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The Nine Songs: A Study of Shamanism in Ancient China
Book by Ch'U Yuan
64 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1973
69 people want to read
About the author
Qu Yuan
56 books11 followersThis is a Chinese name. The family name is Qu.
Qu Yuan (Chinese: 屈原; 343–278 BC) was a Chinese poet and minister who lived during the Warring States period of ancient China. He is known for his contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the Chu Ci anthology (also known as The Songs of the South or Songs of Chu): a volume of poems attributed to or considered to be inspired by his verse writing. Together with the Shi Jing, the Chu Ci is one of the two great collections of ancient Chinese verse. He is also remembered as the supposed origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Historical details about Qu Yuan's life are few, and his authorship of many Chu Ci poems have been questioned at length. However, he is widely accepted to have written Li Sao, the most well-known of the Chu Ci poems.
Qu Yuan (Chinese: 屈原; 343–278 BC) was a Chinese poet and minister who lived during the Warring States period of ancient China. He is known for his contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the Chu Ci anthology (also known as The Songs of the South or Songs of Chu): a volume of poems attributed to or considered to be inspired by his verse writing. Together with the Shi Jing, the Chu Ci is one of the two great collections of ancient Chinese verse. He is also remembered as the supposed origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Historical details about Qu Yuan's life are few, and his authorship of many Chu Ci poems have been questioned at length. However, he is widely accepted to have written Li Sao, the most well-known of the Chu Ci poems.
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June 20, 2024
Hardly a "study" of Shamanism in ancient China as much as it is a translation of the Jiu Ge with some short commentary, normally of one page or even less, the exception being Song VIII which has some three pages and a half of commentary.
That said, the translation is fine (it's Waley, I mean, it's decent and good, not always the most accurate - the verses get so long compared to the Chinese 8 syllable rhymes that they start reminding me of English translations of Homeric dactylic hexameter verse, some 17 syllables long) and the commentary too is a fine example of what a Chu shamanic performance might've looked like and involved. I am a bit shocked, considering all the talk of offering gods brides and husbands, sometimes by means of human sacrifice, that we do not bring up the question of erotic dance and how that may have been passed over to Japan with archaic miko performances as appear in the Kojiki but some might argue that is out of the scope here.
Overall, a fine brief read and a fine translation of the Jiu Ge. It is so small a booklet that I am a bit puzzled by it not being a bilingual edition, with the Chinese text side by side.
That said, the translation is fine (it's Waley, I mean, it's decent and good, not always the most accurate - the verses get so long compared to the Chinese 8 syllable rhymes that they start reminding me of English translations of Homeric dactylic hexameter verse, some 17 syllables long) and the commentary too is a fine example of what a Chu shamanic performance might've looked like and involved. I am a bit shocked, considering all the talk of offering gods brides and husbands, sometimes by means of human sacrifice, that we do not bring up the question of erotic dance and how that may have been passed over to Japan with archaic miko performances as appear in the Kojiki but some might argue that is out of the scope here.
Overall, a fine brief read and a fine translation of the Jiu Ge. It is so small a booklet that I am a bit puzzled by it not being a bilingual edition, with the Chinese text side by side.
Displaying 1 of 1 review