Chu ci:
A form of poetry created by Chu people represented by Qu Yuan in China during the Warring States Period. The name of Chu Ci was first seen in Sima Qian's Historical Records and Biographies of Cool Officials in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, Chu Ci was also called Ci or Ci Fu. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xiang collected 16 works by Qu Yuan, Song Yu and Huainan Xiaoshan, Dong Fangshuo, Wang Bo and Liu Xiang in the Han Dynasty, and named them "Songs of the South". Chuci became the name of poetry collection again. Qu Yuan's Li Sao is a masterpiece of Chu Ci, so Chu Ci is also called Sao Style or Sao Style.
Chu ci is developed on the basis of Chu folk songs through processing and refining, and has strong local characteristics. Due to the differences in geography and language environment, Chu has its own unique local music since ancient times, which was called Nanfeng and Nanyin in ancient times. There are also unique folk songs, such as Chu people's songs, Yue people's songs and Canglang songs recorded in Shuo Yuan. More importantly, Chu has a long history, witchcraft prevails in Chu, and Chu people entertain gods with songs and dances, so that myths are preserved in large quantities and poetry and music develop rapidly, which makes Chu folk songs full of primitive religious atmosphere. All these influences make Chu Ci have the unique rhyme of Chu, and at the same time, it has a deep romantic color and a strong witchcraft culture. It can be said that the emergence of Chu Ci is inseparable from the influence of Chu folk songs and cultural traditions.