Confucian Poem: Fish Offering

Poem from Chinese Book of Odes, sung by Emperor during ancestral fish offering.

This app contains an ancient poem from the Chinese Book of Odes or Classic of Poetry. This particular ode was sung by the Emperor when he offered the first-fruits of the annual fish harvest at the sacrificial altar of the Ancestral Temple. This act of duty and gratitude was believed to facilitate an abundant catch in the future. Translated into English from the original Chinese.

What is the Book of Odes?

The Shijing or Shih-ching, also known as the Book of Odes, Book of Songs, or Classic of Poetry, is the oldest existing collection of ancient Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BCE. It is one of the "Five Classics" traditionally said to have been compiled by the Chinese philosopher Confucius, who held the work in great esteem and considered it an essential foundation for his philosophical teachings. The Book of Odes has been studied and memorized by scholars in China and neighboring countries for over two millennia. The individual odes, although frequently based on simple, rustic subjects, have traditionally been considered to hold elaborate allegorical meaning, with extensive moral or political applications assigned to even the smallest details of the work.

What is Confucianism?

Confucianism is a system of philosophical, ethical, and socio-political teachings, sometimes described as a religion. Confucianism developed during the Spring and Autumn Period from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE), who considered himself a re-transmitter of earlier Zhou Dynasty values.

Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethics. The core of Confucianism is humanistic, with a particular emphasis on the importance of family and social harmony. The practical, worldly concerns of Confucianism rest on the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor. Confucianism regards the ordinary activities of human life -- especially in human relationships -- as a manifestation of the sacred; they are the expression of our moral nature (xìng 性), which has a transcendental anchorage in Heaven (tiān 天) and a proper respect of the gods or spirits (shén). Confucian liturgy is led by priests or ritual masters who worship the gods in public and ancestral Chinese temples.

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