Re-examining the Theory of "Liu Yi(六义)" of the Book of Songs from a Trans-East Asian Perspective

In the study of the &quotBook of Songs&quot, the concept of the &quotLiu Yi&quot originated from the &quotLiu Shi(六诗)&quot. Later, in the history of scholarship, it developed into the theories of &quotSan Ti(三体) &quot and &quotSan Yong(三用)&quot. From the perspective of cross-East Asian cultural studies, this article highlights issues related to the theories of &quotPoetry Collection&quot and &quotObserving Customs&quot in terms of their operability in political life. Additionally, it raises questions about the classification of &quotFu(赋), Bi(比), Xing(兴)&quot by later scholars. It further points out that the &quotGuo Feng(国风)&quot are not necessarily poems collected by Zhou kings to observe the customs of the people during the Zhou dynasty. Instead, they were composed to observe the political aspirations of vassal states closely related to the Zhou dynasty. When the airs of a state entered the court, it could be considered a special honor, as was the case for states like Qin(秦) and Zheng(郑). The &quotYa(雅)&quot poems were performed with the &quotXia Music(夏乐)&quot of the Zhou people, while the &quotSong(颂)&quot were temple music and dance poems used to praise the divine virtues of ancestors. This study, against the historical backdrop of expressing aspirations through poetry in the pre-Qin era, suggests that &quotFu&quot refers to expressing one''s aspirations through poetry in diplomatic and social settings. &quotBi&quot refers to the need for quoted poems to match each other. &quotXing&quot refers to using the aspirations expressed in the Book of Songs to inspire one''s own aspirations in diplomatic and social contexts.