一個民族文化的發展和進歩，必定要經過一段時間的孕育和滋長。這發展和進步，以人為主體，所以一群人孕育出文化雛形。而又使文化達到輝煌燦爛的地歩，必然是這群人具有創造文化的能力。這樣的過程，從人這方面來說，先要具有人性特質，這原是很自然的；然後在一群人中形成某些特質，特別是「文化特質」（這項特質在現存的原始民族中並不明顯，或者可以說，尚未形成。），文化才能在群體生活的環境中發展和進歩。
人性的基本特質之一是情感。哲學家們已經給人這種動物加上了許多形容詞，如政治的動物、經濟的動物、工作的動物等等，再加一個，說人是情感的動物，大概也不嫌太多。這就是說，雖然其他的動物也有情感作用，然而終究不似人的情感類別這麼複雜，情感作用這麼頻繁，情感的表達方式這麼千變萬化。
人的情感因為日常生活中的「感觸」而發生作用，發生作用之後便不免表達出來。表達情感的工具在於人體和器官，於是發出聲音或動作，藉這二者表現出情感的意義。
我國教育思想的哲學基礎，最初來自於「人本身」，表現於文化類型的，即是由歌而成的詩。
歌是人表達情感的最基本而簡單的方式。用聲章表達內心所感受的喜悅、快樂、哀傷、悲憤，以至淒涼，可說是天賦的調節情感的方法，把「心情」歌唱出來以後，使原有的「衝動程度」減弱，尤其是把原來的「不快」減低或使之消，趨向於「平靜」以至所願意有的「愉悅狀態」，心理才能保持平衡。所以歌是所有的人都不能缺少的，從原始民族以至文化進歩的人，生活中絕對不會缺少歌聲。
由歌到詩，是文化進歩的明顯成就。因為詩是以語言或文字表達「感觸」的意義，不只是單純的發出聲音而已，而是聲音和意義配合起來，使其表達得更順暢，更能宣洩「心情」。
到了用聲音配合語言的意義的時候，除了要「講究」言辭，使其「正確」的表達意義之外，還要注意「聲音」與意義的符合，因而聲音就有了抑揚頓挫、高低強弱之別，生出了律和韻，此時的聲音，既不是單調的「聲」，也不是狂噪的吼叫。使人可以「聞聲知義」，是文化的一大進步。
現今存在的詩經，便是經過這樣的歷程而來的。文學家、史學家等曾經對詩經作過許多研究，本文則是從教育的立場上，看詩經所涵蘊的哲學意義，以見我國文化發展和進歩的形跡。

As the ancient people of China had settled down along the Yellow River and established an agricultural society, they had leisure time after harvest every year；then, they created their culture and made its progress and prosperity. Ancient Chinese cultural development can be read in the Book of Odes. Odes basically are expressions of feelings and emotions in a refined form of poetry.
Feelings and emotions are psychological states usually manifested by sounds. The ancient Chinese knew it. As it is said in the Book of Rites that when the mind is stimulated by external objects, it acts in certain voices；and that when such voices expressed externally, they become sounds. Thus sounds are expressions of internally aroused feelings and emotions. There are six kinds of emotions being identified by sounds in this book as follows：
Grief（loose of possessed of）：from high to low.
Happiness（the desired obtained）：expressing but not hurrying.
Pleasantness（satisfied）：expressing slowly and continually.
Angriness（opposed to intention）：rough and harsh.
Respect（to the fearful, active fearfulness not aroused by threat）：acting according to the respected.
Love（to the beloved）：warm and soft.
As sounds indicate feelings and emotions, there are distinctions between high and low, clear and unclear, long and short. When rules for composing sounds in rhymes and rhythms formulated, songs were composed and prevailed everywhere.
Ancient Chinese folk songs were developed in such a way. In addition to expressions of feelings and emotions, gradually more contents of songs were created. There were songs of expressing opinions of people toward politics, living and social situations, and interpersonal relations. Eventually songs contained a variety of knowledge and techniques especially biology and zoology.
In order to understand the living situations and opinions of people, ancient Emperors and Kings appointed officials to every district to collect songs, then had them refined by the Royal Musician to the form of poetry and played them to the royal presence. When the songs were in play, there were combinations with dances also with musical and dancing instruments. Consequently such plays were demonstrated in occasions of ceremonies and social gatherings.
Ancient Chinese Emperors and Kings believed that musics had the effects of cultivating good characters and that etiquette had the effects of disciplining good conduct. Thus odes were used reversionally, together with etiquette as educational materials to civilize people and to teach future officials. With other four kinds of teaching materials, they were used to create a harmonious nation even a peaceful universe. From Emperor Shun（about 2255 BC）till the end of Chou Dynasty（about 221 BC）, Etiquette and odes were melted with education in one pot.