Li Sao is the representative work of Qu Yuan, and it is an autobiographical lyric poem. The whole poem * * * more than three hundred and seventy sentences, nearly two thousand five hundred words. The word "Li Sao" has had several explanations since ancient times. Sima Qian thought it meant suffering. He said in Historical Records Biography of Qu Yuan and Biography of Jia Sheng: "Those who leave Sao are still worried." Ban Gu of Han Dynasty also said in Preface to Zan Li Sao: "Parting is still a shame and a kind of sorrow. I know that I am worried as a speech. " Wang Yi explained it as the sadness of parting, and the Preface of the Songs of Chu Lisao said: "Leave, never leave; Sao, sorrow; Meridian and diameter also; Say that you have exiled yourself and left, you are still worried about it, and you still follow the path and advise you with the wind. " These two kinds have great influence in history. After all, the age difference between Sima Qian and Qu Yuan is not far. There are many words "leaving you" or "leaving sorrow" in Chu Ci, and "leaving" cannot be interpreted as "leaving", so Sima Qian's statement is the most credible. It is generally believed that Li Sao was written when Qu Yuan left Du Ying for Hanbei. Historical Records Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng said that Qu Yuan was alienated by Wang Huai because of Shangguan doctor Jin Shangzhi. "Qu Ping's illness, not clever enough, flattery, evil songs harm the public, Fang Zhengzhi can't stand it, because of its sad Zen and write" Li Sao ". He also believes that Li Sao was written when Chu Huaiwang alienated Qu Yuan.
Lisao
Li Sao reflects Qu Yuan's indignation at the dark and decadent politics of Chu, his sorrow that he loves the country and is willing to work for it, and his sorrow that he has been treated unfairly. The whole poem is full of sadness and strong feelings, and his anguish and sadness are ruthlessly repeated by generate, thus forming the characteristics of poetry in form. At first glance, there seems to be no distinction between arts and sciences, but it is actually a reflection of the development law of his thoughts and feelings. Li Sao can be roughly divided into two parts. The first part, from the beginning to "I can punish my heart", first describes my family life, thinking that I was born in a famous family and was born in a beautiful day, so I have "inner beauty". He persisted in self-cultivation tirelessly, hoping to guide the king, prosper the country and realize the ideal of "American politics", but he was wronged because of the slander of "party member" and the king's vacillation. Under the sharp conflict between ideal and reality, Qu Yuan said that "although he has not changed his body, there is still room for punishment", which shows his unshakable sentiment. The second half is wonderful. After telling Zhong Hua (Shun) his grievances, Qu Yuan began to "float up and down" and "float for women", but these actions ended in failure. The last flight, because I miss my country, I can't miss it anymore. These symbolic actions show Qu Yuan's difficult choice of where to go in his depression and hesitation, and highlight Qu Yuan's deep love for the country.
As for the background of Li Sao, one of the focuses of debate is whether Qu Yuan was created when he was alienated or exiled by Chu Huaiwang. According to Records of Historical Records and Biographies of Qu Yuan, the young and promising Qu Yuan was slandered by his colleague Shangguan Doctor (Shanxi Merchants), and Chu Huaiwang alienated him. He wrote Li Sao with sadness and meditation. The preface to Historical Records Taishi Gong said: "Qu Yuan was demoted and wrote Li Sao." It is also said in Baoren An Shu: "Qu Yuan was exiled, but he was endowed with Li Sao." Sima Qian's account of the same incident is obviously contradictory.
Due to the lack of reliable historical materials, finding evidence from the poem itself is a good way to solve this problem. There is such a line in the poem: "If we are different, I will die far away." Self-neglect refers to a positive attitude, not being released. In addition, some people suspect that it was written after Qu Yuan's exile, because there is a sentence in the poem "Qu Yuan and Zheng Xi in southern Hunan", which is not credible. Because the second half of Li Sao is a trip in the writer's imagination, "Jiyuan and Zheng Xi in southern Hunan" is not true.
In a word, the statements in Historical Records and Biographies of Qu Yuan are credible. However, Records of the Historian, Biography of Taishigong and Letter to Ren An are both lyrical words, which may be that they are not faithful to historical facts when writing.
Sima Qian quoted Liu An's Biography of Li Sao in Historical Records of Qu Yuan, saying: "Qu Ping's sick king was not obedient, but flattered the Ming Dynasty, and the evil songs were harmful to the public, so Fang Zhengzhi could not tolerate it, so he wrote Li Sao with sad Zen"; He also said: "Qu Yuan went straight on the right path, exhausted loyalty and wisdom to serve the monarch and made the world poor. Believe and see doubt, be loyal and slander, can you have no complaints? Qu Ping's work "Li Sao" is self-blaming. " Qu Yuan's "sadness" and resentment are closely related to the political reality of Chu State. Li Sao is a political lyric poem written by him according to the political reality of Chu State and his own grievances. Because the twists and turns describe the poet's life experience, thoughts and circumstances, some people regard it as an image record of Qu Yuan's life course and call it the poet's autobiography.
When Lisao was written, Liu Xiang, Ban Gu, Wang Yi, Ying Shao in the Han Dynasty and Wang Fuzhi in the Qing Dynasty all thought it was a work of the Wang Huai era, while later scholars generally thought it was a work of the Qing Xiang era. Sima Qian said in the preface to Historical Records Taishi Gong: "Qu Yuan was demoted and wrote Li Sao." This is considered to be after exile. Now people have different opinions about it, some say it was done after being dismissed, some say it was done after being released, some say it was done at the end of the year or at the beginning of Wang Xiang's life, and some say it was done at the beginning of Wang Xiang's life. So far, there is no conclusion.
It is generally believed that Li Sao was written when Qu Yuan left Du Ying for Hanbei. Historical Records Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng said that Qu Yuan was alienated by Wang Huai because of Shangguan doctor Jin Shangzhi. "Qu Ping's illness, not clever enough, flattery, evil songs harm the public, Fang Zhengzhi can't stand it, because of its sad Zen and write" Li Sao ". He also believes that Li Sao was written when Chu Huaiwang alienated Qu Yuan.