Chu Ci

The Chu ci, variously translated as Verses of Chu, Songs of Chu, or Elegies of Chu, is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period (ended 221 BC), and also a large number of works 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). 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 Central Plains, or "north", with other cultural influences, associated with the "south". Thus, north Chinese sometimes viewed the Chu as part of "the south", which had a reputation for various exotic features. 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". However, southern influence was extremely insignificant, only limited to the ideas of shamanism and burial objects which were from the south; other than that literature, poetry, clothing and architecture all remained northern. 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. The collection of poems by Qu Yuan and Song Yu included in Chu ci, as well as works by other Chu poets (or poets writing in the Chu style), represent a certain development of an older tradition which eventually achieved a period of popularity and imperial favor during the Western Han Dynasty.