Publications related to rhetoric in the Shi Jing (also known as the Classic of Poetry, Shih-ching, etc.) can be mostly divided into monographs, chapters of monographs, or individual papers. Rhetorical methods listed by the author are systematically expounded and examples are elaborated with ample reference to information. Rhetoric has been systematically studied to help shed light on development of Shi Jing rhetoric during the Republican era.
The text is divided in five chapters and discusses the history of Shi Jing rhetoric from three perspectives, i.e., form, content, and purpose, by using synthesis, inductive reasoning, and comparison. The history of Shi Jing rhetoric is divided into three periods based on the time each dissertation was written in: Antecedents and beginning of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1912-1926); development and maturity of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1927-1936); and discord and decline of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1937-1949). Contents of dissertations by each author are analyzed from three different perspectives: 1. Biography and works; 2. Contents and summary; and 3. Pros/Cons and critique, as to present a comprehensive view on the history of Shi Jing rhetoric during the Republican era.
The first chapter "Introduction" first indicates looks into the motivation, purpose, and methods for study on Shi Jing rhetoric. Purpose is divided in two types: (1) Characteristics of the Shi Jing's art of rhetoric; and (2) Influence of the Shi Jing's art of rhetoric. Study methods are divided in two types: (1) Study data; and (2) Detailed outline of studies; then describes the definition and implications of the history of Shi Jing rhetoric; elaborates on the origins and development of the history of Shi Jing rhetoric; and finally, the outcomes of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric by predecessors.
The second chapter deals with the antecedents and beginning of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1912-1926), and is further subdivided in two periods: Antecedents of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1912-1918), including Japanese sinologist Tetsuji Morohashi; and beginning of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1919-1926), including Junying Cheng, Wuliang Xie, and Guizhang Tang.
The third chapter deals with the development and maturity of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1927-1936), and is further subdivided in two periods: Development of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1927-1931), including Shoulin Zhang and Pu'an Hu; and maturity of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1932-1936), including Ang Xu, Jinxi Li, Zhitang Lin, Kenkichirō Kojima, Chengyu Xu, Guizhang Tang, and Junyu Wang.
The fourth chapter deals with the discord and decline of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1937-1949), and is further subdivided in two periods: Discord of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1937-1945), including Japanese academician Makoto Mekada; and decline of studies on Shi Jing rhetoric (1946-1949), including Dezhi Hu.
The fifth chapter is the conclusion. Its analysis is divided in two aspects: Characteristics of the history of Shi Jing rhetoric, which are further subdivided into four facets: 1. Categories of rhetorical devices; 2. Amount of rhetorical devices; 3. Contents of the Shi Jing; and 4. Times of the Shi Jing. Influence of the history of Shi Jing rhetoric, which discusses the influence of the Shi Jing on later rhetoric. Such analysis is classified into China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the United States, etc.
Contents of the appendix include: Brief history of rhetorical devices; brief history of Shi Jing rhetoric; and Rhetoric—A Study on Shi Jing, a comparison table of Tetsuji Morohashi and Wuliang Xie.