Sao P oe t ry : t He Lyr i cS of c h u 55- Gao Yang, also known as Zhuan Xu, was a legendary lord (di). Qu Yuan’s ancestors were said
to be his descendants. - Geng-yin is the twenty-seventh day of the month in the ancient Chinese system of calculat-
ing days. - According to the Shiji, Qu Yuan’s name (ming) was Ping and his title (zi) was Yuan. “True
Exemplar” and “Divine Balance” are said to be illustrations of his real name and title. - Hawkes, Songs of the South, 27.
- Wang and Hong, Chuci buzhu, 2–3.
- Commentators disagree on who these “three kings of old” were. Most adopt Wang Yi’s view,
that they refer to King Yu, founder of the Xia dynasty; King Tang, founder of the Shang dynasty;
and King Wen of the Zhou dynasty. - Yao and Shun were sage-rulers in antiquity.
- Jie and Zhou were the infamous last rulers of the Xia and Shang dynasties, respectively.
- The identity of the “woman,” which is my rendering of the Chinese word nüxu (Hawkes
translates it as “My Nü Xu”), has been debated for a long time. Wang Yi has claimed, although
without offering any evidence, that she was Qu Yuan’s sister. I follow the opinion advocated by You
Guoen and others: You regards nüxu as a “common reference to woman” (Lisao zuanyi [Collected
Commentaries of “Lisao”] [Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1980], 188). - Gun was the father of King Yu, founder of the Xia dynasty. According to ancient legends,
Shun entrusted Gun with the task of controlling the flood that was devastating China at that time.
He failed, and as a punishment, he was put to death by Shun. Most commentators regard this story
to be the source of the reference here. Ma Maoyuan, however, has pointed out another source,
which seems more relevant. In chapter 13 of the Han Feizi, it is noted that when “Yao wanted to
abdicate to Shun, Gun advised against it, saying, ‘Inauspicious indeed! Who would give up the
world to a commoner?’ Yao ignored Gun’s words and put him to death in the plains around Yu
Mountain” (Chuci xuan, 18). - Cangwu is Shun’s burial place. The “Hanging Garden” is said to be on Mount Kunlun, in
the far west. - Xi He is the charioteer of the sun.
- Yan-zi Mountain is where the sun sets in the far west.
- The Pool of Heaven is a constellation in the western sky. The sun is said to bathe there
before setting. - Fu-sang is a tree that grows in the far east. The sun shines through it when it first rises in
the morning. - Ruo is a tree that grows in the far west on Mount Kunlun.
- Wang Shu is the charioteer of the moon.
- Fei Lian is the god of the wind.
- “Bird of Heaven” is Hawkes’s rendering of luan, a supernatural bird that looks like a rooster
with brilliant colors. - White Water is said to flow from Kunlun Mountain, one of whose peaks is Lang-feng.
- The House of Spring is the residence of the Green God in the east.
- Feng Long is the master of the clouds; another view holds that he is also the master of
thunder. - Fu Fei is the goddess of the Luo River. It is said that she was the daughter of Fu Xi, a leader
of an ancient tribe. She drowned in the Luo River and later became its guardian. - Wang Yi has claimed, although without providing support, that Jianxiu was a minister of
Fu Xi, Fu Fei’s father. - Qiong-shi was the home of Lord Yi, a master of archery. In “Heavenly Questions,” another
work attributed to Qu Yuan, there is a legend about Lord Yi shooting the god of the Yellow River