"Li Sao" (traditional Chinese: 離騷; simplified Chinese: 离骚; pinyin: Lí sāo; lit. 'On Encountering Trouble, or, Encountering Sorrow') is one of the most famous of the works contained in the Chu Ci: it mainly is upon a theme of seemingly autobiographical material about the relationship between Qu Yuan and the leadership of the Chu kingdom. Although often interpreted as a political allegory, other aspects of this rather long poem seem to refer to religious and mythological themes derived from the culture of the Chu area.[2] Source text of Li Sao (in Chinese): 離騷. One piece.
"Jiu Ge" (Chinese: 九歌; pinyin: Jiǔ gē; lit. 'Nine Songs'), despite the "Nine" in the title, the "Jiu Ge" actually includes eleven discrete parts or songs. These seem to represent some shamanistic dramatic practices of the Yangzi River valley area and other areas involving the invocation of divine beings and seeking their blessings by means of a process of courtship.[3] Text (in Chinese): 九歌
The titles of the poems in Chinese are as follows. English translations of titles follow David Hawkes:
"Tian Wen" (Chinese: 天問; pinyin: Tiān wèn; lit. 'Heavenly Questions'), also known as Questions to Heaven, addressed to Tian (or "Heaven"), consists of series of questions, 172 in all, in verse format.[4] The series of questions asked involves Chinese mythology and ancient Chinese religious beliefs. The answers are not explicated. Text (in Chinese): 天問. One piece.
"Jiu Zhang" (Chinese: 九章; pinyin: Jiǔ zhāng; lit. 'Nine Pieces,or Nine Declarations') consists of nine pieces of poetry, one of which is the "Lament for Ying" ("Ai Ying"). Ying was the name of one of the traditional capital cities of Qu Yuan's homeland of Chu (eventually, Ying and Chu even became synonymous). However, both the city of Ying and the entire state of Chu itself experienced doom due to the expansion of the state of Qin, which ended up consolidating China at the expense of the other former independent states: including Qu Yuan's home state — hence the "Lament". Text in Chinese: 九章.
Note that poem numbers 1, 6, 7, and 9 actually lack titles in the original text; rather, they are named for the sake of convenience after the first few words with which these poems begin.[5] English titles based on David Hawkes' translations.
"Nine Longings" (Chinese: 九思; pinyin: Jiǔ sī; lit. 'Nine Thoughts'). By Wang Yi, a Han dynasty librarian and compiler and annotator of the Chu Ci. Chinese text source: 九思. Nine pieces, plus a luan:
Scarpari, Maurizio (2006). Ancient China: Chinese Civilization from the Origins to the Tang Dynasty. Vercelli: VMB Publishers. ISBN88-540-0509-6
Yang, Lihui, et al. (2005). Handbook of Chinese Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-533263-6
Yip, Wai-lim (1997). Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres . (Durham and London: Duke University Press). ISBN0-8223-1946-2
Zhuo, Zhenying (2006). 楚辞 [The Verse of Chu]. Library of Chinese Classics. Changsha: Hunan People’s Publishing House.
Sukhu, Gopal (2012). The Shaman and the Heresiarch: A New Interpretation of the Li sao. SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture. Albany: State University of New York Press.
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