| 英文摘要 |
The Book of Changes and the Book of Songs, the earliest extant Chinese books, can be traced back to the era of the early Western Chou. Although he purposes of the two books are different, the Book of Changes is concerned with divination and the Book of Songs with poetry, they are similar in that the both use symbols as an expression of artistic form. Both books use symbols to express meaning through both direct and indirect meaning and metaphor. Thus, by comparing the symbols of animals and plants found in the two books, we can understand the meaning of the symbols and compare the similarities and differences in the meaning of the symbols used at the time each book was written. We can further examine the method of the writing, the language used and the relationship between the symbols and interpret their original meaning and to explore the possible emotions that they generate in the reader. It is hoped that through this analysis a new method of studying the Book of Changes and the Book of Songs may be developed. |