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离骚 The Lament - Poet's poignant love letter to his country
January 20, 2013, Sunday
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WHEN one is determined to seek the truth regardless of cost, many Chinese people today still tend to quote the following two lines from one of China's most famous poems, "Li Sao" or "The Lament," written more than 2,200 years ago:
"The road ahead is long and I can see no end,
Yet high and low I'll search along this road for the truth, without yielding."
"Li Sao" was written in his later years by Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), who is widely regarded as the father of Chinese poetry, pioneer of Romanticism in Chinese classic literature and a symbol of patriotism. The Chu style of poetry he created is characterized by lines of varying length, instead of the classic four-character verses favored before the poet's time.
With 373 lines and more than 2,400 characters, "Li Sao" is also one of the longest poems of ancient China.
Chiefly, the lyrical work reflects the poet's disillusionment and agonies. But in making use of a wide range of metaphors derived from local culture, the poem also expresses Qu's unrequited love for his country, the State of Chu (1042-223 BC), and his sadness over its inevitable decline.
Qu was born into a noble family in the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (476-221 BC). He championed political loyalty and advocated alliances between the State of Chu and other states to fight against the powerful State of Qin.
Qu was appointed a court minister. However, the king was surrounded by corrupt and venal counselors who were jealous of his rise. They slandered Qu and plotted against him, branding him a traitor. Gradually, Qu fell out of favor and was banished.
Although he was occasionally recalled to serve short stints at court, each time he was ultimately rebuffed and left in disgrace.
After his final banishment, Qu first returned to his hometown in what is today's western Hubei Province in central China. In exile, he traveled around the countryside and wrote verses to express his deep love of his home state and his concerns about its future.
Meanwhile, Qu created the new style of verse Chu Ci - the Poetry of Chu, with its variable line length. And "Li Sao," one of Qu's most remarkable works, epitomizes this style.
In the poem, Qu tells the story of his life and career, his ideas of politics and morality, his desire to remain pure, his sharp criticism of wide-spread corruption, his unwavering loyalty to his country and his sadness in seeing his once-powerful mother state gliding toward collapse.
In addition, the poem is laced with the poet's romantic fantasies, where figures of his time - both historical and mythical - interact.
In 278 BC, when Qu learned that the capital of the State of Chu was captured by the invading Qin forces, he grabbed a heavy rock and threw himself into the Miluo River.
When villagers learned the news, they rushed to the site in small boats in an unsuccessful attempt to save the poet. So they then threw bamboo tubes filled with rice into the river to distract fish and other creatures tempted to eat the poet's body.
Since then, every year on that day, Chinese people hold dragon boat races and eat zongzi, now a traditional food of rice wrapped in reed leaves, to commemorate the great patriotic poet.
And since 2008, the fifth day of the fifth month of each year on the Chinese lunar calendar has been designated a state holiday, known as the Dragon Boat Festival.
Other famous poems traditionally attributed to the poet include "Jiu Ge" ("Nine Songs"), "Tian Wen" ("Questions for Heaven"), "Zhao Hun" ("Summons of the Soul"), "Ai Ying" ("Lament for Ying"), "Yuan You" ("Roaming Afar") and "Yu Fu" ("The Fisherman").
"The road ahead is long and I can see no end,
Yet high and low I'll search along this road for the truth, without yielding."
"Li Sao" was written in his later years by Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), who is widely regarded as the father of Chinese poetry, pioneer of Romanticism in Chinese classic literature and a symbol of patriotism. The Chu style of poetry he created is characterized by lines of varying length, instead of the classic four-character verses favored before the poet's time.
With 373 lines and more than 2,400 characters, "Li Sao" is also one of the longest poems of ancient China.
Chiefly, the lyrical work reflects the poet's disillusionment and agonies. But in making use of a wide range of metaphors derived from local culture, the poem also expresses Qu's unrequited love for his country, the State of Chu (1042-223 BC), and his sadness over its inevitable decline.
Qu was born into a noble family in the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (476-221 BC). He championed political loyalty and advocated alliances between the State of Chu and other states to fight against the powerful State of Qin.
Qu was appointed a court minister. However, the king was surrounded by corrupt and venal counselors who were jealous of his rise. They slandered Qu and plotted against him, branding him a traitor. Gradually, Qu fell out of favor and was banished.
Although he was occasionally recalled to serve short stints at court, each time he was ultimately rebuffed and left in disgrace.
After his final banishment, Qu first returned to his hometown in what is today's western Hubei Province in central China. In exile, he traveled around the countryside and wrote verses to express his deep love of his home state and his concerns about its future.
Meanwhile, Qu created the new style of verse Chu Ci - the Poetry of Chu, with its variable line length. And "Li Sao," one of Qu's most remarkable works, epitomizes this style.
In the poem, Qu tells the story of his life and career, his ideas of politics and morality, his desire to remain pure, his sharp criticism of wide-spread corruption, his unwavering loyalty to his country and his sadness in seeing his once-powerful mother state gliding toward collapse.
In addition, the poem is laced with the poet's romantic fantasies, where figures of his time - both historical and mythical - interact.
In 278 BC, when Qu learned that the capital of the State of Chu was captured by the invading Qin forces, he grabbed a heavy rock and threw himself into the Miluo River.
When villagers learned the news, they rushed to the site in small boats in an unsuccessful attempt to save the poet. So they then threw bamboo tubes filled with rice into the river to distract fish and other creatures tempted to eat the poet's body.
Since then, every year on that day, Chinese people hold dragon boat races and eat zongzi, now a traditional food of rice wrapped in reed leaves, to commemorate the great patriotic poet.
And since 2008, the fifth day of the fifth month of each year on the Chinese lunar calendar has been designated a state holiday, known as the Dragon Boat Festival.
Other famous poems traditionally attributed to the poet include "Jiu Ge" ("Nine Songs"), "Tian Wen" ("Questions for Heaven"), "Zhao Hun" ("Summons of the Soul"), "Ai Ying" ("Lament for Ying"), "Yuan You" ("Roaming Afar") and "Yu Fu" ("The Fisherman").
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