Personal Library -- Encountering Sorrow

Author: Qu Yuan (Warring States Period)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: The Farewell is the masterpiece of Qu Yuan, written around the time when he was slandered and alienated by King Huai of Chu. It is the most model and influential work in The Songs of Chu. This long lyrical masterpiece, imbued with a strong romantic spirit and high artistic quality, laid the foundation for the romantic tradition in Chinese poetry and was later regarded as the origin of romanticism. As a result, it became the undisputed ancestor of the "Qu Yuan style," and from then on, "Qu Yuan style" became the synonym for Chu Ci literature, while "Qu Yuan scholars" and "Qu Yuan enthusiasts" also became the synonyms for literati. The renowned poet Lin Geng once praised Qu Yuan and The Farewell as follows: "In the Pre-Qin era, culture was unified by a typical national poet like Qu Yuan, who was epitomized in the typical poetry of The Farewell." This shows that Qu Yuan and The Farewell represent and concentrate the spirit of the entire Pre-Qin era, symbolizing the era's zeitgeist. Qu Yuan is one of the world's "Four Great Cultural Figures" and is respected and commemorated by people worldwide, largely due to his outstanding artistic achievements and immortal personal spirit. Even Yang Xiong, a great scholar of the Han Dynasty who criticized Qu Yuan, was moved to tears upon reading his poetry and admired Qu Yuan's character as "like jade, like crystal, changing into brilliant colors," shining through the ages. Li Bai, in his poem Singing on the River, said: "Qu Yuan's poetry and prose shine like the sun and moon," praising his verses as radiant as the celestial bodies. The great literary master Lu Xun has always deeply admired The Farewell and other poems, calling them "with a magnificent resonance, extraordinary and unparalleled in the world."