Lisao

Illustrated edition of Lisao from 1645 (dating preface) with illustrations by Xiao Yuncong (萧云从 Xiāo Yúncóng, 1596–1673)

The Lisao ( 離騷 / 离骚 , Lí Sāo - "grief after separation / separation pain ") is an elegy (lament) in the Chuci of Qu Yuan .

In the Lisao , Qu Yuan tells how he was cast out by his prince and how he set out on a long journey that leads him to mythical realms. First it is told how the prince does not listen to the warnings, whereupon a lawsuit is initiated. Then the hermit life in the mountains is told, where Qu Yuan turns to the teachings of a shaman and embarks on a journey to the sources of truth. He goes on a journey into heaven on a dragon chariot, but is denied entry through the heavenly gate. Three bridal trips also fail and he travels to the end of the world, where suddenly his home state appears to him, whereupon he initiates one last lawsuit.

The Lisao represents an innovation in Chinese literature in terms of subject matter, form and metric .

Individual evidence

^ Werner Rüdenberg, Hans OH Stange: Chinese-German dictionary. Cram, DeGruyter & Co., Hamburg 1963, ISBN 3-11-003548-0 , p. 239, left column, 15th character combination from above . - Another interpretation of the title, which goes back to the Han period historian Ban Gu , reads the character li離 as a variant of li罹 with the meaning “encounter, suffer”. Accordingly, Lisao would mean something like "encounter with suffering" or "painful encounter". This interpretation is followed by David Hawkes in his authoritative English edition of Chuci (The Songs of the South, 1959), which Lisao translates as "On Encountering Trouble".

[1] Werner Rüdenberg, Hans OH Stange: Chinese-German dictionary. Cram, DeGruyter & Co., Hamburg 1963, ISBN 3-11-003548-0 , p. 239, left column, 15th character combination from above . - Another interpretation of the title, which goes back to the Han period historian Ban Gu , reads the character li離 as a variant of li罹 with the meaning “encounter, suffer”. Accordingly, Lisao would mean something like "encounter with suffering" or "painful encounter". This interpretation is followed by David Hawkes in his authoritative English edition of Chuci (The Songs of the South, 1959), which Lisao translates as "On Encountering Trouble".