The Songs of Chu

by Gopal Sukhu

  Let us remember how Walker arrives at his conclusions. They are based on consideration of what sentences are borrowed from what other works and what words are allowed to rhyme with each other. “Ask the Sky” borrows no lines from the earlier Chuci tradition and no poems from the later tradition borrow lines from it, but the way it rhymes is characteristic of later poetry, which in this case means poetry written during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han and slightly later.

  Evidence that could be used to support Walker’s conclusions comes from the research of John Major, the foremost American expert on the Huainanzi 淮南子, a compendium of essays on various subjects written at the court of the Prince of Huainan during the reign of Emperor Wu. Major noticed that when certain sections of “Ask the Sky” are juxtaposed with pertinent sections of the Huainanzi, the latter text seems often to offer “an expanded version of the Tian wen narrative.” This is especially the case when one compares “Ask the Sky” cosmological sections (e.g., stanzas 1–9) with parts of the Huainanzi (e.g., chapters 3 and 4). In some of these expanded narratives, concrete answers are given to “Ask the Sky” questions. For example, where “Ask the Sky” asks,

  If each of the Nine Regions has its own sky,

  How do the skies fit together,

  With their complex jagged edges,

  And who knows how many junctures?

  Huainanzi 3:4a answers, “Heaven has nine fields and 9,999 junctures.” (Major astutely translates 隅 yu as “juncture.” I follow him here by translating 隅隈 yuwei as “junctures” but try to give a sense of its double duty here by also translating it as “jagged edge.”) The relationship between the two texts revealed by such juxtapositions could at the very least support the idea that the two texts emerged from the same intellectual milieu, if not at the same time.3 On the other hand, given that the highly cultured princedom of Huainan was located in some of the former domains of Chu, “Ask the Sky” could have simply been an old text that ended up in the princely library and became the basis of scholarly discussion; its rhyming system may reflect regional patterns that were preserved in the south and subsequently taken north by aristocratic southerners who went to serve in the Han government. Those possibilities seem to leave the question of how to date “Ask the Sky” open.

  Walker locates the late tradition in the last part of the anthology: “Nine Longings” (九懷 “Jiu huai”) by Wang Bao (fl. 58 B.C.E.), “Nine Sighs” (九歎 “Jiu tan”) by Liu Xiang, and “Nine Yearnings” (九思 “Jiu si”) by Wang Yi. As mentioned, these sections, which were all written by known Han authors, along with “Qi jian,” were excluded from Zhu Xi’s Song-dynasty edition of the Chuci because he thought them examples of “moaning in the absence of pain.” Most modern editions of the Chuci in China have more or less followed him in this, as have I. I also follow Zhu Xi in adding two pieces not included in Wang Yi’s edition of the Chuci, “The Owl Rhapsody” (服賦) and “Mourning Qu Yuan,” both fine pieces influenced by Chu poetics, by Jia Yi.

  NOTES

    1. My summary of Walker’s conclusions is based on Galal Walker, “Toward a Formal History of the ‘Chuci’ ” (Ph.D. diss., Cornell University, 1982), especially 425–53.

    2. See David Hawkes, trans., The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets (Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin, 1985), 91–93.

    3. John S. Major, “Some Questions Do Have Answers: ‘Tian wen’ and the Huainanzi,” unpublished manuscript, cited by permission of the author.

  Selected Bibliography

  WORKS IN CHINESE

  Chen Mengjia 陳夢家. Yinxu puci zongshu 殷墟卜辭綜述. Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 1956.

  Chu wenhua yanjiu hui 楚文化研究會. Chu wenhua yanjiu hui lunji 楚文化研究會論集. Hubei: Jingchu shushe, 1987.

  Chunqiu Gongyang jingzhuan jiegu 春秋經傳解. Zhonghua 1987 photocopy of the Song 1193 edition of the Chunxi Fuzhou Gongshi ku kanben 淳熙撫州公使刊本 text kept in the National Library, Beijing.

  Dai Wang 戴望. Guanzi jiaozheng 管子校正. Vol. 5 of Zhuzi jicheng 諸子集成. Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1987.

  Dong Chuping 董楚平. Chuci yizhu 楚辭譯注. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986.

  Ershier zi 二十二子. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1987.

  Fu Xiren 傅錫壬. Chuci duben 楚辭讀本. Taipei: Sanmin, 1974.

  Gu Jiegang 顧頡剛. Shangshu tongjian 尚書通檢. Beijing: Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1936; repr., Beijing: Shumu wenxian chubanshe, 1982.

  ______. Shilin zashi: Peng Xian 史林雜識。彭咸. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1978.

  Guo Maoqian 郭茂倩. Juaner ji: Qu Yuan fu jin yi 卷耳集。屈原賦今譯. Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1981.

  ______. Yuefu shiji 樂府詩集. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1979.

  Guoyu 國語. Shanghai 1987 reprint of Shangwu 1934 edition of the Song Mingdao er nian 宋明道二年 text of 1033.

  Hanshu 漢書. Compiled by Ban Gu 班固. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1962.

  He Tianxing 何天行. Chuci zuo yu Handai kao 楚辭作於漢代考. Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, 1948.

  Hong Xingzu 洪興祖. Chuci buzhu 楚辭補注. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986.

  Hu Nianyi 胡念貽. Chuci xuanzhu ji kaozheng 楚辭選注及考證. Changsha: Yueli chubanshe, 1984.

  Hu Shi 胡適. “Du Chuci” 讀楚辭. In Hu Shi wencun di er ji 胡適文存第二集, 91–97. Taipei: Yuandong tushu gongsi, 1953.

  Hu Wenying 胡文英. Qusao zhi zhang 屈騷指掌. Beijing: Beijing guji chubanshe, 1979.

  Huang Zhongmo 黃中模. Qu Yuan wenti lunzheng shi gao 屈原問題史稿. Beijing: Shiyue wenyi chubanshe, 1987.

  Jiang Ji 蔣驥. Shandaige zhu Chuci 山帶閣註楚辭. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1985.

  Jiang Liangfu 姜亮夫. Chongding Qu Yuan fu jiaozhu 重訂屈原賦校註. Tianjin: Tianjin guji chubanshe, 1987.

  ______. Chuci shumu wu zhong 楚辭書目五種. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961.

  ______. Chuci tonggu 楚辭通故. 4 vols. Shandong: Qi Lu shushe, 1985.

  ______. Chuci xue lunwen ji 楚辭學論集. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1984.

  ______. Qu Yuan fu jin yi 屈原賦今譯. Beijing: Beijing chubanshe, 1987.

  Jiang Tianshu 蔣天樞. Chuci lunwen ji 楚辭論文集. Shaanxi: Shaanxi renmin chubanshe, 1982.

  Jin Kaicheng 金開誠, Dong Hongli 董洪利, and Gao Luming 高路明. Qu Yuan ji jiaozhu 屈原集校注. 2 vols. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1996.

  Lin Geng 林庚. Tian wen lunjian 天問論箋. Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1983.

  Liu Yongji 劉永濟. Qu fu yin zhu xiangjie; Qu fu shici 屈賦音注詳解 ; 屈賦釋詞. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1983.

  Ma Maoyuan 馬茂元, ed. Chuci yanjiu lunwen xuan 楚辭研究論文選. Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe, 1985.

  ______. Chuci yaoji jieti 楚辭要籍解題. Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe, 1984.

  ______. Chuci zhushi 楚辭註釋. Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe, 1985.

  ______. Chuci ziliao haiwai bian 楚辭資料海外編. Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe, 1986.

  Mengzi zhengyi 孟子正義. Vol. 1 of Zhuzi jicheng 諸子集成. Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1987.

  Mozi jiangu墨子閒詁. Vol. 4 of Zhuzi jicheng 諸子集成. Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1987.

  Pan Fujun 潘富俊. Chuci zhiwu tujian 楚辭植物圖鑒. Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 2003.

  Pi Xirui 皮錫瑞. Jingxue tonglun. 經學通論. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1982.

  Qinghua daxue chutu wenxian yanjiu yu baohu zhongxin 清華大學出土文獻研究與保護中心, ed. Chief editor, Li Xueqin 李學勤. Qinghua daxue can Zhanguo zhujian (yi) 清華大學藏戰國竹簡 (壹). Shanghai: Zhongxi shuju. 2010.

  ______. Qinghua daxue can Zhanguo zhujian (er) 清華大學藏戰國竹簡 (貳). Shanghai: Zhongxi shuju. 2010.

  ______. Qinghua daxue can Zhanguo zhujian (san) 清華大學藏戰國竹簡 (叁). Shanghai: Zhongxi shuju
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  Ruan Yuan 阮元. Shisanjing zhushu 十三經注疏. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1987.

  Shi Quan 石泉. Gudai Jingchu dili xin tan 古代地理新探. Wuhan: Wuhan daxue chubanshe, 1988.

  Sima Qian 司馬遷. Shiji 史記. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1992.

  Su Xuelin 蘇雪林. Tian wen zheng jian 天問正簡. Taipei: Wenjin, 1992.

  Tang Bingzheng 湯炳正. Qu fu xin tan 屈賦新探. Shandong: Qi Lu shushe, 1984.

  Tang Bingzheng 湯炳正, Li Daming 李大明, Li Cheng 李誠, and Xiong Liangzhi 熊良知. Chuci jinzhu 楚辭今注. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1997.______. Chuci leigao 楚辭類稿. Chengdu: Bashu chubanshe, 1988.

  Tang Lan 唐蘭. Gu wenzixue daolun 古文字學導論. Jinan: Qi Lu shushe, 1981.

  Tang Zhangping 湯漳平 and Lu Yongping 陸永品. Chuci lunxi 楚辭論析. Taiyuan: Shanxi jiaoyu chubanshe, 1990.

  Wang Fuzhi 王夫之. Chuci tong shi 楚辭通釋. Preface dated autumn 1685. Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, 1965.

  Wang Guanghao 王光鎬. Chu wenhua yuanliu xin zheng 楚文化源流新証. Wuhan: Wuhan daxue chubanshe, 1988.

  Wang Guowei 王國維. Yin buci zhong suo jian xian gong xian wang kao 殷卜辭中所見先公先王考. Shanghai: Cangsheng mingzhi daxue, 1916.

  Wen Yiduo 聞一多. Li sao jiegu 離騷解詁. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1985.

  Weng Shihua 翁世華. Chuci kaojiao 楚辭考校. Taipei: Wenshizhe chubanshe, 1987.

  Xiao Bing 蕭兵. Chuci de wenhua poyi 楚辭的文化破譯. Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe, 1997.

  ______. Chuci yu shenhua 楚辭與神話. Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe, 1987.

  Xu Chaohua 徐朝華, ed. Erya jinzhu 爾雅今注. Tianjin: Nankai daxue chubanshe, 1987.

  Xu Shen 許慎. Shuowen jiezi zhu 說文解字注. Annotated by Duan Yucai 段玉裁. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986.

  Xunzi jijie 荀子集解. Vol. 2 of Zhuzi jicheng 諸子集成. Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1987.

  Yi Chonglian 易重廉. Zhongguo Chuci xue shi 中國楚辭學史. Changsha: Hunan chubanshe, 1991.

  You Guo’en 游國恩. Li sao zuanyi 離騷纂義. Beijing: Zhonghua shudian, 1982.

  ______. Tian wen zuanyi 天問纂義. Taipei: Hongye wenhua, 1993.

  Yuan Ke 袁珂. Shanhaijing jiaoyi 山海經校譯. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1985.

  ______. Zhongguo shenhua chuanshuo cidian. 中國神話傳說詞典. Shanghai: Shanghai cishu, 1985.

  Zhang Zhengming 張正名. Chu shi luncong 楚辭論叢. Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe, 1984.

  ______. Chu wenhua shi 楚文化史. Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1987.

  Zhou Xunchu 周勛初. Jiuge xin kao 九歌新考. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986.

  Zhu Junsheng 朱駿聲. Shuowen tongxun ding sheng 說文通訓定聲. Wuhan: Wuhan shi guji shudian, 1983.

  Zhu Xi 朱熹. Chuci jizhu 楚辭集注. Edited by Jiang Lifu 蔣立甫. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2001.

  Zhuzi jicheng 諸子集成. Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1987.

  WORKS IN WESTERN LANGUAGES

  Allan, Sarah. Buried Ideas: Legends of Abdication and Ideal Government in Early Chinese Bamboo-Slip Manuscripts. Albany: SUNY Press, 2015.

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  ______. The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China. Albany: SUNY Press, 1991.

  ______. The Way of Water and Sprouts of Virtue. Albany: SUNY Press, 1997.

  ______. “ ‘When Red Pigeons Gathered on Tang’s House’: A Warring States Period Tale of Shamanic Possession and Building Construction Set at the Turn of the Xia and Shang Dynasties.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 25, no. 3 (July 2015): 419–38.

  Allan, Sarah, and Crispin Williams, eds. The Guodian “Laozi”: Proceedings of the International Conference, Dartmouth College, May 1998. Early China Special Monograph Series 5. Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China and Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 2000.

  Ames, Roger. The Art of Rulership: A Study in Ancient Chinese Political Thought. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i Press, 1983.

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  Birrell, Anne. Chinese Mythology: An Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.

  Blakeley, Barry B. “Chu Society and State: Image versus Reality.” In Cook and Major, Defining Chu, 51–66.

  ______. “The Geography of Chu.” In Cook and Major, Defining Chu, 9–20.

  Bodde, Derk. Festivals in Classical China: New Year and Other Annual Observances During the Han Dynasty. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1975.

  Branner, David Prager. “Common Chinese and Early Chinese Morphology.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 122, no. 4 (2002): 706–21.

  ______. “On Early Chinese Morphology and Its Intellectual History.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 13, no. 1 (2003): 45–76.

  Brooks, E. Bruce. “The State of the Field in Pre-Han Text Studies.” Sino-Platonic Papers 46 (July 1994): 1–66.

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  Chang, K. C. Art, Myth, and Ritual: The Path to Political Authority in Ancient China. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1983.

  Chen Shih-hsiang. “The Genesis of Poetic Time: The Greatness of Qu Yuan, Studied with a New Critical Approach.” Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, n.s., 10, no. 1 (June 1973): 1–44. Published posthumously.

  Cheng, Anne. Étude sur le confucianisme Han: L’élaboration d’une tradition exégétique sur les classiques. Paris: Collège de France, Institut des Hautes Études Chinoises, 1985.

  Childs-Johnson, Elizabeth. “Dragons, Masks, Axes and Blades from Four Newly-Documented Jade-Producing Cultures of Ancient China.” Orientations 19, no. 4 (April 1988): 30–41.

  ______. Enduring Art of Jade Age China: Chinese Jades of the Late Neolithic through Han Periods. 2 vols. New York: Throckmorton Fine Art, 2001–2002.

  ______. “The Ghost Head Mask and Metamorphic Shang Imagery.” Early China 20 (1995): 79–92.

  ______. “The Metamorphic Image: A Predominant Theme in the Ritual Art of Shang China.” Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 70 (1998): 5–171.

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  Chow, Tse-tsung, “The Childbirth Myth and Ancient Chinese Medicine: A Study of Aspects of the Wu Tradition.” In Ancient China: Studies in Early Civilization, edited by David T. Roy and Tsuen-hsuin Tsien, 43–89. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1978.

  Cook, Constance A. “Ancestor Worship during the Eastern Zhou.” In Early Chinese Religion, Part 1: Shang through Han, edited by John Lagerwey and Marc Kalinowski, 1:237–79. Leiden: Brill, 2009

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  ______. “Three High Gods of Chu.” Journal of Chinese Religions 22, no. 1 (1994): 1–22.

  Cook, Constance A., and John S. Major, eds. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i Press, 1999.

  Cook, Scott. The Bamboo Texts of Guodian: A Study and Complete Translation. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2012.

  DeWoskin, Kenneth J. A Song for One or Two: Music and the Concept of Art in Early China. Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1982.

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  Durrant, Stephen W. The Cloudy Mirror: Tension and Conflict in the Writings of Sima Qian. Albany: SUNY Press, 1995.

  Ebrey, Patricia. “The Economic and Social History of Later Han.” In Twitchett and Loewe, Cambridge History of China, 608–48.

  Eco, Umberto. Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984.

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  Goldin, Paul Rakita. The Culture of Sex in Ancient China. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i Press, 2002.

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