Chu Ci
Chu Ci (traditional Chinese: 楚辭; simplified Chinese: 楚辞; pinyin: chǔ cí; Wade-Giles: Ch'u Tz'u), also known as Songs of the South or Songs of Chu, is an anthology of Chinese verse traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States Period, though about half of the poems seem to have been composed several centuries later, during the Han Dynasty.[2] The traditional version of the Chu Ci contains 17 major sections, and was produced by Wang Yi (Chinese: 王逸), a 2nd century AD librarian who served under Emperor Shun of Han.[2] The Chu Ci and the more well-known Shi Jing together constitute the classics of pre-Qin dynasty Chinese verse.[3]
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[edit] History
Chu Ci was named after a form of poetry that originated in the State of Chu, the southernmost area settled by Chinese prior to the Qin Dynasty. Chu was known for its unique blend of culture from the Chinese heartland with other cultures from that of the south. A Chinese form of shamanism was prominent in Chu, and a large number of the Chu Ci describe "spirit journeys",[4] with extensive references to fragrant plants and various spirits.
The collection of poems by Qu Yuan and Song Yu included in Chu Ci, as well as works by other Chu poets, were already popular during the Western Han Dynasty. The Book of Han noted 106 Chu poets with 1,318 compositions. Many established Han poets also imitated the style of chu ci and produced their fair share of notable poems. However, it was only during the reign of Emperor Cheng when Liu Xiang arranged and compiled the poems of Qu Yuan and Song Yu, as well as those of Han poets including Wang Bao (王褒), Jia Yi (賈誼), Yan Ji (嚴忌) and Liu Xiang himself, into the Chu Ci anthology as it is known today. Chuci can also refer to the formal style of this type of verse, and other or later chuci style verses were written in this style; however, as a "classic" or canonical selection of specific verses the Chuci anthology has remained fixed since the Han Dynasty.
[edit] Qu Yuan
Although Chu Ci is an anthology of poems by many poets, Qu Yuan was doubtless its central figure. A minister in the court of King Huai of Chu, Qu Yuan advocated forming an alliance with the other states against the dominance of Qin. However, his advice was not taken and he was ostracized by other officials in court. Seeing the corruption of his colleagues and the inability of his king, Qu Yuan then exiled himself and finally committed suicide in the Miluo River when Qin defeated Chu in 278 BC. It is in remembrance of the circumstances of his death that the annual Dragon boat races are held.
During his days of exile, Qu Yuan is thought to have written Li Sao, his magnum opus and the centerpiece of Chu Ci. The authorship, as in many a case of ancient literature, can be neither confirmed nor denied. Written in 373 verses containing 2490 characters, Li Sao is the earliest Chinese long poem and is acclaimed as the literary representative of Qu Yuan's high moral conduct and patriotism.
Also sometimes attributed to Qu Yuan, the Jiu Ge ("Nine Songs") exemplify shamanic literature in China. (See Arthur Waley, The Nine Songs: A Study of Shamanism in Ancient China.)
[edit] Prosody and style
The poems of the Chuci anthology are mostly of the seven-syllable form, and are formed in a unique way[citation needed]. Lines generally consist of three syllables followed by the word 兮 (pinyin: xī, Old Chinese: *gˤe),[5] which indicates a caesura, and then another three syllables.[6]. This contrasts distinctly with the classic four-character verse of the Shi Jing, and adds a different rhythmic latitude of expression. Furthermore, the verses of the Chu Ci would have been recited using pronunciations of the southern dialect of Chu, in the Yangzi River region; unlike the poems of the Shi Jing, which were sung in the more northerly Yellow River area dialects. The poems of the Chuci remain as a major factor in the study of Classical Chinese poetry, history, and culture. Not only have the various poems or prose-poems influenced subsequent literature, but the contents of this material are a major primary source for historical information about the culture and religious beliefs in the territorial area of the former Kingdom of Chu.[7][8] The beliefs reflected in these poems seem to be related to the beliefs of the preceding Shang and the Zhou dynasties; but, yet to have retained indications of shamanistic practices.[9] Themes of flight or excursion are typical of shamanism and are frequently encountered throughout the Chu ci verses.[10] Both "Encountering Sorrow" and the "Nine Songs" share a floral symbolism together with flights through the air involving intimate meetings with divine beings.[11]
[edit] Contents
The Chuci consists of seventeen main sections.
[edit] "Li Sao"
離騷 Lí sāo "On Encountering Trouble" (or, also known as, Encountering Sorrow) is one of the most famous of the works contained in the Chu Ci. The Li Sao seems to contain certain autobiographical material about the relationship between Qu Yuan and the leadership of the Chu kingdom. Although often interpreted as a political allegory, other aspects of this rather long poem seem to refer to religious and mythological themes derived from the culture of the Chu area.[12]
[edit] "Jiu Ge"
九歌 Jiǔ gē "Nine Songs", despite the fact that the title literally means "Nine Songs", the "Jiu Ge" actually includes eleven discrete parts or songs. These seem to represent some shamanistic dramatic practices of the Yangzi River valley area involving the invocation of divine beings and seeking their blessings by means of a process of courtship.[13]
[edit] "Tian Wen"
天問 Tiān wèn "Heavenly Questions", also known as Questions to Heaven, addressed to Tian (or "Heaven"), consists of series of questions, 172 in all, in verse format.[14] The series of questions asked involves Chinese mythology and ancient Chinese religious beliefs. The answers are not explicated.
[edit] "Jiu Zhang"
The 九章 Jiǔ zhāng "Nine Pieces", or "Nine Declarations", consists poems of nine titles, one of more notable being the "Ai Ling" or "Lament for Ying". Ying was the name of the traditional capital city of Qu Yuan's homeland of Chu; and indeed, Ying and Chu became synonymous. However, both the city of Ying and the entire state of Chu itself experienced doom due to the expansion of the state of Qin. Hence the "Lament".
[edit] "Yuan You"
[edit] "Bu Ju"
[edit] "Yu Fu"
[edit] Jiǔ biàn "Nine Changes"
One of the Chuci sections was 九辯 Jiǔ biàn "Nine Changes".
[edit] Zhāo hún "Summons of the Soul"
The Zhāo hún "Summons of the Soul" (招魂) is one of the more notable parts of the Chuci.
[edit] Other sections
- 大招 Dà zhāo "The Great Summons"
- 惜誓 Xī shì "Sorrow for Troth Betrayed"
- 招隱 Zhāo yǐn "Summons for a Recluse"
- 七諫 Qī jiàn "Seven Remonstrances"
- 哀時命 Āi shí mìng "Alas That My Lot Was Not Cast"
- 九懷 Jiǔ huái "Nine Regrets"
- 九歎 Jiǔ tàn "Nine Laments"
- 九思 Jiǔ sī "Nine Longings"
[edit] Authorship
Scholars have debated the authenticity of several of Qu Yuan's works since the Western Han dynasty. Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian mentions five of Qu Yuan's works:
- Li Sao ("Encountering Sorrow")
- Tian Wen
- Zhao Hun ("Summoning of the Soul")
- Ai Ying ("Lament for Ying")
- Huai Sha
According to Wang Yi of the Eastern Han dynasty, a total of 25 works can be attributed to Qu Yuan:
- Li Sao
- Jiu Ge (consisting of 11 pieces)
- Tian Wen
- Jiu Zhang (consisting of 9 pieces)
- Yuan You
- Pu Ju
- Yu Fu
Wang Yi chose to attribute Zhao Hun to another contemporary of Qu Yuan, Song Yu; most modern scholars, however, consider Zhao Hun to be Qu Yuan's original work, whereas Yuan You, Pu Ju, and Yu Fu are believed to have been composed by others.
[edit] Translation into English
In addition to the translations by David Hawkes cited above, translations into English include:
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Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- Hawkes, David (translator). Chapter 5 in J. Minford & J. S. M. Lau (Eds.) (2000). Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations, Vol. I: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty. New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 0-231-09676-3.
- Sun Dayu (translator). (2007). Selected Poems of Chu Yuan (Chinese-English edition). Shanghai: Foreign Language Education Press, ISBN 9787544604598.
- Waters, Geoffrey R. Three Elegies of Ch'u: an Introduction to the Traditional Interpretation of the Ch'u Tz'u. University of Wisconsin Press, 1985. ISBN 9780299100308.
- Gladys Yang and Xianyi Yang, Chu Ci Xuan Selected Elegies of the State of Chu. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2001. ISBN 7119028901).
- Fusheng Wu, “Sao Poetry,” pp. 36-58, in Zong-Qi Cai, ed., How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008 ISBN 9780231139403. Background on the poems and their form; side by side columns of Chinese characters, pinyin pronunciation, and English translations for “The Lord of the Xiang River" (attrib. Qu Yuan), “The Lady of the Xiang River” (attrib. Qu Yuan), and “On Encountering Trouble” (Qu Yuan). [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Scarpari, 37
- ^ a b Hawkes, David. Ch'u Tz'u: Songs of the South, an Ancient Chinese Anthology. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959), 28.
- ^ “Sao Poetry,” Fusheng Wu pp. 36-58. In Zong-Qi Cai, ed., How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. ISBN 9780231139403).
- ^ Hawkes (1959), 19.
- ^ Baxter-Sagart 1.00
- ^ Yip, 54
- ^ Davis, xlvii
- ^ Yang, 8-10
- ^ Hinton, 55.
- ^ Yip, 55
- ^ Davis, xlviii
- ^ Davis, xlv-xlvi
- ^ Davis, xlvii
- ^ Yang, 9
[edit] References
- Davis, A. R. (Albert Richard), Editor and Introduction,(1970), The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse. (Baltimore: Penguin Books).
- Li Zhenghua (1999). Chu Ci. Shan Xi Gu Ji Chu Ban She. ISBN 7-80598-315-1.
- Trans. David Hawkes (1985). The Songs of the South: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-044375-4.
- Hinton, David (2008). Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. ISBN 0374105367 / ISBN 9780374105365.
- Scarpari, Maurizio (2006). Ancient China: Chinese Civiilization from the Origins to the Tang Dynasty. Vercelli: VMB Publishers. ISBN 88-540-0509-6
- Yang, Lihui, et al. (2005). Handbook of Chinese Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533263-6
- Yip, Wai-lim (1997). Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres . (Durham and London: Duke University Press). ISBN 0-8223-1946-2
[edit] External links
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Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
