Echoes of History Biography: Qu Yuan 屈原

 Qu Yuan 屈原 

(Pre-Qin, Warring States period, c. 340 BC – 278 BC)

Image source: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%B1%88%E5%8E%9F/6109

Patriot and poet who died for his cause, a symbol of the idealistic statesman with noble ambitions. Born during the Warring States period, Qu Yuan was a man of exceptional talent with the political will to match. He harboured grand ambitions to build up his homeland, the Kingdom of Chu. He was also known to have held himself to a high moral standard and was compassionate to the people’s plight. His virtues won him the trust and support of the then King Huai of Chu (楚怀王) to push for a series of governmental reforms. However, his reforms evoked the ire and jealousy of his colleagues. They banded together to disparage and defame Qu Yuan before their king. This caused the king to first distant him, then dismissed him from his post and banished him from court altogether. While in exile, the court became increasingly corrupt as the kings heeded self-serving courtiers. Miscalculations after miscalculations finally led to the kingdom’s destruction. Devastated by the fall of his kingdom, despaired from the utter failure of his life’s mission, Qu Yuan completed his long form poem, “Li Sao” (translated as “The Lament” or “Encountering Sorrows”), then threw himself into the Miluo River, a tributary to the Xiang River.

Excerpts of his poem have been arranged into modern songs:

Link to this song with English translations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhLCaSgquXs Second song, from a different excerpt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa4txQTjOH4

In some records, it is said Qu Yuan met an old fisherman while trailing by the river. Upon learning about his predicament, the fisherman advised him with such words: “If the river water is clear, I can wash my hat in it. If the river water is murky, I can wash my feet in it.” But Qu Yuan could not accept compromising on his principles, so he chose instead to die for his cause. The Dragon Boat Festival (or Midyear festival, “Duanwu”), occurring around June every year, is set as a day of remembrance for Qu Yuan. It is also said that as a final gesture of appreciation, people threw rice dumplings (“zongzi”) into the river so that the fishes will eat those instead of Qu Yuan’s body, and made great commotion (e.g., rowing dragon boats) to drive the schools of fishes away.

Zongzi rice dumplings.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zongzi

Trivia: A guy dubbed “the most hardcore Qu Yuan cosplay in history” jumps into the river every year during the Dragon Boat Festival: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1y4411g7Uc/

Qu Yuan as a character in the game and music production, “Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu” (忘川风华录), roughly translated as “Records of Magnificience by the River of Oblivion”.

This image is the thumbnail for a fan-written song about Qu Yuan, “Song of the Old Fisherman”. Source: https://zh.moegirl.org.cn/zh-hk/%E6%B8%94%E7%88%B6%E5%90%9F