Chu Ci -- The Gateway to Wisdom

Author: Tang Zhangping
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Among the over twenty works left by Qu Yuan, the most influential have always been known as his representative works, "Li Sao." Later generations often used the term "Sao style" to refer to the works of the Chu Ci, and "Sao Fu" to refer to Qu Yuan's works. The works of later Chu Ci writers were mainly based on learning and imitating the creative style of "Li Sao." "Li Sao" is the foundational work of romanticism in Chinese literary history. Together with the "Book of Songs," "Li Sao" became the source of Chinese poetry, representing the two cornerstones of realism and romanticism in Chinese literary history. "Li Sao" is the longest lyrical poem in ancient Chinese poetry, with a total of 373 lines and nearly 2,500 characters. The earliest Chu Ci collection we can currently see—the "Commentary on Chu Ci" by Wang Yi of the Eastern Han Dynasty—titled "Li Sao" as "The Classic of Li Sao," while the other poems were listed separately as "Commentaries." Han Confucian scholars called important Confucian classics " Classics" and the works that explained these classics as "Commentaries." From this, we can understand that the Han people held great reverence for "Li Sao" and its status in the Chu Ci. Of course, the title "Classic" for "Li Sao" was not started by Wang Yi. According to the preface to the "Commentary on the Classic of Li Sao," as early as the Western Han Dynasty and the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu An, Ban Gu, Jia Kui, and others had already written "The Classic of Li Sao." Therefore, the title "Classic" for "Li Sao" must have been established at the latest during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. What is the meaning of the title "Li Sao"? There has been much debate throughout history. In his "Biography of Qu Yuan," Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty explained: "Li Sao means to be separated from sorrow." Later, Ban Gu, in his "Preface to the Eulogy of Li Sao," said: "Qu Yuan, due to his loyalty and integrity, was suspected and thus wrote 'Li Sao.' 'Li' means to encounter, and 'Sao' means sorrow. It clarifies that he encountered sorrow and wrote the poem." Wang Yi, in his "Commentary on Chu Ci," explained: "'Li' means separation, and 'Sao' means sorrow." These interpretations are generally similar and are widely accepted. As for the creation period of "Li Sao," there has also been much debate. Since Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty, it has been believed to have been written during the reign of King Huai. The "Biography of Qu Yuan" in the "Records of the Grand Historian" records: "King Huai sent Qu Yuan to draft the constitution, but Qu Yuan's draft was not yet finalized. Shangguan Daifu saw it and wanted to take it, but Qu Yuan refused, leading to slander against him."