Discussion and Analysis on the Allusive Meanings of Yu Shun’s Qin Song “South Wind”

Yu Shun’s Qin song " South Wind" is an allusion widely used in ancient works. It contains four allusive meanings: first, a ruler governs by doing nothing (including three interpretations: the Confucianists holding different posts, a legalist monarch using tactics to manipulate his officials, Huang Lao’s theory of making people recuperate and multiply); second, the ruler makes all under heaven submit, suggesting that he shares people’s interests and is of the same mind with them, thus resulting in the way of governing his country; third, the ruler governs his country by virtue of filial piety; fourthly, a scholar lives a reclusive life and follows the way of the ancients. These allusive meanings were formed mostly at the end of the Warring States and during the period of two Han dynasties, and had been used during the period of Three Kingdoms. Since then, they have been comprehensively and widely employed, and have become a cultural memory throughout ancient and modern times.