The word "poetry" in the phrase "without learning poetry, there is no way to speak" refers to the Book of Psalms. The meaning of the whole sentence is: If you don't learn poetry, you won't know how to speak.
From: Spring and Autumn Confucius, "The Analects of Confucius - The Book of Ji"
Selected passages from the original text:
Chen Kuang asked Bo Yu, "Do you have any different stories?" He said, "No, I have not. Tried to be independent, carp tend to cross the court. Said: 'Learn "Poetry"?' He said: 'Not yet'. If you don't learn Poetry, you have nothing to say.' The carp retreated to learn the Poetry.
On other days, and independent, carp tend to cross the court, said: 'learning ritual? Said: 'Not yet.' 'Do not learn the ritual, not to stand.' Carp back and learn the ritual. Hear Si two." Chen Kang retreated and said joyfully, "Ask one and you get three: hear the Poetry, hear the Rites, and hear the gentleman's distant son."
Interpretation:
Chen Kang asked Bo Yu, "Have you heard any special teaching from your teacher?" Bo Yu replied, "No, I haven't. Once when he was standing alone in the hall and I walked quickly through the court, he said, 'Have you learned the Poems?' I answered, 'No.' He said, 'If you do not learn the Poems, you will not know how to speak.' I went back and studied the Poems.
Another day he was again standing alone in the hall, and as I walked briskly through the court, he said, 'Have you learned the Rites?' I answered, 'No.' He said, 'If you do not learn the rites, you will not know how to stand.' I went back and learned the rites. I have heard these two things." Chen Kang went back and said happily, "I asked a question and got three things; I heard the truth about the Poetry, I heard the truth about the Rites, and I heard the truth that a gentleman does not favor his own son."
Expanded Information
Origin of the Name of the Book of Poetry:
The Book of Poetry was written around the middle of the Spring and Autumn period, and was initially called the Poetry, a title mentioned by Confucius on a number of occasions, and recorded by Sima Qian as well, as: "The 300 Psalms of the Poetry were largely composed by the sages and sages in their anger."
Because there were 311 poems in the later version of the book, it was called "Poems 300" for the sake of narrative convenience. The reason why it was renamed "The Book of Poetry" was due to the fact that Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty used "Poetry," "Book," "Rites," "Yi," and "Spring and Autumn" as the Five Classics.
Historical legacy:
It is said that as many as 3,000 poems were handed down during the Spring and Autumn Period, but only 311 of them remained (six of the pith poems had eyes but no poems). After Confucius compiled the Book of Poetry, the earliest clearly recorded inheritor of the poem was Zixia, one of the "ten philosophers of Confucius" and one of the seventy-two sages, who had the strongest comprehension of the poem, and so it was he who passed it on.
At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the poets were Shen Peigong (申培公), Lu (魯人), Yuansheng (辕固生), Qi (齐人), and Yan (燕人). Qi's poetry died in Wei, Lu's poetry died in the Western Jin Dynasty, and Han's poetry was still in circulation in the Tang Dynasty, but today only 10 volumes of the extemporized poems remain. The Poetry Scriptures in circulation today are the Mao poems handed down by Mao Gong.
Influence:
The expression of "Fugue, Bie and Xing" of the Book of Songs has been inherited and developed in ancient poetic creation, and has become an important feature of ancient Chinese poetry. The Book of Songs also proves the artistic creativity of the working people by the fact that the overlapping and repetitive forms of the folk songs of the Book of Songs and the accurate, graphic and beautiful language have been absorbed and used by a large number of poets and writers of the later generations.
The Book of Songs, with its profound social content and beautiful art form, attracted the literati to pay attention to folk songs and learn from them. The flexible and varied poetic forms and vivid and rich language of the Book of Songs also had an important influence on the literature of various genres in later generations.