Chapter 5 Chapter Three Patriotic Poets Qu Yuan and Chu Ci

Qu Yuan (about 340 BC - 278 BC), named Ping, styled Yuan.He was born in an aristocratic state of Chu, and when he was young, he showed outstanding talent. He became the left apprentice (official name) of King Huai of Chu, assisted King Huai in planning state affairs and issuing government orders; he received envoys from various countries and handled diplomatic affairs. Wang trusts.This makes some people jealous.His political enemy Shangguan made a rumor about him in front of King Huai, saying that Qu Yuan was so proud of himself that even King Huai ignored him, so King Huai was angry and alienated Qu Yuan.

At that time, among the "Seven Heroes" of the Warring States Period, Qin, Qi, and Chu were the most powerful. The struggle between "He Zong" and "Lian Heng" was very fierce, and who could win in the end was determined by the domestic and foreign affairs of these three countries. .In Chu's domestic affairs, Qu Yuan advocated the selection of talents and appointing talents, and made great efforts to govern, trying to establish an ideal society like the era of Yao, Shun and Yu Tang;Because Huai Wang alienated him, Qu Yuan failed to implement these correct propositions.King Huai was a fatuous monarch. Under Qin Huiwang's alienation and temptation, he was deceived one after another and severed the alliance with Qi State. As a result, he lost his army, lost his land, and gradually weakened the country.After Qin Zhaowang succeeded to the throne, he proposed to marry Chu and meet King Huai. Qu Yuan tried his best to dissuade King Huai from being fooled again.However, King Huai went anyway at the instigation of his youngest son Zilan, but was hijacked by the force of Qin State and died in Qin State.The eldest son of King Huai, King Qingxiang succeeded to the throne, and ordered Yin Zilan, Shangguan Dafu and others to frame Qu Yuan in front of King Qingxiang, and King Qingxiang exiled Qu Yuan to the south of the Yangtze River in a rage.

In his later years, Qu Yuan lived in exile for a long time in the Yuanshui and Xiangshui basins. Seeing that his motherland was weakening and was about to be destroyed by Qin, he could not fulfill his ambition of serving the king. In desperation, he threw himself into the Miluo River. Qu Yuan's works left in the world include "Li Sao", "Nine Chapters", "Nine Songs", "Heavenly Questions", etc., which may also be his works.In addition, there are "Yuan You", "Bu Ju", "Fisher Father", "Da Zhao" and other chapters named after Qu Yuan, and most scholars believe that they were written by later generations.