Nine Longings () form one of the 17 major sections of 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, ...
''. The "Nine Longings" consists of ten poems (or, nine plus ''luan''
envoi
Envoi or envoy in poetry is used to describe:
* A short stanza at the end of a poem such as a ballad, used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem.
* A dedicatory poem about sending the book o ...
), each individually titled, written according to the style of the earlier pieces in the ''Chu ci'' anthology. It is one of the several collections of poems grouped under the title of "Nine" something-or-others, most but not all of which consist of 9 pieces of poetry. One of the older of them, ''Jiu ge'' ("Nine Songs") consists of 11 individual pieces: "nine" in antiquity was often used as a synonym for "many", and in the context of the ''Chu ci'' generally refers to a musical arrangement with "nine" modal changes. (Hawkes, 2011
985 36–37) The "Nine Longings" poems were written by the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
royal librarian
Wang Yi, who is more famous for his commentary on the ''Chu ci'' than he is for these original works which he appended to his published annotated copy. (Hawkes, 2011
985 307)
Content
Wang Yi manages to produce somewhat of a
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...
version of ''Chuci'' poetry, using its conventionalized symbolism. In nine verses with an envoi:
*I Meeting with Reproach (Feng you)
*II Resentment against the Ruler (Yuan shang)
*III Impatience with the World (Ji shi)
*IV Pity for the Ruler (Min shang)
*V Running into Danger (Zan e)
*VI Grieving over Disorder (Dao luan)
*VII Distressed by These Times (Shang shi)
*VIII Lament for the Year (Ai sui)
*IX Maintaining Resolution (Shou zhi)
*X Luan
(Hawkes 1985, 307-321)
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 ...
*"
Nine Regrets"
*
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 '' ...
*
"Nine Longings", in Chinese (九思)
References
*
Hawkes, David, translator and introduction (2011
985. 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