The Songs of Chu

Cast into exile, Qu Yuan poured his grief and longing into verse—from the Nine Songs to the Nine Declarations—to give utterance to his unswerving loyalty and devotion. The Book of Han: Treatise on Literature catalogued his works under the rhapsodies of Qu Yuan in the collected writings section, and they opened the way for all that would follow under the category of "The Songs of Chu" in later ages. To read them today is to be stirred, and to grieve, to recognize in the imagery of fragrant grasses and fair beauties a language of allegory, and to come to know the heart of Qu Yuan himself, ever seeking above and below without rest.