Even with folk songs such as these, the comment in Chinese poetry may be extremely oblique, and the reader is expected to do some work to understand what the poet is saying. Thus a poet may express indignation not by referring to an outrage and its perpetrator, but in terms of some natural phenomenon that fails to live up to expectation, such as a tree that fails to blossom, an unexpected storm or flood, or a starry constellation that disappoints in some way. Broader aspects of the contents of the Book of Odes are discussed in the preface to this work, which provides a Confucian view of poetry. This is presented here, followed by a few of the odes that illustrate various aspects of the human condition. The Great Preface 1.
Poetry is the product of earnest thought.
The feelings move inwardly, and are embodied in words. When words are insufficient for them, recourse is made to sighs and exclamations. When sighs and exclamations are insufficient for them, recourse is made to the prolonged utterances of song. When those prolonged utterances of song are insufficient for them, unconsciously the hands begin to move and the feet to dance. The feelings go forth in sounds.