"Nine Regrets" () is the 11th of the 17 major sections of the ancient Chinese poetry collection ''

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'' or ''The Songs of Chu''. The "Nine Regrets" consists of nine verses plus an

envoi Envoi or envoy in poetry is used to describe: * A short stanza at the end of a poem such as a ballad, used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem. * A dedicatory poem about sending the book o ...

(''luan''), each individually titled, written according to the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

literary revival style based upon the earlier (pre-Han) pieces in the ''Chu ci'' anthology. The "Nine Regrets" is one of the several collections of poems grouped under the title of "Nine" something-or-others, which do not necessarily consist of 9 pieces of poetry. ''Nine Regrets'' consists of nine main pieces plus a ''luan'', or

(Hawkes, 2011

985 Year 985 (Roman numerals, 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, Duke of Bavaria, Henry II (the Wrangler) is rest ...

36-37 and 269–280). The "Nine Regrets" poems are attributed to the Shu poet

Wang Bao Wang Bao ( 84 53 BCE), courtesy name Ziyuan (子淵), was a Chinese poet during the Western Han Dynasty. He was well versed in the Classical Chinese poetry tradition. He was involved in the ''Chu Ci'' poetry revival which took place in the second ...

() who flourished during the reign of Emperor Xuan (r. 74 BCE – BCE 49). (Hawkes, 2011

269–270)

Title

The Han era literary revival of the ''Chu ci'' style of poetry included the use of many historical allusions to the past events related to events which occurred during the existence of the Kingdom of Chu, which had been annexed by the

state of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ex ...

in BCE 223. These are events which are alluded to in the older ''Chu ci'' pieces, especially the ''

Li Sao "''Li Sao''" (; translation: "Encountering Sorrow") is an ancient Chinese poem from the anthology ''Chuci'' traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan. ''Li Sao'' dates from the late 3rd century BCE, during the Chinese Warring States period. Backgrou ...

'', which included the relationship between the "loyal minister"

Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the Chu (state), State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to Classical Chinese poetry, classical poetry and verses, ...

who was "slandered at court", and thus, "lost the favor of his lord",

King Huai of Chu King Huai of Chu (, died 296 BC) was from 328 to 299 BC the king of the state of Chu during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Huai () and King Huai (懷, a different Chinese character) was his posthumous title. Kin ...

. The Chinese characters in the title of the "Nine Regrets", in their traditional form are 九懷. In modern Chinese the character 九 means the ''quantity'' of 9, whereas anciently 九 was used more symbolically, representing some ''quality'' of 9: in this case a reference to the older sections of the ''Chu ci'', such as the "

Jiu Ge ''Jiu Ge'', or ''Nine Songs'', () is an ancient set of poems. Together, these poems constitute one of the 17 sections of the poetry anthology which was published under the title of the ''Chuci'' (also known as the ''Songs of Chu'' or as the ''S ...

" (or, "Nine Songs"), which itself consists of 11 verses. The character 懷 may refer to ''huái'', meaning "regret"; but, it is also the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

used for King Huai of Chu (his given name, also Huai, was represented by the character 槐).

Verse form

The "Nine Regrets" poems are written in the ''Shijing'' song style; that is, quadruple meter, generally in rhyming quatrains.

The contents of ''Nine Regrets'' consist of nine main pieces plus a ''luan'' (

): *I Release from Worldly Contrivings (Kuang ji) *II A Road to Beyond (Tong lu) *III Dangerous Heights (Wei jun) *IV A Light on the World (Zhao shi) *V Honouring the Good (Zun jia) *VI Stored Blossoms (Xu ying) *VII Thoughts on Loyalty Bent (Si zhong) *VIII Raising Barriers (Tao yong) *IX Quenching the Light (Zhu zhao) *X Luan (envoi)

References

* Hawkes, David, translator and introduction (2011

. Qu Yuan ''et al.'', ''The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets''. London: Penguin Books. {{Chinese poetry Chinese poems

Title

Verse form

Contents

See also

References