Qu Yuan

Qu Yuan or Ch'u Yuan (343?-315? bc), earliest known Chinese poet, whose works combine expressions of personal suffering, political commentary, and descriptions of imaginary flight through the heavens.

Qu Yuan’s life is shrouded in legend. Scholars believe he was born into an aristocratic family in the kingdom of Chu in south central China during a period of disunity, when many Chinese states were contending for power. He served as an adviser to the king of Chu, but political feuding in the royal court led to attacks on his character, and he was twice banished to a wilderness in the southern part of the kingdom. After his second banishment Qu Yuan, overcome with indignation at having been maligned and misjudged, committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River.

Qu Yuan’s most famous work is a poem of 372 lines entitled “Li sao” (translated as “On Encountering Trouble” in 1959). The poet begins by telling the story of how he tried to serve the king loyally but was driven away. Most of the poem describes his flight through the skies in a chariot drawn by dragons, hopelessly searching for the perfect woman to be his mate. (The woman can be allegorically interpreted as a virtuous ruler who could appreciate Qu Yuan’s abilities.) The poem has been admired as the earliest example of a lyric written in the first person in which the poet speaks as an individual rather than as a representative of a particular sphere of society.

“Li sao” and a number of other poems attributed to Qu Yuan occupy the first part of a collection of poems published in English as Chu ci: Songs of the South (1959). While most scholars accept the attribution of “Li sao” to Qu Yuan, much debate has surrounded the authorship of other pieces. In spite of their uncertain authorship, these poems serve as important examples of ancient Chinese religious poetry and include songs to gods and goddesses; questions in verse about ancient myths and the origin of the universe; and two so-called soul summons, in which a priest tries to call a soul back to the body of a dead or dying king.