Interpretation of"Yi Chang San Tan"from a New Perspective:Also on the Compositional Nature of Ritual Songs in the Book of Songs and Their Literary Historical Significance
"Yi Chang"refers to the opening musical chapter in the early ritual songs of the Book of Songs,and"San Tan"refers to the same group of praise songs that share the same ritual purpose as"Yi Chang".These musical chapters exhibit distinct compositional forms and are essentially integral to the musical system of the Book of Songs.The musical system emphasizes the purpose of a group of ritual songs in specific ceremonies and reflects political power and prestige behind the rituals and music-making.On the other hand,the textual system of the Book of Songs focuses more on the interpretation of poetic meanings,closely related to the functional use of language in diplomatic rhetoric at that time.