Qu Ping, courtesy name Yuan, often called Qu Yuan, also named Zhengze from Yun, nicknamed Lingjun, Han nationality, a native of Danyang (now Zigui, Hubei) of the Chu State at the end of the Warring States Period, a descendant of Qu Xia, the son of Xiong Tong, King Wu of Chu . Although Qu Yuan was loyal to King Huai of Chu, he was repeatedly ostracized. After King Huai's death, he was exiled because King Qingxiang believed in slander, and eventually threw himself into the Miluo River and died. Qu Yuan is one of China's greatest romantic poets, the earliest known poet in my country, and a world cultural celebrity. He founded the literary style of "Chu Ci" and also created the tradition of "Vanilla Beauty". Representative works include "Li Sao" and "Nine Songs".
"The water in Canglang is clear, so I can wash my tassel; the water in Canglang is turbid, I can wash my feet." After Qu Yuan was exiled, in a conversation with his fisherman, the fisherman advised him He "gets along with the world" and does not "think deeply and exalt himself" and seek trouble for himself. Qu Yuan said that he would rather throw himself into the river and die than let his innocent body suffer the dust of the world. According to the fisherman, one does not need to be too arrogant in life. If the world is clean and honest, you can become an official; if the world is turbid, you can rise and fall with the world. As for "thinking deeply and exalting" and ending up in exile, it is unnecessary. The conversation between Qu Yuan and the fisherman showed two philosophies of life. In 278 BC, the Qin State captured Yingdu, the capital of the Chu State. On May 5 of that year, Qu Yuan, out of despair and grief, threw himself into the Miluo River with a large stone in his arms and died. The Dragon Boat Festival also comes from this.
Qu Yuan was born into a noble family of Chu State. Like the king of Chu, Qu Yuan had the same surname as Mi (mǐ), but later changed his surname to Xiong. This surname comes from the Zhu Rong clan of the Huangdi Zhuanxu system; the Mi tribe migrated from the Shang Dynasty to Chu in the south. When it was passed to Xiong Yi, they were granted the title of Chu by Zhou for their merits and settled in Danyang (which is now Zigui County, Hubei Province). This is Qu Yuan's hometown. In the early Spring and Autumn Period, around the 7th century BC, the son of Xiong Tong, King Wu of Chu, was granted the title of Qu Xia in the place of "Qu", and his descendants took Qu as their surname. Similar to the Qu family, the descendants of the King of Chu include the Ruoao and Xie families in the Spring and Autumn Period; the Zhao family and the Jing family in the Warring States Period. Zhao, Qu, and Jing are the three major surnames of the Chu family. The Qu family can From the early Spring and Autumn Period to the late Warring States Period, this family has always been at the top of the Chu State. This family can be said to have endured for a long time. Qu Yuan once served as the Sanlu doctor, and it is said that he was in charge of the affairs of the three surnames of the royal family.
Since Qu Yuan was the descendant of the King of Chu, which was called a "gong clan" or "gongshi" at that time, his relationship with the Chu State was of course unusual. The descendants of the Qu family, such as Qu Chong, Qu Wan, Qu Dao, Qu Jian, etc., all held important positions in the Chu State. Qu Yuan's father was Boyong. In Qu Yuan's generation, there were not many high-ranking officials in the Qu family, only Qu Yuan and Qu Gai, the general who was later captured by the Qin State. Qu Yuan's "Nine Chapters of Chu Ci": "Suddenly forgetting the lowliness and poverty of the body." It is likely that the noble family was already in decline at that time.