Political Poetry: The Spirit Of Law In The Book Of Songs

The Book of Songs is the first poetry collection in Chinese history. It not onlyoccupies a pivotal position in the literature, but also has a very considerable value inmany other respects. Just as Kongzi said:“The book of Songs and The Book are allholding etiquette.” So we can say that there are inextricable links between poetry andetiquette what is actually of a regulatory function of legal norms. Bearing the etiquetteand music, the poetry had been given a wealth of political, ethical and moralconnotations. The poetry gradually penetrated into every corner of daily life in thestate and played an amazing role at that time. By reading The book of songs, thispaper tries to research the relationship between law and literature in the context ofChinese legal culture.Whether it is from the "law in Literature" point of view or fromthe "law though literature" perspective, The Book of Songs has an excellent reputationfor the classical association of "Law and Literature".In the foreword and the first part, it will tell something about “law andliterature”. Consisting of its rising as a movement, and its four kinds of associationmodes namely “law in literature”,”law of literature”,”law though literature” and“law as literature”. In which the more important kinds are “law in literature” and “lawthough literature”. The next step is to exposit the reason why the book of songs ischosen as the example.In the second part, the spirit of law in The Book of Songs is the central topic ofdiscussion. After a long period of time, we can still find the shadow and implicationof laws at that time, which includes Matrimony System and Social Customs, Crimeand punishment, litigation and trail, and the thought of religious authority on the legalthought.The third part will discuss that these poems of The Book of Songs are producedunder the auspices of the public authority and the relationship between the poetry andetiquette, music. why The Book of Songs can have an important educational in ancientChina. just like “law though literature”.The end which is the most important part is coming. The studies about “law andliterature” unwittingly opens the door to understand the Chinese traditional law. Inthis paper,it is hoped that through reading The Book of Songs to do a new attempt. The final argument of this paper is not only stay in the "Epic mutual certificate", butto rise to the theoretical study of law. As mentioned earlier, reading the era’s literary oflaw at one time can be reflected for legal research from the side, such as Legalconcepts, Legal thoughts, and Implementation effect of the law. And they all belongto the scope of the general theory of law. From this point of view, Research on "Lawand Literature" is undoubtedly inventive, it has injected vigor and vitality to thetraditional theory of law and has positive impact. To legal research, this is a greatvalue and significance...