The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems By Qu Yuan And Other Poets: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

Qu Yuan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140443754 ISBN 13: 9780140443752

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 1985

Synopsis

The Songs of the South is an anthology first compiled in the second century A.D. Its poems, originating from the state of Chu and rooted in Shamanism, are grouped under seventeen titles and contain all that we know of Chinese poetry's ancient beginnings. The earliest poems were composed in the fourth century B.C. and almost half of them are traditionally ascribed to Qu Yuan.

About this title

Review:

"The Songs of the South is cause for celebration. There is simply no substitute. The text is fundamental to the Chinese tradition, and Hawkes's introduction itself is a work of wonder. It should be kept in print in perpetuity." -- Philip Kafalas, Associate Professor of Chinese, Georgetown University

About the Author:

Although Chu Ci is an anthology of poems by many poets, Qu Yuan was doubtless its central figure. Jiu Ge ("Nine Songs"), also attributed to Qu Yuan, is the first example of what could be called shamanic literature in China. It is in remembrance of the circumstances of his death that the annual Dragon boat races are held. David Hawkes was Professor of Chinese at Oxford University from 1959 to 1971. From 1973 to 1983 he was a Research Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and subsequently became an Emeritus Fellow. He died in Oxford on Friday 31 July 2009.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 1985
• ISBN 10: 0140443754
• ISBN 13: 9780140443752
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352