Songs of the South can be said to be the first work in which metaphor is widely used in political satire. Song of the South emphasizes religious politics and personal expression. A poetic style that arose in Chu State during the Warring States Period. The name of "Chuci" was first seen in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. Han people are sometimes referred to as "Ci" or even "Ci Fu". Moreover, because the most representative work of Chu Ci is Qu Yuan's Li Sao, later generations also refer to Chu Ci with "Sao".
The category of "Sao" in Xiao Tong's Selected Works and the chapter of "Distinguishing Sao" in Liu Xie's Wen Xin Diao Long serve the whole Chu Ci. Since the Han Dynasty, "Songs of the South" has become a general collection of works by Qu Yuan and others.
Brief introduction of Chu ci
Chu Ci is the first collection of romantic poems in the history of China literature, which is said to be a new poetic style created by Qu Yuan. The name of "Songs of the South" existed in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty and was compiled by Liu Xiangnai. Wang Yi wrote chapters and sentences in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Qu Yuan and Song Yu in the Warring States Period, Huai Nan Zi Shan, Dong Fangshuo, Wang Bao and Liu Xiang in the Han Dynasty. Later, Wang Yi added his Jiu Si to Article 17. The book is mainly based on Qu Yuan's works, and the rest are also in the form of Qu Fu.
Songs of the South is of extraordinary significance to the whole cultural system of China, especially to literature. It created the poetic style of China's romantic literature, so later generations called this style "Chu Ci" and "Sao". Poetry, novel, prose and drama all exist to varying degrees.