Pri mary Source Document

wi th Questi ons ( DBQs)

E X C E R P T S F R O M E N C O U N T E R I N G S O R R O W ( L I S A O )
B y Q u Y u a n



I ntroducti on

Encountering Sorrow is the most famous example of the poetry of the state of Chu. Chu was one of the many feudal
states of the Zhou dynasty. Chus location in the Yangzi valley, however, put it on the southern frontiers of the Zhou
world. Thus Chu poetry and culture share both in the mainstream culture of the North China plain the Zhou
heartland and the culture of the ethnic groups of the south. As a result, the moral concerns and language of
Confucianism are combined with a strong shamanist tradition, and the poetry of Chu is replete with images drawn
from the plants and landscape of the south. Qu Yuan, the author of Encountering Sorrow, is a shadowy figure. He is
thought to have been a minister in the court of King Huai (r. 328-299 BCE) of Chu. His poem, Encountering Sorrow,
tells the story of an honest official who has been driven out of court by the machinations of his dishonest colleagues.
The traditional account of Qu Yuans life is that he then went into exile in the wilderness and eventually committed
suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River. The longer selection below includes the beginning stanzas of the
poem followed by the poems four-line conclusion.



Sel ected Document Excerpts wi th Questi ons (Longer selection follows this section)
From Anthology of Chinese Literature, Volume I: From Early Times to the Fourteenth Century, edited by Cyril Birch (New York:
Grove Press, 1965), 51-62. 1965 Grove Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.


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.

The lhree kings of oId vere mosl ure and erfecl:
Then indeed fragranl fIovers had lheir roer Iace.
They broughl logelher eer and cinnamon,
AII lhe mosl rized bIossoms vere voven in lheir garIands.
GIorious and greal vere lhose lvo, Yao and Shun,
ecause lhey had kel lheir feel on lhe righl alh.
And hov greal vas lhe foIIy of Chieh and Chou,
Who haslened by crooked alhs, and so came lo grief.

The fooIs en|oy lheir careIess Ieasure,
ul lheir vay is dark and Ieads lo danger.
I have no fear for lhe eriI of my ovn erson,

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ul onIy Iesl lhe chariol of my Iord shouId be dashed.
I hurried aboul your chariol in allendance,
Leading you in lhe lracks of lhe kings of oId.
ul lhe Iragranl One refused lo examine my lrue feeIings:
He Ienl ear, inslead, lo sIander, and raged againsl me.

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Questi ons:

1. What is the authors point of view?
2. Who is the Fragrant One and what is that persons relationship with the
author?
3. What evidence is there in the text that the author shares the same culture as
Confucius?
4. What elements in the text seem very different from what one sees in the
speech of Confucius, as recorded in the Analects?




Longer Sel ecti on
From Anthology of Chinese Literature, Volume I: From Early Times to the Fourteenth Century, edited by Cyril Birch (New York:
Grove Press, 1965), 51-62. 1965 Grove Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.


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Scion of lhe High Lord Kao Yang,
Io Yung vas my falher's name.
When She T'i oinled lo lhe firsl monlh of lhe year,
On lhe day 3*&5 -0&6 I assed from lhe vomb.
My falher, seeing lhe asecl of my nalivily,
Took omens lo give me an ausicious name.
The name he gave me vas True IxemIar,
The lilIe he gave me vas Divine aIance.

Having from birlh lhis invard beauly,
I added lo il fair oulvard adornmenl:
I dressed in seIinea and shady angeIica,
And lvined aulumn orchids lo make a garIand.
SviflIy I sed, as in fearfuI ursuil,
Afraid Time vouId race on and Ieave me behind.
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In lhe morning I galhered lhe angeIica on lhe mounlains,
In lhe evening I Iucked lhe sedges of lhe isIels.

The days and monlhs hurried on, never deIaying,
Srings and aulumns sed by in endIess aIlernalion:
And I lhoughl hov lhe lrees and fIovers vere fading and faIIing,
And feared lhal my Iairesl's beauly vouId fade loo.
Galher lhe fIover of youlh and casl oul lhe imure!
Why viII you nol change lhe error of your vays`
I have harnessed brave coursers for you lo gaIIo forlh vilh:
Come, Iel me go before and shov you lhe vay!

The lhree kings of oId vere mosl ure and erfecl:
Then indeed fragranl fIovers had lheir roer Iace.
They broughl logelher eer and cinnamon,
AII lhe mosl rized bIossoms vere voven in lheir garIands.
GIorious and greal vere lhose lvo, Yao and Shun,
ecause lhey had kel lheir feel on lhe righl alh.
And hov greal vas lhe foIIy of Chieh and Chou,
Who haslened by crooked alhs, and so came lo grief.

The fooIs en|oy lheir careIess Ieasure,
ul lheir vay is dark and Ieads lo danger.
I have no fear for lhe eriI of my ovn erson,
ul onIy Iesl lhe chariol of my Iord shouId be dashed.
I hurried aboul your chariol in allendance,
Leading you in lhe lracks of lhe kings of oId.
ul lhe Iragranl One refused lo examine my lrue feeIings:
He Ienl ear, inslead, lo sIander, and raged againsl me.

Hov veII I knov lhal IoyaIly brings disasler,
Yel I viII endure: I cannol give il u.
I caIIed on lhe ninefoId heaven lo be my vilness,
And aII for lhe sake of lhe Iair One, and no olher.
There once vas a lime vhen he soke vilh me in frankness,
ul lhen he reenled and vas of anolher mind.
I do nol care, on my ovn counl, aboul lhis divorcemenl,
ul il grieves me lo find lhe Iair One so inconslanl.

I had lended many an acre of orchids,
And Ianled a hundred rods of meIiIolus,
I had raised sveel Iichens and lhe carl-haIling fIover,
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And asarums mingIed vilh fragranl angeIica,
And hoed lhal vhen Ieaf and slem vere in fuIIesl bIoom,
When lhe lime had come, I couId rea a fine harvesl.
Though famine shouId inch me, il is smaII maller:
ul I grieve lhal aII my bIossoms shouId vasle in rank veeds.

AII olhers ress forvard in greed and gIullony,
No surfeil salialing lheir demands:
Iorgiving lhemseIves, bul harshIy |udging olhers,
Iach frelling his hearl avay in envy and maIice.
MadIy lhey rush in lhe covelous chase,
ul nol afler lhal vhich my hearl sels slore by.
Ior oId age comes creeing and soon viII be uon me,
And I fear I shaII nol Ieave behind an enduring name.

In lhe mornings I drank lhe dev lhal feII from lhe magnoIia:
Al evening ale lhe elaIs lhal droed from chrysanlhemums.
If onIy my mind can be lruIy beaulifuI,
Il mallers nolhing lhal I oflen fainl for famine.
I uIIed u rools lo bind lhe vaIerian
And lhread lhe faIIen cIuslers of lhe caslor Ianl,
I lrimmed srays of cassia for Iailing meIiIolus,
And knolled lhe Iilhe, Iighl lraiIs of ivy.

I lake my fashion from lhe good men of oId:
A garb unIike lhal vhich lhe rude vorId cares for:
Though il may nol accord vilh resenl-day manners,
I viII foIIov lhe allern lhal I'eng Hsien has Iefl.
Heaving a Iong sigh, I brush avay my lears,
Grieving for man's Iife, so besel vilh hardshis.
I have aIvays Ioved relly lhings lo bind myseIf aboul vilh,
And so mornings I Iailed and evenings I lvined.

When I had finished lvining my girdIe of orchids,
I Iucked some angeIica lo add lo ils beauly.
Il is lhis lhal my hearl lakes mosl deIighl in,
And lhough I died nine limes, I shouId nol regrel il.
Whal I do resenl is lhe Iair One's vayvardness:
ecause he viII never Iook lo see vhal is in men's hearls.
AII your Iadies vere |eaIous of my deIicale beauly,
They challered silefuIIy, saying I Ioved vanlonness.

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TruIy, lhis generalion are cunning arlificers!
Irom square and comass lhey lurn lheir eyes and change lhe lrue measuremenl,
They disregard lhe ruIed Iine lo foIIov lheir crooked fancies:
To emuIale in fIallery is lheir onIy ruIe.
ul I am sick and sad al hearl and sland irresoIule:
I aIone am al a Ioss in lhis generalion.

.

Inough! There are no lrue men in lhe slale: no one lo undersland me.
Why shouId I cIeave lo lhe cily of my birlh`
Since none is vorlhy lo vork vilh in making good governmenl,
I viII go and |oin I'eng Hsien in lhe Iace vhere he abides.

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