice of is that The language is precise and elegant, simple and vivid, be void of pretentiousness, and is rich in the usages of Bixing(similarly and associative), which had been handed down by the literature creation of the later generations, becoming one of the major aspect of influences of the Zhou Dynasty upon the later generations.
What is more interesting for people who are ready to study Mandarin in China is that the folk literature seemed to be under simultaneous development, which did not only incorporated the ballads of hàn guǎng and jiāng yǒu sìin the Book of Songs, but also taken in the chǔ rén gē, yuè rén gē and cāng làng gē, etc, which were the early folk literatures of the Chu and Yue kingdoms.
The people who are interested in Chinese literature and in looking forward to come and learn Chinese in China will discover that some of the lyrics had used the auxiliary word xīor sī at the end of every other line, which had later become the major form of the songs of Chu.
Another type to be introduced to people who would like to study Mandarin in China is the witch songs of the Chu kingdom, which were used during the sacrificial ceremonies in a religious ambient.
It can be seen by people when they come to study Chinese in China that after the integration of the local Chu songs with the two folk literatures, and the influences of the northern literature, rich literature resources had been accumulated during the long terms of development, upon the cultural basis of which the excellent Qu Yuan and the marvelous pieces of the Chu songs were incubated.