《诗经》的史料价值

《诗经》不仅是文学研究者的诗歌宝库 ,也是史家的史料渊薮。最初的《诗三百》百科全书地涵盖着精神文化现象 ,历史的许多细节都在诗的具体而微的描写中体现出来。《诗经》中的许多作品对研究西周春秋时期的历史状况都具有重要的参考价值 ,以周人的五篇开国史诗为例 ,可以清楚地看到周人在灭商以前的历史进程。然而 ,《诗经》虽记载了许多历史事件 ,史学研究者也可从中找到具有研究价值的史料 ,但诗毕竟不是史 ,以此来考察当时社会还应参考地下考古资料 ,并与先秦的其他文献相佐证。

The Value of Historical Data in The Book of Songs

The Book of Songs is a treasure-mine of poetry for literary scholars and a precious deposit for historians. Its predecessor has nearly covered all the phenomena in the spiritual life at that time, and many historical events employ the form of poetry to be illustrated in details. Lots of works in The Book of Songs play a vital reference role in studying the historical status of the Western Zhou Dynasty and of the Spring and Autumn Period; taking the five pieces of founding epics of the Zhou Dynasty as an instance, we can catch the course of history that occurred before the Shang Dynasty fell to the Zhou Dynasty. Although The Book of Songs records numerous historical events, in which historians can find out historical materials, never poetry is a historical document. Therefore, the reconstruction of social appearance at that time should consult historical relics and be exemplified by other documents of the pre-Qin period.