"The Great Summons" or ''"Da Zhao"'' ()
is one of the poems anthologized in the ancient Chinese poetry collection, the ''
Chu ci
The ''Chu ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu,'' ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period ...
'', also known as ''The Songs of the South''. "The Great Summons" consists of a single poem without introduction or epilog. Its authorship has been attributed to
Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' ...
and to the otherwise relatively unknown Jing Cuo. (Hawkes, 2011
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
232-233) It is very similar, but shorter, than another of the ''Chu ci'' poems,
Zhao Hun
Summons of the Soul, Summoning of the Soul, or Zhao Hun (; Pinyin: Zhāo Hún) is one of the poems anthologized in the ancient Chinese poetry collection, the ''Chu Ci''. The "Summons of the Soul" consists of a four-part poem. The first part consis ...
, ("Summons of the Soul"). Both poems derive from a shamanic tradition of summoning the soul of the someone who has seemed to die, most likely originally with the intention of having it to re-animate its former body (but in the later literary tradition this was meant more allegorically). The two poems both follow a similar pattern: threats of dangers lurking in all directions to which the soul might wander and then tempting descriptions of magnificent sensual pleasures which would be available as a reward for the souls obedient return. (Hawkes, 2011
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
219-221)
Interpretations
Various interpretations of "The Great Summons" have been made, as to whose soul is being summoned, by whom, and in what context. According to a historically unlikely tradition, Qu Yuan was on the verge of suicide for political reasons, and wrote "The Great Summons" to persuade himself to cling to life.
Selection from "The Great Summons"
In the "Great Summons", food is described with a rhapsodic and worldly joy. "The Great Summons" describes a sumptuous feast, designed to tempt a fleeing soul back to the body when it is on the point of fleeing away permanently:
See also
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Chu (state)
*
Chuci
The ''Chu ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu,'' ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period ...
*
List of Chuci contents
This is a list of the sections and individual pieces contained within the ancient poetry anthology ''Chu Ci'' (), also known as ''Songs of the South'' or ''Songs of Chu'', which is an anthology of Classical Chinese poetry verse traditionally attr ...
*
Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' ...
大招(Wikisource, in Chinese)
External links
MORE TRANSLATIONS FROM THE CHINESE, by Arthur Waley
Notes
References
*
Hawkes, David, translator and introduction (2011
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
. Qu Yuan ''et al.'', ''The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets''. London: Penguin Books.
*Qu Yuan, translation by Arthur Waley, from ''MORE TRANSLATIONS FROM THE CHINESE'', Alfred E. Knopf, 1919.
{{Chinese poetry
Chinese poems