Three-Character Classic st.31-34, attrib. Wang Yinglin

[lnhammer]

31.
The Filial Classic learned
And Four Books memorized,
You may at last begin
To study the Six Classics.

孝经通
四书熟
如六经
始可读

32.
Songs, Changes, Documents,
Two Rites, and Spring and Autumn:
These comprise Six Classics
You must explain and ponder.

诗书易
礼春秋
号六经
当讲求

33.
There is the Lianshan system,
There is the Guizang system,
Zhou Changes system, too:
These three complete the Changes.

有连山
有归藏
有周易
三易详

34.
There’s Laws and Consultations,
There’s Orders and Announcements,
There’s Oaths and Royal Commands:
Profound, the Documents.

有典谟
有训诰
有誓命
书之奥

• 31: It’s weird how Classic of Filial Piety gets tossed in like an afterthought—if it’s so important, why not make it the Five Books? The Six Classics of Confucianism (usually counted as Five today—see st.35) are described in the next stanzas. • 33: In addition to what’s now the standard Classic of Changes (I Ching) attributed to the Duke of Zhou (see st.35), there were two supposedly earlier versions called the Lianshan and Guizang systems. They’re generally similar, with the main differences being the order of the trigrams and hexagrams. • 34: Classic of Documents, also called Classic of History, is a compilation of these various types of historical documents from the late Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

—L.

Comments

[lnhammer]

Yup.