The Chinese Classics Volume 4: The She King, or the Book of Poetry Part 2 Paperback – January 25, 2023

“Therefore, those who explain the Odes, may not insist on one term so as to do violence to a sentence, nor on a sentence so as to do violence to the general scope. They must with all their thoughts to meet that scope, and then we shall apprehend it.” Mencius, V. Pt. I. IV. 2.The She King, The Book of Poetry, or The Odes as it is additionally called, is a collection of ancient Chinese poetry that predates even Confucius. As the translator James Legge outlines in this book, it is most probably a collection of the best work of earlier poetic compellations. The relevance comes from it being considered an aesthetic and moral guide to over 2000 years of Chinese civilization. One would not be considered literate or cultured if they had no memorized the 300 Odes and also were able to use them to relate to everyday situations around them.This is a full and faithful reproduction of the 1871 edition of James Legge’s translations of the Book of Poetry, in two parts. Legge did his work during the autumn of the Heavenly Kingdom, and much of his understanding was gained from the Chinese themselves as the Odes were still viewed at their near pinnacle. As in the original, the Chinese is faithfully maintained along with a full index of all the Chinese words and concepts used in the book. Heavy editorial work was completed by the editor to maintain legibility for the sake of study of classic Chinese. As in other works in this series by St. George Press, the goal is to make available copies of Legge’s work that include the full original text along with the Chinese. This book is printed in 2 parts, with the indexes being in volume 2. Read more