The
Classic of Poetry, also
Shijing or
Shih-ching, translated variously as the
Book of Songs,
Book of Odes, or simply known as the
Odes or
Poetry is the oldest existing collection of
Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. It is one of the "
Five Classics" traditionally said to have been compiled by
Confucius, and has been studied and memorized by scholars in China and neighboring countries over two millennia. Since the
Qing dynasty, its rhyme patterns have also been analysed in the study of
Old Chinese phonology.