"Songs of Chu" is my country's first collection of romantic poems. Since the form of the poems is based on the folk songs of Chu, it also quotes a large number of customs, products and dialect vocabulary of the Chu region. , so it is called "Chu Ci". "Chu Ci" is mainly the work of Qu Yuan, whose representative work is "Li Sao", so later generations also called "Chu Ci" "Sao style". At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xiang collected the works of Qu Yuan, Song Yu and others and compiled them into collections. "Chu Ci" has a profound influence on later generations of literature. It not only opened up the later Fu style, but also influenced the prose creation of all generations. It is the source of my country's positive romantic poetry creation.
Qu Yuan (340 BC to 278 BC), whose surname was Mi, whose surname was Qu, whose given name was Ping, and whose courtesy name was Yuan; he also named himself Zhengze, whose courtesy name was Lingjun. Han nationality, a native of Danyang, Chu State during the Warring States Period, a native of Zigui [1] County, Yichang City, Hubei Province today, and a descendant of Qu Xia, the son of Xiong Tong, King Wu of Chu. Claiming to be a descendant of Zhuan Xu, he advocated uniting Qi to resist Qin and advocated "beautiful politics".
Qu Yuan is one of China's greatest patriotic poets and the earliest known famous poet, thinker and great politician in our country. He founded the literary style of "Chu Ci" (that is, he created the literary style of "Ci Fu") and also created the tradition of "vanilla beauty". "Li Sao", "Nine Chapters", "Nine Songs" and "Tianwen" are Qu Yuan's most important masterpieces. "Li Sao" is the longest lyric poem in my country. Qu Yuan's works seen in later generations all come from "Songs of Chu" compiled by Liu Xiang of the Western Han Dynasty. This book is mainly the work of Qu Yuan, including one chapter of "Li Sao" and eleven chapters of "Nine Songs" ("Taiyi of the Eastern Emperor", "Yun Zhongjun", "Xiangjun", "Mrs. Xiang", "Da Siming", "Shao Shao"). "Si Ming", "Dong Jun", "He Bo", "Mountain Ghost", "National Memorial", "Ritual Soul"), nine chapters of "Nine Chapters" ("Cherishing", "She Jiang", "Sorrowing", "Thinking", "Huaisha" "Thinking of Beauty", "Cherishing the Past", "Ode to Orange", "Sad Return to the Wind"), an article from "Tianwen" and so on.
Chu Ci
Li Sao
Emperor Gaoyang's descendants came to me, and my emperor called him Boyong
Photographed Ti Zhen in Meng Zou Xiwei After Geng Yin Wu descended
Huanglan Kuiyu came to Zhaoxi for the first time to praise his name
His name was Zhengzexi and his word Yu was Lingjun
Fenwu Ji With this inner beauty, it is important to cultivate one's ability
Hu Jiangli and Pi Zhixi Ren Qiulan admire them
If Miyu is about to fall short, I am afraid that I will not be able to keep him as time passes.
The magnolias blooming in the morning come and the wild land embraces the island at night
The sun and the moon suddenly do not flood the spring and autumn, the preface of the times
Only the scattered grass and trees come Afraid of the twilight of a beautiful woman
Why not change your attitude if you don’t grow up and abandon your filth?
Take a ride on a horse and come to my hometown to lead the way
Three years ago The purity behind it is where all the fragrance lies
How can the miscellaneous peppers and mushrooms and cinnamon be preserved like wild tadpoles?
Yao and Shun were both honest and kind and found their way
< p> How can Jie and Zhou be so rampant that they only take shortcuts and find themselves in embarrassmentOnly the members of the party are stealing pleasure and the roads are obscure and dangerous because of dangerous passes
How can they put their lives in danger and fear the emperor's public opinion? The defeat
Suddenly rushed to meet the former king Zhiwu
Tsuen did not notice Yu's inner feelings, but instead believed in greed and anger
Yu Gu Knowing that Jian Jian is a trouble, I can't bear it and can't let it go
It refers to the fact that Jiutian thinks it's upright and husband only cultivates spiritually
When I first talked to Yu Chengyan, I regretted running away and ended up with him
It is not difficult for me to leave my husband, but it hurts my spiritual practice
I have nine acres of orchids and hundreds of acres of trees
I leave barbarians on the border and I want to hide my car. Miscellaneous Du Heng and Fang Zhi
I hope that the branches and leaves are so luxuriant that I will cut them off in due time
Chu Ci is a poetry style that originated from the Chu State in the late Warring States Period. The Chu State is located in the south, with a unique geographical environment and superior natural conditions. Its political system, cultural traditions and customs are very different from those of other countries in the Yellow River Basin, so it is regarded as a "southern barbarian". By the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu State became powerful and became one of the "Five Hegemons"; by the Warring States Period, political and cultural exchanges between countries were frequent, and Chu State began to accept a large amount of Central Plains culture, but still maintained its own cultural characteristics. Chu Ci is a poetry genre born in such cultural soil. Its founder is Qu Yuan, the first great patriotic poet in Chinese history.
1 Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan (about 340 BC - 278 BC), whose name was Ping and whose courtesy name was Yuan. He was born in the aristocracy of the Chu State. He showed outstanding talents when he was young and became the left disciple (official name) of King Huai of Chu. He assisted King Huai in planning national affairs and issuing government decrees. He received envoys from various countries and handled diplomatic affairs. He was very good at Huai. King trusts. This makes some people jealous. His political rival, the official Shangguan, spread rumors about Qu Yuan in front of King Huai, saying that Qu Yuan was arrogant and arrogant, and even King Huai didn't look down on him. King Huai became angry and alienated Qu Yuan.
At that time, among the "Seven Heroes" of the Warring States Period, the most powerful were the three kingdoms of Qin, Qi, and Chu. The struggle for "United Vertical" and "Lianheng" was very fierce. In the end, who could win was determined by these three kingdoms. The gains and losses in domestic and foreign affairs will be decided. In the internal affairs of Chu, Qu Yuan advocated the selection of talented people, and worked hard to govern, in an attempt to establish an ideal society like the era of Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang; in diplomacy, he advocated uniting Qi and cooperating to fight against the powerful Qin Dynasty. Because King Huai alienated him, Qu Yuan failed to implement these correct ideas. King Huai was a mediocre monarch. Under the alienation and temptation of King Qin Hui, he was deceived one after another and severed the alliance with Qi. As a result, he lost his troops and generals, lost his land, and the country gradually weakened. After King Zhao of Qin succeeded to the throne, he proposed an intermarriage with Chu and asked King Huai to meet him. Qu Yuan tried his best to dissuade King Huai not to be fooled again. However, King Huai went anyway at the instigation of his youngest son Zilan. As a result, he was kidnapped by Qin's force and died in Qin. King Huai's eldest son, King Qingxiang, succeeded to the throne and ordered Yin Zilan, Shangguan officials and others to frame Qu Yuan in front of King Qingxiang. King Qingxiang was furious and exiled Qu Yuan to the south of the Yangtze River.
Qu Yuan lived in exile for a long time in the Yuanshui and Xiangshui river basins in his later years. Seeing that his motherland was getting weaker and weaker and was about to be destroyed by Qin, he could not fulfill his ambition to serve the emperor. He was worried and had no time to live, so he wrote a lot. He wrote poems expressing sorrow and anger, and finally committed suicide in the Miluo River in despair.
Qu Yuan’s works left in the world include "Li Sao", "Nine Chapters", "Nine Songs", "Heavenly Questions", etc. "The Soul Calling" may also be his work. In addition, there are also chapters named "Yuanyou", "Divination", "Fisherman", and "Dazhao" named after Qu Yuan. Most scholars believe that they were written by later generations.
2 "Li Sao"
This is a long lyric poem with a self-narrative nature and is Qu Yuan's masterpiece. "Lisao" means "Liyou", which expresses the indignation of being unable to realize the ambition of strengthening the country and saving the people because of leaving the monarch and the political center. Some people also interpret "Li Sao" as "complaining", which makes sense.
The whole poem "Li Sao" is more than 370 sentences long and more than 2,400 words. The following is a brief introduction to its content in three paragraphs. At the beginning of the first paragraph, it describes the author's family background, the circumstances of his birth, and his ambitions:
The descendant of Emperor Gaoyang, my emperor is called Boyong. I took photos of Ti Zhen in Meng Zou, but Geng Yinwu surrendered. Huanglan Kuiyu first visited Xi, and Zhaoxi gave Yu a good name: his name was Zhengzexi, and his courtesy name was Lingjun. Fenwu not only has this inner beauty, but also attaches great importance to cultivation. Hu Jiangli and Pi Zhixi were admired by Ren Qiulan. If Miyu is about to fall behind, I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up with him as time goes by. In the morning, the magnolias of the 阰 (pí skin) come, and in the evening, I embrace the vastness of the continent. The sun and the moon are suddenly not flooded, and spring and autumn are the order of the times. But the vegetation is scattered, fearing the beauty's twilight. Why don't you change your attitude if you don't strengthen your body and abandon your filth? Take a ride on Qi Ji [qíjì Qi Ji] to gallop, come and lead me to lead the way!
He thinks he is the ancient emperor Gao Yang (also known as Gao Yang) The descendants of Zhuanxu (called Zhuanxu) have noble blood. His father's name is Boyong. His father gave him a beautiful name based on the fact that he was born on Yin Yue and Yin Day ("Zhengze" means "ping", and "Lingjun" means "original"). He believed that his qualifications were good and he had outstanding talents, so he used many beautiful plants and trees ("Jiangli", "Pizhi", "Qiulan", "Mulan", "Sumang", etc.) to symbolize himself The character of self-cultivation and clean conduct. He cared deeply about "Beauty" (symbolizing the monarch) and hoped that she would abandon evil and return to justice and govern the country well. Qu Yuan himself was willing to lead the way as a pioneer. Next, Qu Yuan revealed that the Chu aristocratic group was extremely corrupt and led the country's politics astray. Not only did the monarch not understand Qu Yuan, but he believed the slander and alienated him. Qu Yuan said that he would never join forces with those treacherous people, but should maintain noble moral integrity, even if he was frustrated for a long time. He said: "I have a good heart, and even if I die nine times, I still have no regrets." That is to say, in order to be loyal to one's ideals and beliefs, even if he suffers hardship and dies, he will never regret it.
In the second section (beginning with "The beauty of the female concubine [xū beard]"), Qu Yuan began to wander spiritually in order to release his depressed mind.
First, he went to Jiuyi Mountain to confess his feelings to the ancient Emperor Shun, and recounted the lessons of the foolish kings who defeated the country in history and the experience of the sage kings in governing the country. However, the reality of Chu State made him extremely disappointed, and he could only sigh and cry. In his fantasy, he rode the wind to the sky to meet the Emperor of Heaven, but was turned away. Then he went to pursue some famous beauties in ancient times, but failed (symbolizing his search for understanding and comfort, but finally failed to find it).
In the third section (starting from "苏藑 [qióngqian] Mao Yizhen [zhuānzhuan] Xi"), Qu Yuan continues to express his melancholy and confused mood, and then begins his spiritual journey. In his fantasy, he rode a flying dragon in a chariot made of jade and ivory, heading towards the west, passing through many mythical areas, such as Tianhe, Xiji, Liusha, Chishui and Buzhou Mountain, with the Western Sea as his destination. The grand trip brought him great comfort. However, just when he was feeling happy, his high mood suddenly cooled down:
Zhi [zhì Zhi], who was promoted to the emperor, suddenly came to Kuaifu's old hometown. The servant is so sad that his horse is pregnant, and he can't even care about the situation.
In the light of the rising sun, the poet suddenly looked down at the troubled motherland. The servant became sad, and the horse (flying dragon) also looked back with nostalgia and stopped moving forward. In the end, the poet sighed with grief and anger:
That's it! There is no one in the country that I know, so why should I care about my old capital? Since I can't do anything for good governance, I will live in Peng Xianzhi.
Since no one in Chu State can understand me, what is the point of being nostalgic for my homeland? Since I am unable to restore the political situation of Chu State, I have no choice but to follow the example of Peng Xian, the sage of the Yin Dynasty, who sacrificed his life for his country and made his ambition clear by dying. "Li Sao" ends with such a sad oath.
"Li Sao" is a great lyric poem that was born more than 2,000 years ago. The poet narrated his experience of trusting but doubting, being loyal but abandoning, criticizing the incompetence of the ruling group of Chu State, expressing his indignation at being unable to serve the country, and showing his unyielding and unyielding patriotic spirit. In this grand and unrestrained poem, the poet uses romantic techniques, gallops his extremely rich imagination, goes to heaven and earth, integrates the real world, the mythical world and the ideal world, and depicts a colorful and confusing world. The world of poetry that is haunted (tǎnghuǎng嘘 Lie) creates an image of a lyrical protagonist with noble aspirations and tenacity. "Li Sao" has educated and inspired countless readers for more than two thousand years, and cultivated the thoughts and sentiments of generations of people. Qu Yuan has also become a role model for patriots.
In addition to "Li Sao", Qu Yuan's important works are "Nine Chapters" and "Nine Songs". "Nine Chapters" are nine independent poems: "Cherishing", "Wading the River", "Sorrowing", "Thinking", "Huaisha", "Thinking of Beauty", "Cherishing the Past", "Ode to Orange" ”, “Sorrow Returns to the Wind”. Among them, "Ode to Orange" is his early work. By praising the style of orange trees and praising people's noble character, it can be regarded as the poet's encouragement to himself. The rest were written during the poet's exile, and their contents are all lyrical when the country is hurt. It is more miserable and painful than "Li Sao". "Nine Songs" is a set of poems adapted by Qu Yuan on the basis of Chu people's folk songs for worshiping gods. They are: "Donghuang Taiyi" (sacrifice to the God of Heaven), "Yunzhongjun" (sacrifice to the God of Clouds), "Xiangjun" ( "Sacrifice to the God of Xiangshui", "Mrs. Xiang" (sacrifice to the goddess of Xiangshui), "Da Si Ming" (sacrifice to the god in charge of human lifespan), "Shao Si Ming" (sacrifice to the god in charge of children's destiny), "Dongjun" (sacrifice to the god in charge of children's destiny) "Sun God"), "He Bo" (sacrifice to the God of the Yellow River), "Shan Gui" (sacrifice to the mountain god), "National Memorial" (sacrifice to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country), "Li Hun" (a sacred song to send off the sacrifice after the sacrifice). "Nine Songs" is written in a sad and touching way, with beautiful language and high literary value. In particular, "National Memorial" describes the scene of thousands of horses and troops fighting. It is vivid, tragic and heroic, and touching. It is the expression of Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit.
3 Qu Yuan’s position in the history of poetry
Liu Xie, a literary theorist in the Qi and Liang Dynasties, commented: "Without Qu Yuan, how would we have seen "Li Sao"? His talent is astonishing, his ambition is elusive. "High." ("Wen Xin Diao Long·Bian Sao") The "Li Sao" mentioned here is the pronoun of "Chu Ci". The style of Chu Ci was created by Qu Yuan. It broke through the four-character format of the Book of Songs, expanded the meaning of the poems, and improved the expressive power of the poems. After Qu Yuan, Song Yu, Tang Le, and Jing Cha followed Qu Yuan's example and engaged in writing Chu Ci. In the Han Dynasty, Jia Yi, Huainan Xiaoshan, Dongfang Shuo, Wang Bao and others continued to write, making Chu Ci a representative genre of poetry in a period. Later generations called it Sao style poetry.
The consistent patriotic spirit and his own tragic fate shown in Qu Yuan's poems have moved readers from generation to generation, and Qu Yuan has also become a great man admired by future generations. After Sima Qian was executed, Fenzhi wrote "Historical Records", motivating himself with the words "Qu Yuan was exiled and wrote "Li Sao"", and wrote a biography of Qu Yuan, saying that he "even though he competes with the sun and the moon for glory". The poet Li Bai praised "Qu Ping's poems and poems hang over the sun and moon, and the King of Chu's tower overlooks the empty hills." The remains of King Huai of Chu and King Qingxiang have disappeared, but Qu Yuan's poems are like the eternal sun and moon shining brightly in the sky. Dai Shulun, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem when he passed by Qu Yuan Temple:
The Yuanxiang River is endless, how deep is Qu Zi's resentment!
At dusk, the autumn wind blows, and the maple trees flutter.
There are countless poems and essays written by later generations of literati in tribute to Qu Yuan, which shows the profound appeal of Qu Yuan's spirit.