The Book of Poetry, China's first ancient poem collections, was compiled around the 6th Century BC, and roughly contemporary with the epics Iliad and Odyssey by Homer of ancient Greece. It gives a vivid description of various aspects of social life at that time, mirrors the sufferings of the people brought about by war and heavy corvee, and extols their pursuing love and freedom. In history it had become a tradition to illustrate the Book of Poetry with pictures or produce works of art themed on its poems owing to the book’s charm and reputation.
