Qu Yuan

Chinese poet and politician (c.340–278 BC)

Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC – 278 BC)[1][2][3] was a Chinese poet and aristocrat. They lived in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and work in classical poetry and verses. He wrote Chu Ci anthropology (also called the The Songs of the South or Songs of Chu). Chu Ci and Shi Jing are usually called some of the greatest Chinese verses. He is also remembered because he may have been connected to the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Qu Yuan
Portrait of Qu Yuan by Chen Hongshou (17th century)
Portrait of Qu Yuan by Chen Hongshou (17th century)
Bornc. 339 BC
State of Chu, in modern-day Zigui County, Hubei, China
Died278 BC (aged 62)
Miluo River
OccupationPoet, politician
Chinese name
Chinese屈原

There are not many historical details about Qu Yuan's. Historians are not entirely sure if he wrote many of the Chu Ci.[4] However, he is widely thought to have written "The Lament," a Chu Ci poem. The first mention to Qu Yuan is in a poem written in 174 BC by Jia Yi. Jia Yi was an official from Luoyang. He was slandered by other officials and was sent to Changsha by Emperor Wen of Han. While traveling, he wrote a poem about how "Qu Yuan" had something similar happen to him.[5] Eighty years later, the first known biography of Qu Yuan's life was in Han dynasty historian Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. However, these records have some contradictions about his details.[6]

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References

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Citations

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  1. CUHK (2007), p. 205.
  2. Knechtges (2010), p. 745.
  3. Kern (2010), p. 76.
  4. Zhao Kuifu (趙逵夫) (1995). "Riben xin de Qu Yuan fouding lun Chansheng de Lishi Beijing yu Sixiang Genyuan Chutan" 日本新的 "屈原否定論" 產生的歷史背景與思想根源初探. Fuyin Baokan Ziliao, Zhongguo Gudai Jindai Wenxue Yanjiu 複印報刊資料,中國古代近代文學研究 (in Chinese). Vol. 1995, no. 10. pp. 89–93.
  5. Quoted in Ban Gu's Book of Han biography of Jia Yi 《漢書·賈誼傳》, also appears in Wenxuan, "Diào Qū Yuán fù" 弔屈原賦.
  6. Hawkes (1959), p. 52.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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Other websites

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