“Hemp seed to sow, this is the course we take,
the acres lengthwise and across we dress.”
-Confucius, Book of Odes
Classic of Poetry, aka Book of Songs, Book of Odes, Shijing, Shih-ching or the She-king
Book of Odes
Some of humanities earliest poetry to survive the ancient world were written down by Confucius around 500 BC in the Book of Odes.
Many of the ode’s document man kinds early cultivation for survival. A great number of them document none other then the cultivation of Hemp…
pg.303
This collection of Chinese poetry is thought to date back as far as 2,350 BC – 1,800 BC but could date back orally even further. The majority of the collection is in the form of songs, a ancient form of story telling. Additions were made with songs and poetry being added up until about 600 BC.
Confucius, around the year 500 BC, compiled all the writings in part of his 5 classic books.
Confucius said a lot of things but what history likes to leave out is what Confucius said about hemp…
p.168
Even ancient farming knowledge can be found in these early poems, like this the earliest example of using potash fertilizer in agriculture…
“Hoe up all the weeds in the field during the summer solstice (June 21), let them dry in the sun, and then bum them into ash. All these ashes will permeate into the soil after a heavy rain and the soil will be fertilized.”
Another cultivation technique within the odes is told on how they planted the hemp fields, it is a common theme important enough to be repeated a couple of times…
“Hemp seed to sow, this is the course we take,
the acres lengthwise and across we dress.”
p.135
Everything from seed to harvest was written down in poetry form in the Book of Odes. Even the techniques for producing fabric were described for all to learn…
p.169
And another ode on hemp fabric dying…
p.182
Out of the 305 works in the book, a large number of them include hemp. This one even has a eerie vibe of popularity and persecution to me…
p.44-45
‘Confucius say’ was a popular opening to many joke and wisdom taglines throughout the years. What Confucius say’s in “the Book of Odes” would have been much more useful to humanity to repeat.
p.183
“Up on the roofs we’ll haste with these in hand:
Soon will the fields our time again demand.”
-Confucius, Book of Odes
Confucius