魏晉南北朝的《詩經》接受史，由以普通讀者為主體的效果史、以經學家與詩評家為主體的闡釋史及以詩人作家為主體的影響史三者所構成。本文主要以普通讀者為中心展開論述。魏晉南北朝普通讀者的《詩經》接受，主要表現在《世說新語》一書中。魏晉南北朝普通讀者的《詩經》接受也受當時戲謔風氣的影響，有模擬嘲諷，有言語機鋒。他們也喜歡討論《毛詩》何句最佳，這種摘句鑒賞可視作摘句批評的萌芽與雛型。自況身世、品評人物也是《詩經》接受常見之事。謝玄引「昔我往矣，楊柳依依；今我來思，雨雪霏霏。」鑒賞，形成緜長一千多年的「情景」觀念接受史及「鄭家《詩》婢」所引起的波瀾，可以說是普通讀者中的異數，他們正是讓約翰生博士感到高興的那一類普通讀者。廣大的「普通讀者群體」是文學史不能忽略的一群，他們的意見值得寫進「讀者文學史」。

The reception history of Shih Ching (Classic of Poetry) for the period of the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties involves the history of poetic perception by general readers,of poetic interpretations by classical poetry scholars and critics, and of the personal influences
of the poets. This paper intends to explore the reception of Shih Ching from the perspective of the general reading public, which is mostly manifested in Shih-shuo hsin-yü or A New Account of Tales of the World. Amidst a contemporary account of social history, general readers of Shih
Ching in the period of the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties were often both mocking and witty. They also liked to discuss their choice of the best lines from Mao Shih (one of the four schools of Shih Ching), which marked the start of the tradition of quotation criticism. It was common for such readers to compare their life experiences or to evaluate others by the process of reader response and the appreciation of quotes.One outstanding example, the passage “The willows waved to the breeze when I left for war, and now the snow is falling when I have returned,” quoted by Xye Xuan, has formed the basis of a reception history for the concpet of “scene” for more than one thousand years.
Another instance is the great influence of “Zhen Poetry Maid.” Such readers represented a type who Dr. Johnson would have taken great interest in. “An immense general readership” is an indispensible part of literary history. Reader responses deserve to be written into “the
history of reader literature.”