Nine Changes

"Nine Changes" (traditional Chinese: 九辯; simplified Chinese: 九辩; pinyin: Jiǔ biàn; literally: "Nine Changes") is one of the 17 major sections of the ancient Chinese poetry collection Chu ci, also known as The Songs of the South or The Songs of Chu.

The "Nine Changes" poems are traditionally and generally attributed to Song Yu, with a few modern exceptions. (Hawkes, 2011 [1985]: 207-209) Song Yu seems to have flourished in the 3rd century BCE). He is commonly said to have been a nephew or student of Qu Yuan, but reliable biographical information is scant.

The text of the "Nine Changes" as it exists today is somewhat problematic. It shares a number of lines with "Ai Ying".(Hawkes, 2011 [1985]: 163 and 208)

The content of the "Nine Changes" varies. An overall summary might begin with the question of "And, why nine?" And, "What is the meaning of "changes"?"

The "Nine Changes" verses are not individually named, or otherwise characterized by clear division into separate parts; and, rather than consisting of rhymed couplets, lines tend to be characterized by run-on rhyming: thus the number of individual pieces of the "Nine Changes" are uncertain. (Hawkes, 2011 [1985]: 208-209) Also, "nine" in antiquity was often used as a synonym for "many", and in the context of the Chu ci generally refers to a musical arrangement with "nine" modal changes. (Hawkes, 2011 [1985]: 36-37)

The title of this section uses the word biàn (辯), which may literally be translated as "arguments", or "disputations".

The "Nine Changes" are an interesting early example of nature poetry. David Hawkes says that in terms of the development of poetry, the "Nine Changes" shows, "perhaps for the first time, a fully developed sense of what the Japanese call mono no aware, the pathos of natural objects, which was to be the theme of so much Chinese poetry through the ages."(Hawkes, 2011 [1985]: 208)

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