Research on the Grammar of Chu Ci

Author: Liao Xudong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-09-01
Features: Qu Yuan is one of the greatest patriotic and people-loving poets in ancient China, and his works have had a widespread and profound influence on later generations. This book is a collection of essays on the grammar of Qu Yuan's works. Qu Yuan's works were given the name "Chuci" as early as the early Han Dynasty (see Records of the Grand Historian, Biographies of the Severe Officials); Ban Gu in The Book of Han·Bibliography called them "Qu Yuan's Odes," and later generations also referred to them as "Qu's Odes." This book is titled "Chuci," and sometimes referred to as "Qu's Odes" within the text. The Bibliography of the Han Dynasty records "twenty-five odes by Qu Yuan." Shen Qinhai in Annotations to the Book of Han states that from Li Sao to Diao You, there are exactly twenty-five pieces. Gu Shi in Annotations to the Bibliography of the Han Dynasty argues that the modern Chuci includes one piece of Li Sao, eleven pieces of Jiu Ge, one piece of Tian Wen, nine pieces of Jiu Zhang, and three pieces of Diao You, totaling twenty-five. Shen includes Jiu Ben and Zhao Hun, while Gu does not. Modern scholars of Chuci also hold divergent views. Lu Kanru in Qu Yuan (Yadong Library, 1923) argues that only Li Sao, Jiu Zhang, and Tian Wen (eleven pieces) are truly by Qu Yuan. Guo Moruo in Studies on Qu Yuan (Qunyi Publishing House, 1943) believes there are twelve pieces, including Zhao Hun. You Guo'en in Qu Yuan (Shenghuo·Dushu·Sanlian Bookstore, 1953; also Zhonghua Book Company, 1980) considers thirteen pieces to be reliable, adding Diao You to Guo's list. Jiang Liangfu in Annotations and Collations of Qu Yuan's Odes (People's Literature Publishing House, 1957) differs from You, excluding Zhao Hun but including Bu Ju and Yu Fu. Liu Yongji in Comprehensive Annotations to Qu Yuan's Odes (People's Literature Publishing House, 1961) determines ten pieces as truly by Qu Yuan: Li Sao, Jiu Ben, Jiu Ge, Guo Shang (extracted from Jiu Ge), Tian Wen, Xi Song, She Jiang, Ai Ying, Chou Si, and Hu Sha, which significantly differs from the earlier views. Which interpretation is closer to the truth is difficult to determine at this time. This book takes the uncontroversial or less controversial works such as Li Sao, Jiu Zhang, Jiu Ge, and Tian Wen as the objects of grammatical study. The original texts are based on the Supplementary Annotations to Chuci by Hong Xingzu of the Song Dynasty, as published in the Four Treasuries Collation (i.e., the Ming-era reprint of the Song edition preserved in Jiangnan Library).