Fishhawk is the first of the Classic of Poetry which contained three hundred and five poems. This poem is short, and it has a very important position of the Chinese literature. It is considered as the foundation of the Chinese literature. I am interested in this particular poem because this short poem can be interpreted in many different ways. According to the Mao Commentary, Confucians think this poem display the guideline for harmony of the household in ancient China. In the Zhou Dynasty, the Wen King searched for a maiden, in order to show her faithfulness in her marriage, the Queen allowed Wen King to search another maiden. Also, there is another point of view shows the speaker of the poem feel blue about the situation of helplessness, and it also compare his faithless marriage with the pure affection of the two fish hawks. The use of imagery is another thing attract me. In this poem, it repeat "gentle maiden, pure and fair" for four times. The repetition throughout the poem makes the reader feel like the prince was really yearn for the maiden, and the maiden is the only thing that the seeker can see. The onomatapeia of "gwan gwan" is powerful to help reader imagine the image of two fish hawks floating on the "sandbars of the stream," and this give reader a peaceful mood that abundant at the beginning.
In my view, "Fishhawk" is a fantastic poem to analyze. Readers can find the views of ancient China through this work in many ways, such as historical, literary, social and cultural.
I agree that the Classics of Poetry were, and remain today very valuable to the people of China. They were the foundation for many things in China including Confucianism itself. That alone tells me they must have a significant importance. When I read this poem, I also felt very calm and relaxed because of the imagery of the stream and the fish.
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