SOURCE: "The Works of Chu Yuan," People's China, No. 14, July 16, 1953, pp. 5-9.

[In the following essay, Ho Chi-fang discusses Chu Yuan's political outlook and patriotism, and credits him as "the first to write poetry expressive of the individuality of the author."]

The works of Chu Yuan are strongly expressive of his political thought. This is so because not only is there always a close connection between literature and politics, but especially because in those ancient times the social division of labour was still relatively undeveloped and the writer was often also at the same time a statesman. Thus to have a clear understanding of Chu Yuan's thought, it is necessary to know what he had in mind when he spoke of "good government."

Chu Yuan's Political Outlook

In Li Sao (The Lament), Chu Yuan made it quite clear that his ideal of good government was the type of government represented by the rule of the Emperors Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang as well as by King Wen and King Wu of the Chou Dynasty. Li Sao was written not as a treatise on politics but as lyric poetry, so Chu Yuan naturally provided in it no details concerning this good government. He contented himself with merely saying that the Emperors Yao and Shun were "upright," that Yu and Tang were "scrupulous and pious," and that the founder of Chou ruled according to the principles of good government; that they all observed the laws and right principles and that they all chose the most virtuous and capable men as their ministers. He also cited some examples of the kind of government he opposed: Chi, the son of Yu, was a hedonist; Yi, was notorious for his mania for the chase; Ao, a rebel in the Hsia Dynasty, boasted of his physical strength and was a libertine; the Emperors Chieh and Chou were given to lust and committed atrocities, murdering ministers who were upright and virtuous. As regards the ruling circle in Chu, his native state, he was indignant at their behaviour and scathingly denounced them as boundlessly avaricious, pleasure-seekers, intolerant of the virtuous and good, devoid of political principles and careless of the future of the state.

The word "chaos," which appears many times in his poems, was used to describe their rule and the social conditions under their regime.

Kuo Mo-jo writes in his book A Study of Chu Yuan that Chu Yuan's political views were influenced by the Confucian school of thought. This, I think, is correct. One of the most striking things in Chu Yuan's works is their richness in allusions to mythology and folklore; their soaring imagination, intensity of emotion, and beauty of expression. It is true that these traits were characteristic of the southern culture of his time. But in certain important aspects of his thought there is the undeniable influence of the northern culture, and especially of the ethical and political doctrines of Confucianism.¹ Thus he regarded "Heaven" as being perfectly just and beneficent only to the virtuous. Like the Confucianists, he defended truth and virtue, benevolence and integrity. When he was seeking a wife, he ruled out all maidens who were pretty but uncultured.

Owing to the insufficiency of materials on the social and other conditions of the Chu Kingdom, it is still difficult for us to say definitely how great a role Chu Yuan's political and ethical thought played during his time. But compared with the ruling circle of the Chu state which he bitterly opposed, he must be considered a statesman of high principles and noble ideals.

In ancient society, contradictions often existed within the ruling class itself. Thus it was common for upright and noble-minded persons to struggle against a degenerate and corrupt clique in power. Such a struggle reflected to a certain degree the conflict between the people and the ruling class. It is from this angle that we should evaluate Chu Yuan's political activities. It is chiefly Chu Yuan's unswerving devotion to his ideals that have won him the warm sympathy and deep respect of posterity. He despised the attacks and lies of the men whom he opposed. He expressed his disgust for unprincipled people. He said that rather than compromise with them, he would die to show his integrity.

All men had pleasures in their various ways,
My pleasure was to cultivate my grace.
I would not change, though they my body
  rend;
How could my heart be wrested from its end?
(Li Sao)

Chu Yuan showed his determination later; he did indeed drown himself.² His tragic fate not only gained the profound sympathy of the intellectuals of the old feudal society but also made a profound impression on the people. To this day the people annually commemorate his tragic death.

His Patriotism

The sympathy and respect posterity shows to Chu Yuan is not only for his noble-mindedness and his brave sacrifice for a noble cause but also for his ardent love for his country and his native land. In Li Sao, he affirmed his political views and showed up the ruling circle's failure to understand him and their desire to oust him from office. He used all kinds of allegories to express his pain in his enforced exile and solitude. He wrote of his visits to the "fortune-teller" and the "Oracle" after all hope had gone from him and this seemed his last resort. Both advised him to leave the State of Chu. But when, in imagination, he fancied himself setting out on a long journey on the back of a swift flying dragon, he suddenly perceived from the sky his native land—Chu. His charioteer was overcome with sorrow and his horse refused to go on. There was nothing left to do but to abandon the journey.

Thus, in this long poem, rich in form and creative fantasy, Chu Yuan in moving terms tells of his love for his native land of Chu.

Chu Yuan was a great genius—for great he certainly was, as can be clearly seen in his works—noble-minded, unswervingly faithful to his principles, loyal to his country and devotedly loving his native land. That such a one should be the victim of injustice at the hands of his own countrymen and end his life in such a tragic manner convincingly demonstrated to the people of succeeding centuries the irrational nature of the feudal society and its inherent defects. His fate evoked sympathetic regard for his works among those who hated the disorder and distortion of truth in the society of the time in which they lived. As Chu Yuan writes in his poem "Thoughts Before Drowning":

Now darkness is construed as light,And fair to foul is turned,Now hens and geese can fly on high,While phoenixes are spurned

It is because of such lines as these that Chu Yuan's works are looked upon as masterpieces of realism. They express the people's spirit, their forthrightness and hatred of humbug.

Chu Yuan's works are, it is true, strongly coloured with romanticism. But, as Gorky has well said, a distinction should be made between negative and positive romanticism. Negative romanticism is unrealistic because it uses imagination, allegory and myth to distort and falsify reality, thus leading people to flee from reality or to compromise with its irrational aspects. Positive romanticism, although it is also coloured with imagination, ardent language and fantasy, is fundamentally a reflection of reality. It leads men to a correct understanding of reality or inspires them to struggle against the irrational phenomena of reality. Thus the fundamental spirit of positive romanticism is realistic. It is precisely this type of romanticism that is present in Chu Yuan's works, which combine romanticism with realism.

A New Stage in Literature

The individuality and creative character of Chu Yuan's works are outstanding. Richness of imagination, intensity of feeling, the adaptation of myth and folklore, richness in local colour, and the incorporation of the popular literary style and expressions of the Chu State make up the uniqueness and brilliance of Chu Yuan's works. In short, Chu Yuan's main contribution to literature lies in the fact that he was the first to write poetry expressive of the individuality of the author. He thus greatly extended the possibilities of poetic expression and opened a new stage in literary creation. Of course, in the Book of Odes, which preceded Chu Yuan, there are beautiful compositions, and we cannot say that they are entirely without the stamp of an individual creator, but we are justified in saying that they do not contain poetry which, like that of Chu Yuan, is clearly stamped with an individuality that is the very incarnation of one's ideals, one's life struggle for those ideals and the ardour of self-sacrifice, in short, one's whole personality. This is why we can say that poetry before Chu Yuan was a collective, folk product and that with Chu Yuan we came to the creative activity of an individual author. Generally speaking, the verses in the Book of Odes are relatively short in length (this is also true of their sentences) and comparatively simple in content. Chu Yuan, however, made great improvements and innovations in syntax and poetic construction as well as in modes of expression. He made poetry a more suitable means for the expression of a more complex content.

Chu Yuan may be said to be the successor to the fine poetic tradition of the Book of Odes. With his creative genius he carried ancient Chinese literature to a further stage of development in regard both to content and form.

His writings closed one period and opened another.

After Chu Yuan, four-character-line poems were still written, but not very successfully. On the other hand, under Chu Yuan's influence there was a further development of the Tzu-fu³ form. Many among these poems are dry and derivative, but there are some that display a real vitality. This shows the creativeness and progressiveness of Chu Yuan's poetic form. His influence on Chinese literature during the long period of feudal society was far-reaching and profound.

Perfection of Form

Chu Yuan's works are not only important as a landmark in the history of China's ancient literature. They are models of literary perfection that we can now still profit from in our own literary work. His Li Sao has a rich political content. In the hands of an ordinary writer, it could easily have turned into a collection of platitudes. But Chu Yuan's Li Sao is a superb piece of literature rich in beautiful and expressive images.

Chu Yuan's own nobility of character and upright conduct is expressed in the frequent use of the allegory of flowers.

Dew from magnolia leaves I drank at dawn,
At eve for food were aster petals borne;
And loving thus the simple and fair,
How should I for my sallow features care?
(Li Sao)

Using the reproaches made by his sister as an introduction, he plainly stated his political views. When he spoke of the fact that his political ideal could not be realised and that nobody could understand his sorrow, he not only used plain language to express his grief but employed metaphors of imaginary situations to enhance the power of literary suggestion. In imagination, he rode on dragons and phoenixes through the air and looked everywhere for sympathy and support for his views. And when he reached the gate of Heaven, the gate-keeper refused him admittance. So he turned away to look for a maiden, a kindred soul (his ideal), who could understand him. But his search was fruitless. Thus, with such a blending of facts and flights of imagination, with a host of rich literary expressions and perfect rhetorical construction, Li Sao is built up into a sublime and immortal creation, a faultless and magnificent product of art.

A really successful piece of artistic work should not only have particular elements of beauty and charm; all these particular elements combined should form a harmonious and perfect whole like a perfect musical composition without a single discordant note. Such are some of Chu Yuan's compositions.

Judgment of Posterity

Posterity has given Chu Yuan the highest praise.

Ssu Ma-chien, the famous historian and writer of the Han Dynasty, had this to say of Chu Yuan's works in his Biographical Sketches of Chu Yuan and Chia Yi:

Kuo Feng (popular songs of the different states in the Book of Odes) sings of love but not intem-perately; Hsiao Ya (Minor Euphues in the Book of Odes) sing of complaints but not of revolt; Li Sao combines the qualities of both these classical works. Chu Yuan criticised conditions in his time by citing the good example provided by the Emperor Ku, Kings Tang and Wu and Duke Huan of the State of Chi. He described in detail the loftiness of their virtue and their way of directing the state. He understood the historic process. His poetic style is characterised by its succinctness, his words are subtle.… He was noble in mind as well as in conduct. The form of his poems is small but they express great ideas. He put great morals in simple metaphors. He talked of beautiful things because he had a noble mind. His actions were honest even unto death. Although he floundered in the cesspol, like a cicada which sloughs its skin, he was able to emancipate himself and roam in a transcendent world. He lived in a world of corruption yet he had an unblemished character; it was like wading through mud without getting dirty. The shining nobility of his character vies with the radiance of the sun and moon.

In ancient times the Book of Odes was looked upon as the highest standard of poetry. So to say that Chu Yuan's works have the merits of both Kuo Feng and Hsiao Ya is to lavish on him the highest praise.

The great poets of the Tang Dynasty, Li Po and Tu Fu, also lauded the literary attainments of Chu Yuan.

Chinese feudal society has died, but in the literary heritage of that society there is that which belongs to the future. The creative work of Chu Yuan belongs to that valuable heritage. We must study it and learn from it. We must learn from his staunchness in the struggle for his ideals, from his patriotism and originality in the sphere of literary creation. With what steadfastness did he love his ideals! How much more then should we love and be ready to give all our efforts to the realisation of our ideals—the great ideals of peace, democracy and Socialism, the greatest ideals of our time, ideals that belong to all progressive mankind.

Notes

This is an abridgement of an article by one of China's well-known poets and critics, first published in People's Literature on the occasion of the 2230th anniversary of Chu Yuan's death.

¹ Confucius came from the State of Chi in what is now known as Shantung Province.

² Banished as a result of the intrigues of his political enemies and the stupidity of his ruler, Chu Yuan spent more than twenty years in exile. In his 62nd year, he drowned himself in the Milo River as a final disaster overtook the state of Chu, attacked from without and betrayed from within.

³Tzu, a species of song, in lines of irregular length, written in strophes, each of which must conform to a strict pattern of tones and rhymes.

Fu, prose-poetry, an irregular metrical style of composition in rhyme, something between poetry and prose, used for narrative. The number of feet in each line is irregular, and rhyme recurs at intervals.