Listen to this articlechǔcí 楚辞
Chuci (Ode of Chu)
楚辞是由屈原创作的一种诗体，后来又成为代表中国古代南方文化的第一部诗歌总集，楚辞运用楚地（今湖南、湖北一带）的文学体式、方言声韵，叙写楚地的山川人物、历史风情，具有浓厚的地域特色，因而得名。“楚辞”之名，西汉初期已有之，后刘向辑录成集，收战国时期楚国人屈原、宋玉以及汉代淮南小山、东方朔、严忌、王褒、刘向等人作品共16篇，后来王逸作《楚辞章句》时增加了自己的一篇，共17篇。楚辞通过独特的文体与文化内涵，反映出南方楚国文化的特点，抒情色彩浓厚，想象丰富，保存了上古许多神话故事，彰显出不同于《诗经》传统的一种全新的文学精神与文学体式，成为与《诗经》并驾齐驱的文学形态，后世称这种文体为“楚辞体”或“骚体”，称研究《楚辞》的学问为“楚辞学”。
Chuci (楚辞) was a poetic genre first attributed to Qu Yuan. It later became the title for the first anthology of poetry depicting the culture in south China. Chuci was so named because it made use of Chu (now Hunan and Hubei provinces) dialect, accent, and local special genres to describe the unique landscape, history, and folklore of the State of Chu. The term chuci first appeared in the early Western Han Dynasty, and later Liu Xiang compiled a literary collection including 16 pieces written by Qu Yuan, Song Yu, Huainan Xiaoshan (a group of authors of the Western Han Dynasty), Dongfang Shuo, Yan Ji, Wang Bao, and Liu Xiang. When Wang Yi later compiled Verses from the Odes of Chu, he added a work of his own to the collection, making it an anthology of 17 works. Through its distinctive genre and unique cultural elements, chuci reflected the special culture of the Chu region in southern China. As a genre, chuci is characterized by profound emotions, wild imagination, and rich allusions to the remote historical mythology from the dawn of Chinese history. It demonstrates an innovative and distinctive literary genre and spirit, standing with The Book of Songs as twin literary pinnacles. Later generations called this genre Chuci Style or Sao Style (Flowery Style), and its research chuci studies.
引例 Citations：
◎固知楚辞者，体宪于三代，而风杂于战国，乃雅颂之博徒，而词赋之英杰也。（刘勰《文心雕龙·辨骚》）
（可以肯定，楚辞取法于三代的圣贤之书，但也掺杂有战国的风气，比起《诗经》来，要逊色一些，但却是词赋中的精品。）
It can be ascertained that works by Qu Yuan and his contemporaries in the State of Chu borrowed literary elements from the classics of the past ages, but also blended some stylistic features from the Warring States Period. Though less outstanding than The Book of Songs, they were masterpieces in poetry. (Liu Xie: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons)
◎盖屈宋诸骚，皆书楚语，作楚声，纪楚地，名楚物，故可谓之“楚辞”。（黄伯思《校定楚辞序》）
（大体上说，屈原、宋玉的诸多骚体之作，都是用楚地的方言，用楚地的音乐，描写楚国的地理，称说楚地的风物，因此可称作“楚辞”。）
Generally speaking, the literary works of Qu Yuan and Song Yu used Chu dialect and exploited Chu rhythm and tunes to depict the landscape and scenery in Chu, hence called chuci, or odes of Chu. (Huang Bosi: Preface to Odes of Chu [Revised Edition])
