Selections from The Chu Ci

These poems are taken from the  Chu Ci, commonly translated as the  Songs of Chu, an anthology of poems from the Warring States period attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu.  More specifically, these poems are selected from the Jiu Ge, or  Nine Songs, the second of seventeen sections in the  Chu Ci.  Originally recorded in Classical Chinese, they were meant to be performed (chanted and sung, with accompanying music and dance) and in many cases, there appear to be multiple "voices" in the same poem.

I. The Eastern Emperor of Great Unity

II. Lord Among the Clouds

VII. Lord of the East

VIII. River Lord

XI. Mountain Goat

X. Those Who Die For Country

XI. Ritual of Souls