Qu Yuan
3 min readQu Yuan（340-278B.C.？）was a Chinese patriotic poet from southern Chu during the Warring States Period.His works are mostly found in an anthology of poetry known as Chu Ci.His death is commemorated on Duan Wu Festival，commonly known as the Dragon Boat Festival.
Qu Yuan was a minister in the government of the state of Chu，descended of nobility and a champion of political loyalty and truth eager to maintain the Chu state’s sovereignty.Qu Yuan advocated a policy of alliance with the other kingdomsof the period against the hegemonic state of Qin，which threatened to dominate them al1.The Chu king，however，fell under the influence of other corrupt，jealous ministers who slandered Qu Yuan，and banished his most loyal counselor.It is saidthat Qu Yuan returned first to his family’s home town.In his exile，he spent much of this time collecting legends and rearranging folk odes while travelling the countryside，producing some of the greatest poetry in Chinese literature while expressing his fervent love for his state and his deepest concern for its future.
In 278BC，learning of the capture of his country’s capital，Ying，by General Bai Qi of the state of Qin，Qu Yuan is said to have written the lengthy poem of lamentation called“Lament for Ying”and later to have waded into the Miluo river in today’s Hunan Province holding a great rock in order to commit ritual suicide as a form of protest against the corruption of the era.
Reputation
Qu Yuan is generally recognized as the first great Chinese poet with record.He initiated the style of Sao，which is named after his work Li Sao，in which he abandoned the classic four-character verses used in poems of Shi Jing and adopted verses with varying lengths，which gives the poem more rhythm and latitude in expression.Qu Yuan is also regarded as one of the most prominent figures of Romanticism in Chinese literature，and his masterpieces influenced some of the greatest Romanticist poets in Tang Dynasty such as Li Bai and Du Fu.
0ther than his literary influence，Qu Yuan is also held as the earliest patriotic poet in China history.His political idealism and unbendable patriotism have served as the model for Chinese intellectuals until today.
Works
Scholars have debated the authenticity of several of Qu Yuan’s works since the Western Han dynasty（202 BCE-9）.The most authoritative historical record，Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian（Shi Ji）mentions five of Qu Yuan’s works:Li Sao，Tian Wen，Zhao Hun，Ai Ying（”Lament for Ying”），Huai Sha.According to Wang Yi of the Eastern Han dynasty，a total of 25 works can be attributed to Qu Yuan:Li Sao，Jiu Ge（consisting of 1l pieces），Tian Wen，Jiu Zhang（consisting of 9 pieces），Yuan You，Pu Ju，Yu Fu.Wang Yi chose to attribute Zhao Hun to anotherpoet Song Yu；most modern scholars，however，consider Zhao Hun to be Qu Yuan’s original work，whereas Yuan You，Pu Ju，and Yu Fu are believed to have been composed by others.
