Nine Songs

 The Nine Songs: A Study of Shamanism in Ancient China by Yuan Qu, translated by Arthur Waley, 61 pages

The "Nine Songs" were probably written down in the 3rd or 4th century BC, although the songs themselves are clearly older than that.  The eleven short poems are ritual hymns intended to aid a shaman in summoning a spirit or god.  Interestingly, they are love songs, with the god often described as a fickle lover and the shaman as the longing, forsaken partner.  As Waley suggests in his introduction, the closest Western equivalent is likely the Song of Songs, and similarly to that work the Nine Songs have been given a variety of allegorical interpretations down through the centuries, including many which literal-minded moderns will no doubt find impossibly tendentious.

Tracing the influence of the Nine Songs in Chinese cultural history is not Waley's aim, however.  Rather, he is interested in presenting them in something resembling their original context.  To this end, not only has he supplied an excellent introduction to the series as a whole, but each poem also gets its own brief but informative commentary.

Spirit's Chosen

Spirit’s Chosen by Esther Friesner 

484 pages

This is the sequel to Spirit’s Princess but could be read alone.  Himiko is the daughter of the chief of the Matsu tribe.  She has returned from a journey fully trained as a shaman, only to find that her people have been attacked by the Ookami clan.  Several of her people, including her father, have been killed and others enslaved.  Her mother is in poor health, mentally, because one of those enslaved is her younger brother.  Himiko swears that she will rescue her brother and restore her mother’s mind.  She undertakes the journey but ends up enslaved herself.  However, not all of the Ookami are as warlike as their leader, Ryu.  She may find allies and help within the clan and she finds that the spirits are still with her, even in her captivity.  This is a good story and an interesting look into Japan’s past.  Teens that like historical fiction, fantasy, or books with strong female characters may like this book.