Chu Ci

Chu ci

Qu Yuan Sang while Walking (Quzi xingyin tu 屈子行吟圖), by Chen Hongshou (1616)
Author	(trad.) Qu Yuan, Song Yu
Original title	楚辭
Country	Zhou dynasty (China)
Language	Classical Chinese
Genre	Poetry

Chu ci
"Chu ci" in seal script (top), Traditional (middle), and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	楚辭
Simplified Chinese	楚辞
Literal meaning	"Words of Chu"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chǔ cí Gwoyeu Romatzyh Chuu tsyr Wade–Giles Ch'u3 tz'u2 IPA [ʈʂʰù tsʰɨ̌] Wu Suzhounese Tshòu zý Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Chó chìh Jyutping Co2 ci4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Tshóo sû Middle Chinese Middle Chinese tʂʰjó zi Old Chinese Baxter-Sagart *s.r̥aʔ sə.lə

The Chu Ci, 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).

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". However, southern influence was extremely insignificant, only limited to the ideas of shaminism and burial objects 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.