楚辭

aka Chu Ci; Verses of Chu

Songs of the South

Author

Liu Xiang

Language

Archaic Chinese

Year

compiled c. 50 BC

Country

Western Han

Genre

Poetry Collection

ancient worldeast asiahan dynasty

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The Chu Ci, variously translated as Verses of Chu, Songs of Chu, or Elegies of Chu, is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period, as well as a large number of works composed during the Han dynasty several centuries later. 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. Classical Chinese poetry prior to the Qin dynasty is largely known through the Chu Ci and the Classic of Poetry.