"Alas That My Lot Was Not Cast" or "Ai shi ming" () is one of the poems anthologized in the ancient Chinese poetry collection, the ''
Chu ci
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, ...
''; which, together with the ''
Shijing
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...
'' comprise the two major textual sources for ancient
Chinese poetry
Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, and a part of the Chinese literature. While this last term comprises Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, and other historical and vernac ...
. "Alas That My Lot Was Not Cast" is an example of the
Sao type of ''Chu ci'' poetry, in the "
O tempora o mores!
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...
" vein. The authorship of the "Alas That My Lot Was Not Cast" poem has been attributed to
Zhuang Ji
Zhuang Ji () had the courtesy name (''zi'') of Fuzi (夫子), literally, "the Master"; and, he was later sometimes referred to as Yan Ji (嚴忌) due to a naming taboo based on the personal name of an emperor titled ( Han Mingdi (personally name ...
(also known as Yan Ji). (Hawkes, 2011
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theophanu and her mother-in-law Adelaide at an ...
262)
See also
*
Chuci
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, ...
*
List of Chuci contents
This is a list of the sections and individual pieces contained within the ancient poetry anthology ''Chu Ci'' (), also known as ''Songs of the South'' or ''Songs of Chu'', which is an anthology of Classical Chinese poetry verse (poetry), verse tr ...
*
Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan ( – 278 BC) was a Chinese poet and aristocrat in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' ...
*
Weak River (mythology)
The Weak River also known as the Weak Water or Ruoshui () is an important feature in the mythical geography of Chinese literature, including novels and poetry over a course of over two millennia from the Warring States period, Warring States to e ...
*
Xian (Taoism)
A ''xian'' ( zh, s=仙, t=僊, p=xiān, w=hsien) is any manner of immortal or mythical being within the Taoist Pantheon (religion), pantheon or Chinese folklore. has often been translated into English as "immortal" or "wizard".
Traditionall ...
*
Zhuang Ji
Zhuang Ji () had the courtesy name (''zi'') of Fuzi (夫子), literally, "the Master"; and, he was later sometimes referred to as Yan Ji (嚴忌) due to a naming taboo based on the personal name of an emperor titled ( Han Mingdi (personally name ...
惜誓
References
*
Hawkes, David, translator and introduction (2011
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theophanu and her mother-in-law Adelaide at an ...
. Qu Yuan ''et al.'', ''The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets''. London: Penguin Books.
{{Chinese poetry
Chinese poems