We have already encountered examples of inscriptions on Zhou bronze vessels including rhymed poetic fragments. The first and second texts discussed in this lesson are entirely poems. Each stanza consists of 5-6 lines. The number of syllables per line is typically four (exceptions are relatively rare). The four-syllable line is also most characteristic of the songs of the "Shijing."
It is easy to see that the inscriptions on East Zhou ritual vessels cited are similar, both stylistically and partly in content, to one of the odes of the "Shijing" (fragment No. 3).
Note the similarity in the stanza structure, which can be represented by the following variants:
1) a — a — a — a
2) a — a — b — a
3) a — a — b — b
4) a — b — c — a
Along with 與 yǔ, which replaced the earlier 眔 dà, a function word of the same group, 及 jí, appears in the late pre-classical language.
The words 與 yǔ and 及 jí are synonyms, which is why they are often used in parallel phrases:
唯風及雨將恐將懼，唯予與汝，將安將樂 wéi fēng jí yǔ, jiāng kǒng jiāng jù, wéi yú yǔ rǔ, jiāng ān jiāng lè "Wind and rain—it will be scary and eerie; I am with you—we will be calm and joyful."
The functional word 及 jí differs from 與 yǔ, however, in that when used as a preposition, 及 jí does not allow the omission of an object. Therefore, in its functional meaning, 及 jí can only be followed by a noun (or pronoun):
及爾同死 jí ěr tóng sǐ "I will die with you."
Besides, 及 jí can also have a semantic meaning ("to reach," "to get to..."), which is how it was used even in the archaic period.
The word 且 qiě is a conjunction linking predicatives. It is most often used when the predicate is expressed by two predicatives denoting a quality or state. Then the second predicative, attached to the first by 且 qiě, denotes some additional property characteristic of the subject. In English, 且 qiě can be translated as "and," "furthermore," "besides," etc.:
不如叔也，詢美且武 bù rú shū yě, xún měi qiě wǔ "There is none among them equal to my Shu; How handsome he is, how brave and courageous he is! (lit. "handsome and also brave")*Shijing. P. 96..
If it is necessary to emphasize that both states (actions) take place simultaneously, 且 qiě is placed before both predicatives:
且以喜樂且以永日 qiě yǐ xǐ lè qiě yǐ yǒng rì "and enjoy [this], and prolong [this] one's days."
The construction 終...且 zhōng... qiě can be used with the same meaning of "in addition" or "besides": "The depth of her heart was boundless; always a noble soul of warmth and kindness" (lit. "warmth and also kindness")**Ibid. P. 39..
This word is known to us in two functional meanings (15.2; 16.1). In the late preclassical language, a third meaning appears. It consists of the fact that, when introduced between the subject and predicate of an independent sentence, 之 zhī deprives it of independence and turns it into a nominal phrase.
Compare:
人好我 rén hào wǒ "people love me";
人之好我 rén zhī hào wǒ "the fact that people love me."
However, such use of the word 之 zhī is extremely rare in the late pre-classical period. It is more typical of the following period in the history of Old Chinese—the classical period.
In ancient China during the Zhou period, musical instruments were divided into three main groups: percussion, plucked string, and wind instruments.
Instruments of the first group included bronze bells (鐘 zhōng) and stone gongs (磬 qìng).