Abstract:

 The unearthed bambooslip edition of Confucius’ Review on The Book of Songs and Collected Folk Songs provide new materials to review the system of “collecting folk songs to observe folk opinions”, implicating the true existence of the system in PreQin Period. The collection and sorting out of folk songs were the daily routines of the official music organs, though the specific procedures might not be the same as that described in Han Dynasty. What “collected” and “observed” was first of all, melody and then lyrics. The melody of folk songs had to be further polished to meet the standards and etiquettes of ceremonial music, but local flavor was still reserved to a certain extent despite the transformation. As the lyrics were selected and modified by the aristocrats, its political implications—“self correction through successes and failures”, became more prominent and were further strengthened in the development of Confucianism.
 

Key words: collecting folk songs to observe folk opinions, Confucius’Review on The Book of Songs, Collected Folk Songs