These are the three ways of expression employed in The Book of Songs: a narrative is a direct reference to an object or an event, an analogy metaphorically likens one thing to another, and an association is an impromptu expression of a feeling, a mood or a thought, or using an objective thing as metaphor for sensibilities. Confucian scholars of the Han Dynasty summarized and formulated this concept of narrative, analogy, and association, which later became the basic principle and method in classical Chinese literary creation.

In The Book of Songs, narrative, analogy, and association are three techniques in its creation, whereas ballads, court hymns, and eulogies represent three established styles of the poems.

 (Kong Yingda: Correct Meaning of “Introductions to Mao’s Version of The Book of Songs”)