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According to Confucius（551-479BC）, The Book of Songs served these four purposes, which summarize the basic functions and values of literature. “Stimulation” means that the appreciation of literary works arouses imagination, stimulates reflection on society and life, and inspires aspirations and interests. “Contemplation” means that reading leads to understanding nature, society, life, and politics. “Communication” means that reading encourages discussion with others, and exchange of thoughts and feelings. “Criticism” means learning how to critically express oneself about state affairs and voice inner feelings. These four functions are closely associated and involve the aesthetic, cognitive, and educational functions of literature. Later scholars have continued to make original contributions to the study of these themes.
This term refers to the state of mind in which external things evoke one’s inner feelings, thus creating aesthetic appreciation. As an aesthetic term, evocation means both stimulation and association. In artistic appreciation, Confucius（551-479 BC） used evocation to refer to the psychological effect and educational function of reading poetry, and it was not meant to be a literary term only. In artistic creation, evocation means association, which is among the six poetic forms, namely, ballads, narratives, analogies, association, court hymns, and eulogy, as described in The Book of Songs. The first three refer to the content and subtypes of classic Chinese poetry, whereas the latter three elements are creative means employed by The Book of Songs. Evocation is defined by the use of similar or relevant things to create a metaphor which, by virtue of imagination and association, conveys a message through imagery and highlights the nuances of poetry. Evocation arouses one’s imagination through reading a poem, making such experience an enjoyable one. It is a rhetorical means frequently used in classical Chinese poetry. At first, evocation was closely linked to analogy. Its implication and aesthetic properties started to grow independently in the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties period, and finally became a poetic term different from analogy and association. Evocation focuses on the impact of external things on one’s emotions.
The six basic elements were drawn from The Book of Songs by scholars of the Han Dynasty to promote the state’s governance, social enlightenment, and education. The six are: feng (ballad), which offers an insight into the influence of a sage’s thinking on ordinary folk customs; fu (narrative), which directly states the goodness or evilness of court politics; bi (analogy), which criticizes mildly the inadequacies of court politics by comparing one thing with another; xing (association), which extols a virtue by making an indirect reference to some other laudable thing; ya (court hymn), which shows the proper way of doing things as a norm for posterity to follow; and song (eulogy), which praises and promotes virtue. All the six elements were originally used by Confucian scholars to expound on the creative techniques in The Book of Songs. Later, they were used to emphasize creative styles of all works of poetry. They also served as essential principles of literary criticism.
A poem expresses aspirations in one’s heart. Zhi (志) here means the author’s aspirations, emotions, and thoughts. The concept of “poetry expressing aspirations,” first seen in the Confucian classic The Book of History, was hailed by Zhu Ziqing as the “manifesto” of Chinese poetry. Enriched by poetry critics through the generations, it was later established as a basic concept in Chinese literary criticism.
Poems originate from the poet’s heart-felt feelings. Lu Ji （261-303）of the Western Jin Dynasty said in “The Art of Writing” that a poet must have a surge of feeling deep in his heart before he could create a poem. This view, complementing the concept of “poetry expressing aspirations,” stresses the lyrical and aesthetic nature of literary works and echoes the evolution of literary tastes during the Wei and Jin dynasties. “Poetry springing from emotions” represents another viewpoint on the nature of poetry and literature in ancient China.
In The Book of Songs, the content is divided into three categories according to style and tune: feng (ballad), ya (court hymn), and song (eulogy). Ballads are music from different regions, mostly folk songs. Court hymns, divided into daya (major hymn) and xiaoya (minor hymn), are songs sung at court banquets or grand ceremonies. They are mostly the works by lettered noblemen. Eulogies are ritual or sacrificial dance music and songs, most of which praise the achievements of ancestors. Court hymns and eulogies are highbrow songs while ballads are lowbrow ones. Therefore, ballads, court hymns, and eulogies not only refer to the styles of The Book of Songs but also indicate highbrow songs. Later on fengya (风雅) generally referred to anything elegant.
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.
This term refers to the mild and broad-minded manner with which the Confucian classic, The Book of Songs, edifies people. Confucian scholars during the Qin and Han dynasties believed that although some poems of The Book of Songs were satirical and remonstrative in tone, it still focused on persuading people instead of just reproving them. Most of the poems in the book were moderate in tone and meant to encourage the reader to learn to be moderate and honest. Encouraging people to be mild and gentle, sincere and broadminded is a manifestation of Confucian doctrine of the mean, and being fair and gentle is an aesthetic value, which is also a standard for literary and artistic style that stresses the need for being gentle in persuasion and for edification.
In Confucius’ （551-479 BC） time, how well one understood The Book of Songs was a sign of his social status and cultural attainment. If one did not study it, one would find it difficult to improve one’s ability to express oneself and to converse with people of high social status. Confucius’ elaboration on the relationship between studying The Book of Songs and social interaction actually expounds on the importance of literature in education.
This is what Confucius （551-479BC）said of the description of love between young men and women in the poem entitled “Guan Ju” in “Ballads of Zhounan,” The Book of Songs. Later Confucian scholars regarded this as a basic requirement for poems and other literary works to advocate impartiality, peace of mind, and harmony between emotion and reason, making it a criterion for evaluating literary works. Its connotation is in accord with zhongyong (the golden mean) of Confucianism. In the more recent history, the connotation of the term has been continuously renewed to keep pace with the times.
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