I don't know when it started. When naming children, girls preferred The Book of Songs and boys preferred The Songs of the South.
This is not only because the words and expressions in the two works are different, but also because of the differences in the description objects and emotional connotations between them, which contain different expectations and good wishes of parents for their children.
If we can understand the differences between The Book of Songs and Songs of the South, it will be easy to understand this phenomenon.
The sources of The Book of Songs and The Songs of the South are different
Although the Book of Songs has no definite creator, it can actually be recognized as a poem compiled by a poet through its hidden characteristics.
"Elegance" and "Ode" are official music, and they must come from the music officials of the upper class, which is beyond doubt. However, its connotation is often to remember one's ancestors and praise their great spirit of hard work and hard work, so there is less description of the life of the upper class and a strong folk smell.
Although the "National Style" in the Tenth Five-Year Plan is known as folk songs, they are basically four sentences in form, and all of them are "singing three sighs" in structure, showing very obvious neatness.
how vast is the territory of fifteen countries? How different are the customs of people's lives in different places?
if they are all folk songs, how can the whole country be so unified?
Therefore, the poems in the "national style" are arranged or created by poets on the basis of folk songs or just according to the demands of the people.
It's like a reporter writing an interview with a character. The content must have come from the material, but the creator is this reporter.
In this way, the poems in The Book of Songs actually represent the portrayal of riff-raff, which is more grounded, and the content described is often the demands of ordinary people. Harvest, love, entertainment, credit and so on.
These contents are connected with girls' social status, such as strong fertility, happy pursuit of love, etc. These contents are well described in The Book of Songs.
The Songs of the South have a clear creator.
It is generally believed that Qu Yuan was the first writer recorded in the history of China literature. Most of the works in "Songs of the South" were created by Qu Yuan, and only a few were written by Song Yu and others.
Because of his aristocratic status, Qu Yuan often has the impression of social class in his creation. For example, the brave singing of soldiers in "National Mourning" and the resentment of unsuccessful in "Li Sao" are far from people's lives.
However, in a patriarchal society, becoming an aristocrat is the dream of every family. Whether a woman is loyal to the king or not has nothing to do with it, but a man must have many qualities such as loyalty, courage and so on.
This expression of men's unique status makes their names closer to Chuci.
The Book of Songs and Songs of the South contain different emotions
Different content sources will inevitably lead to different emotional connotations in the two works, so there will be different tendencies.
The emotions in The Book of Songs are often expectations, hopes, praises and eulogies. Even poems that describe sad events like Shuo and Meng contain the pursuit of a better life and love.
For example, Meng describes a woman's misfortune, but beyond that, it describes the woman's longing for love and her determination to leave after disappointment. It has the way of life of ordinary people, and happiness must be won, and misfortune must come out on its own.
Many analysts often only pay attention to the unfortunate experiences of women in the society at that time, which is actually one-sided. At that time, although it was a patriarchal society, the influence of matriarchal society was still there. Women just lost the right to speak about the social trend, but in terms of status, they did not lose it so badly in later generations, and they still had great autonomy.
Therefore, the emotions expressed in The Book of Songs are more in line with women's expectations of life.
The emotions in Songs of the South are often helpless, resentful, disappointed and sad, which is related to the structure of the upper class.
Qu Yuan's life experience is very complicated. He is a descendant of Zhuan Xu, one of the five emperors, and belongs to the same clan as the King of Chu. Therefore, Chu is Qu Yuan's ancestral country, and others can leave for other countries, but Qu Yuan can't leave. In other words, for many courtiers, Chu paid them a salary to work, and this country is like a company, but Qu Yuan is the founder of this company, and this is his home.
However, such a position still can't realize one's ideal, so one can only chant in poetry, which inevitably reveals feelings of grief, helplessness and disappointment. However, these emotions can better set off their lofty aspirations, and men should set the country safe and aim high.
Therefore, the emotion in Songs of the South is naturally more in line with men's pursuit of ideals.