46 Pr e - q i n t i m e s
man in the ancient past and that the reference to him indicates Qu Yuan’s desire
to leave the world behind him by becoming a shaman. Qu Yuan’s reference to Peng
Xian may be a signal to the reader that he, too, would commit suicide in protest,
but the dual identity of Peng Xian illustrates the close link between the historical
and shamanistic aspects of the poem. This will be further illustrated as we journey
with the poet into the historical past and to the supernatural heavens.Heaving a long sigh, I brush away my tears, 長太息以掩涕兮 (cháng tài xī yĭ yăn tì xi)
Sad that man’s life should be so beset with hardship. 哀民生之多艱 (āi mín shēng zhī duō jiān)
Though goodness and beauty were my bit and bridle, 余雖好脩姱以鞿羈兮 (yú suī hào xiū kuā yĭ jī jī xi)
80 I was slandered in the morning and cast off that
same evening. 謇朝誶而夕替 (jiăn zhāo suì ér xī tì)
Yet, though cast off, I would wear my orchid girdle, 既替余以蕙纕兮 (jì tì yú yĭ huì xiāng xi)
I would pluck some angelicas to add to its beauty. 又申之以攬茝 (yòu shēn zhī yĭ lăn zhĭ)
For this it is that my heart takes most delight in, 亦余心之所善兮 (yì yú xīn zhī suŏ shàn xi)
And though I die nine times, I should not regret it. 雖九死其猶未悔 (suī jiŭ sĭ qí yóu wèi huĭ)
85 What I regret is the Fair One’s waywardness, 怨靈脩之浩蕩兮 (yuàn líng xiū zhī hào dàng xi)
That never once stops to ask what is in people’s
minds. 終不察夫民心 (zhōng bù chá fú míng xīn)
All your ladies were jealous of my delicate beauty, 眾女嫉余之蛾眉兮 (zhòng nǚ jí yú zhī é méi xi)
In their spiteful chattering they said I was a wanton. 謠諑謂余以善淫 (yáo zhuó wèi yú yĭ shàn yín)
Truly this generation are cunning artificers, 固時俗之工巧兮 (gù shí sú zhī gōng qiăo xi)
90 They reject rules to fashion their own measurements. 偭規矩而改錯 (miăn guī jŭ ér găi cuò)
They disregard ruled lines to follow their crooked
fancies, 背繩墨以追曲兮 (bèi shéng mò yĭ zhuī qŭ xi)
And to emulate in flattery is their only principle. 競周容以為度 (jìng zhōu róng yĭ wéi dù)
But I am sick and sad at heart and stand irresolute: 忳鬱邑余侘傺兮 (tún yù yì yú chà chì xi)
I alone am at loss in this generation. 吾獨窮困乎此時也 (wú dú qióng kùn hū cĭ shí yĕ)
95 Yet I would rather quickly die and meet dissolution, 寧溘死以流亡兮 (nìng kè sĭ yĭ liú wáng xi)
Before I ever would consent to ape their behavior. 余不忍為此態也 (yú bù rĕn wéi cĭ tài yĕ)
The couplet that begins this section (lines 77–78) conjures up the image of
someone deeply saddened by the hardship of ordinary people. It is this image that
has helped to make Qu Yuan into a national hero of China, whose long history
has been filled with human suffering. In lines 87 and 88, the poet explicitly com-
pares himself with a woman slandered by other women because of jealousy of her
outstanding beauty. This is a further elaboration of the equation of beauty (repre-
sented by various flowers in earlier passages) with virtue. In Chinese culture, there
is an ancient tradition of comparing a government minister with a wife: a minister
is to a monarch as a wife is to a husband. Thus Qu Yuan’s deliberate twist of gender
identity is not new. What is new is his effort to make this an integral part of his
symbolism in general. Indeed, “On Encountering Trouble” demonstrates a keen
interest in exploiting the ambiguities caused by dual identities. We have already
seen this in the poet’s allusion to his king as both the “Fair One” and the “Godly