vs 59 The world's earliest record of a solar eclipse

The above three epics narrate the history of the Zhou people before the appearance of King Wen of Zhou, and the poems were written in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the historians and musicians of the Zhou Dynasty wrote them using folklore. "Huang Yi" mainly describes several expeditions from Gu Gong's father, Gu Gong's father's eldest son Taibo, King Wen of Zhou's father Wang Ji to King Wen of Zhou, and "Da Ming" narrates the history from the birth of King Wen of Zhou to King Wu's war. These poems record the founding history of the Zhou people, probably from the hands of historians and musicians.

In addition to these epics in the early Western Zhou Dynasty's "Daya", there are also some epic narrative poems in the "Xiaoya" in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, such as "Out of the Car" is written about the victory of King Xuan of Zhou's crusade against the Dog Rong tribe, "Chang Wu" is written about King Xuan of Zhou's personal conquest of Xu Yi, "Cai Qian" and "June" are written about the war with the barbarian Jing and the dog Rong during the period of King Xuan of Zhou, etc. If these poems are arranged in order, then the history before and during the Western Zhou Dynasty can sort out a clue.

As narrative works, these epics have the merit of being concise and organized. However, since the purpose of writing poetry is mainly to record historical facts and praise ancestors, the storyline and characters in poetry are not so important. Moreover, in the "Book of Songs", there are not many narrative poems, mainly the above poems. It can be seen that from the beginning of the Book of Songs, it shows that Chinese poetry does not pay much attention to narrative poetry.

From the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the time when King Ping moved eastward, due to the invasion of the Rong people, the annexation of the princes, and the destruction of the ruling order, a violent social turmoil was formed. Many of the poems produced in "Daya" and "Xiaoya" during this period are works that criticize politics, and these poems are written by scholars. It is also recorded in the "Chinese" that "the three dukes and nine qings and even officials at all levels offer satirical poems", which is probably also an explanation of the authors of such poems in the "Book of Poetry"!

In this category of poetry, some authors criticize the chaos and injustice of the internal order of the ruling class. As it is said in "Jung": People have a good field, but you take it for yourself. People have strong labor, but you take advantage of it. This man is innocent, but you turn against you and arrest him. That man should be a sinful, but you forgive and forgive. In "Beishan", it is written: Some people sit comfortably at home, and some people devote themselves to the kingdom. Some people lie on their backs, and some people are in a hurry. Some people are not called, and some people are tired and troubled. Some people play and sleep, and some people work hard. Some people enjoy themselves and are greedy for cups, and some people are afraid of rebuke. Some people wander around and talk nonsense, and some people have to do everything.

From here, we can see that the social relations of the Zhou Dynasty at that time were undergoing drastic changes, some people were rising and falling, and some were sinking; There are those who toil for the king's work and get nothing, and there are those who do nothing all day long and enjoy honor. The poet, on the other hand, stands on the old side of justice, hoping to correct this inevitable confusion.

More politically critical poems express the author's extreme anxiety about difficult current events, and his strong dissatisfaction with the ruling group to which they belong, including the supreme ruler. For example, "The Turn of October", according to the "Preface to Mao's Poems", "The Turn of October" is the work of "The Doctor Complains and Stabs the King of Ghosts". The poet issued a serious warning to the ruler from the point of view of the catastrophe that was considered very serious at the time. According to astronomers, the solar eclipse recorded in this poem occurred on September 6, 776 BC, which is the earliest recorded solar eclipse in the world.

"The Turn of October" wrote: The thunder and lightning roared and shining, and the sky was restless. The rivers are boiling, and the peaks are collapsing. The high bank turned into a deep valley, but the deep valley became a peak. It is a pity that the rulers of the world do not practice good governance to stop disasters.

This is a picture of great upheaval and great calamity on the horizon. What makes the poet painful is that the people at that time did not even stop it, and still lived leisurely and drunk. But at the same time, the author did not dare to proudly and fearlessly openly confront the group to which he belonged, but was cautious, full of fear of his own situation, saying: do your best in your work, and dare not speak of your hard work. There was no mistake and no guilt, but the hustle and bustle made me hungry. The people of Li suffered a calamity, and the calamity did not come from heaven. Gathering in person and hating behind the back, the blame should be borne by the villain.

This is not an isolated example. Another example is Xiaoya's "New Year's Moon", the author is also very dissatisfied with the government, he said: Today's politics is really difficult to say, why is it becoming more and more violent? The glorious and illustrious Zhou Dynasty was destroyed by Bao Xi. What the author hates is that the monarch and the ministers are colluded and do evil together. But at the same time he was terrified, and he said, "People say how high the sky is, but I am afraid of bending my waist." People say how thick the earth is, but I am afraid to fall on my tiptoes.

A similar poem also includes "Rain Without Zheng", in which the author is worried about the critical situation of war, famine, destruction of the Zhou room, and the escape of the people. The princes of all sides of the feudal kingdom are very resentful when they meet in the morning and run at night", but at the same time he said fearfully: "It is really very difficult and dangerous to say that you are an official now. If you can't do this, it will be inconvenient to offend the Son of Heaven; If you say that this thing can be done, you will be complained by your friends. The poet was not only afraid of offending the Son of Heaven, but also afraid of resentment with his friends, which shows how dangerous and difficult it was to be an official at that time!

This is so because the poets wanted to avoid as much direct conflict as possible with the group to which they belonged; In other words, they themselves are both dependent on the group to which they belong and coerced by the forces of the group. It seems that the poets showed a strong concern for the fate of the country and the lives of the people, but this concern is essentially concerned about the stability of the internal order of the ruling class, and in fact, this is first and foremost based on the correct position and moral principles recognized by the entire ruling group. What they are criticizing is a serious departure from such positions and principles.

However, when they find that the majority of the people have deviated from this stance and principle, they will feel both confused, angry, and frightened, but they will never dare to show a purely personal attitude, lest they put themselves in a position of confrontation or even a break with the group.

The above examples we have listed, as well as other similar poems in Da and Xiao Ya, can be said to have created the tradition of Chinese political poetry, and the sentiment of worrying about the country and the people expressed in the poems, as well as the fact that they always choose to stand on the "correct" and socially recognized position in order to criticize and avoid publicizing their personal attitudes, have had a profound impact on the political poetry of later generations.

*********

The folk songs in "National Style", as well as some similar works in "Xiao Ya", reflect a much broader content of life than "Ya" and "Song", which are purely from the upper echelons of society, and the atmosphere of life is also stronger. Fifteen "National Style", "Feng Feng" is the earliest. Among them, the poem "July" is an extremely ancient agricultural poem, which is generally believed to have been produced in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Different from the agricultural poems in the Book of Songs, it describes the working life of the laborers throughout the year at a considerable length, and records the agricultural knowledge and production experience at that time, as if recording the lunar calendar and agricultural ballads.

The author of the poem "July" is like a slave manager and the head of a slave family, leading a group of farmers and their wives and children to work for the prince and son. Either way, the author's own identity should also belong to the slave, but the status is slightly higher. Therefore, the poem not only laments the hard work of laborers, but also regards hard work as the obligation of laborers; At the end of the year, they also have to warmly celebrate the prince and the son. The value of the poem "July" lies in the fact that it depicts the social conditions of the clan slavery system transformed from the clan commune in a fairly faithful and detailed manner.

From this poem, we can understand that the laborers not only have to plough and harvest in the fields, but also plant mulberry and silkworms, spin linen and weave silk, practice martial arts, hunt and hunt animals; When the farm is not working, he also has to repair the house in the castle; Even in the cold winter, they should not be idle, but they should dig ice cubes and hide them in the cellar for the princes and sons to enjoy in the summer; All year round, over and over again.

What do they eat? "Eat plums and grapes in June, boil sunflowers and beans in July, and start beating red dates in August"; "You can eat melons in July, pick gourds in August, and pick up autumn hemp seeds in September." They probably ate bitter herbs, wild fruits, gourds, pockmarks, and the like, and all good things belonged to their masters. The wild boars that are brought will be returned to the father, and the small ones will be returned to themselves; The beautiful vermilion cloth is woven and dyed for the son, and the girls in the laborer's family must also let the son enjoy it first.

Only in the New Year's season will the princess have the tender sheep slaughtered and the laborers summoned together, so everyone "ascends to the master's temple, toasts to the master, and shouts in unison for longevity." Gonghe not only enjoyed all the fruits of the laborers' labor, but also drove them to shout long live for themselves.

The poem "July" not only provides extremely valuable information in sociology, history, and agriculture, but also is the source of the poems of the Tian family in later generations in terms of literary history.