A Tentative Discussion of Some Phenomena Concerning Early Texts of the Shi jing

The means by which the Shi jing was transmitted were, primarily, written texts as well as oral recitation and singing, and the textual features formed by these processes were often quite varied. During the pre-Qin period, written texts were frequently “open documents”; therefore, discrepancies among texts do not necessarily indicate distinctions of relative quality. Moreover, texts with different features do not necessarily belong to different textual systems. Therefore, one should adopt a holistic, open-minded attitude toward early textual forms of the Shi jing , and avoid hastily proceeding from discrepancies of format to rash judgments that they belong to different texts.