A Verification of Confucius' Revision of Poetry

With regard to the saying that Confucius once revised Poetry,both ancient and modern scholars are divided on the following issues: the source of the saying,its first dissenter,and its credibility.Based on the extant documents,the author believes that its first advocate is Sima Qian,and its first negator is Kong Yingda.From such perspectives as Poetry's containing multitudinous items,the criteria used by Confucius to compile it,and Ji Zha's appreciation of the music of Chou,it can be verified that Confucius did have revised Poetry.