Chu Ci - Questions of Authorship

Questions of Authorship

See also: Qu Yuan section, above

Since the Western Han dynasty, scholars have debated the authenticity of several of the works previously attributed to Qu Yuan:

Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian mentions five of Qu Yuan's works: Li Sao ("Encountering Sorrow"), Tian Wen, Zhao Hun ("Summoning of the Soul"), Ai Ying ("Lament for Ying"), Huai Sha.

According to Wang Yi of the Eastern Han dynasty, a total of 25 works can be attributed to Qu Yuan: Li Sao, Jiu Ge (consisting of 11 pieces), Tian Wen, Jiu Zhang (all 9 pieces), Yuan You, Pu Ju, and Yu Fu.

Wang Yi chose to attribute Zhao Hun to another contemporary of Qu Yuan, Song Yu; most modern scholars, however, consider Zhao Hun to be Qu Yuan's original work, whereas Yuan You, Pu Ju, and Yu Fu are believed to have been composed by others. Similarly, Wang's attribution of the Qijian to Dongfang Shuo is suspect.

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