"ancient Proverbs Study

Chinese ballads and proverbs have a long history, and so is the history of collecting and compiling them. Prior to the Qin Dynasty, ballads and proverbs were already recorded in scriptures. The earliest works of collected ballads and proverbs are the General Anthology of Yuefu Poems and the Ancient and Contemporary Proverb of the Song Dynasty. The two works marks the initiation of systematical collection and compilation of ballads and proverb. Compilation of works of ballads and proverbs reached peak time in the Ming and Qin Dynasty, and among them the Ancient Ballads and Proverbs edited by Duwenlan of the Qing Dynasty is the most comprehensive one."Collecting poetry" and "Poetic education" are two important institutional practices of Chinese cultural tradition. "Collecting poetry" aims to observe social custom, and "Poetic education" is targeted at cultivating the masses. According to Duwenlan, ballads and proverbs assume the same function as poetry in the aspects of observing social customs and cultivating masses. And it's also the purpose of editing the Ancient Ballads and Proverbs.The book of the Ancient Ballads and Proverbs serves the important purpose of political education, so the compilation style of this book is very rigorous. There are many innovations and characteristics of this book, compared to former works of the same kind. The Ancient Ballads and Proverbs has a significant influence on subsequent works, especially the Ballads and Proverbs of Modern China.