Chu Ci

The Chu Ci (Chinese: 楚辭; Wade–Giles: Ch'u Tz'u), variously translated as Verses of Chu or Songs of Chu, is an anthology of Chinese poetry traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period (ended 221 BC), though about half of the poems seem to have been composed several centuries later, during the Han dynasty. The traditional version of the Chu Ci contains 17 major sections, anthologized with its current contents by Wang Yi, a 2nd-century AD librarian who served under Emperor Shun of Han. The early (pre-Qin dynasty) Classical Chinese poetry is mainly known through the two anthologies, the Chu Ci and the Shi Jing (Classic of Poetry or Book of Songs).

Background

Chu Ci was named after a form of poetry that originated in the State of Chu, which was located in what is now central China, but was then in the southern fringe of the Chinese cultural area. The territory of Chu was known for its blend of culture from the Chinese heartland, or "north", with other cultural influences, associated with the "south". Thus, in the north of China, Chu (or, "the south") had a reputation for various exotic features, and the Chu Ci verses characteristically strongly feature the presence of the exotic. A Chinese form of shamanism was prominent in Chu, and a large number of the Chu Ci verses describe "spirit journeys". Other references to the exotic include encounters with various magical or fragrant plants and interaction with various spirits and deities, and travel to various exotic locations, such as the heavens, the ends of the earth, Bactria, and the Mount Kunlun of mythology.