中英雙語話中國歷史名人 第43期:屈原

Qu Yuan(340 B.C.~270 B. C.), whose real name was Ping (Yuan was his courtesy name. He once called himself Zhengze with a courtesy name as Lingjun), is remembered as a patriotic poet in ancient China.

屈原(公元前340年~公元前270年)，名平，字原，又自雲名正則，字靈均。

He was born to an aristocratic family which belonged to the same clan of the King of the State of Chu.

出身於楚國貴族，與楚王同姓。

As a court minister, Qu Yuan attempted to persuade the king to promote the talented and to govern with laws and regulations in purpose of achieving "perfect ruling". He also wished that the State of Chu could, through political reforms, become a sovereign and affluent power, capable of reunifying the war-torn China.

他輔佐楚懷王，曾任左徒和三閭大夫，具有進步的政治理想。主張舉賢授能，修明法度，實行“美政”，希望通過楚國內部的政治改革，使國家獨立富強，進而統一中國。

However, the kings of Chu fell for the influence of some corrupt and jealous court officials who slandered Qu Yuan and banished him as a result.

後來屈原爲子蘭、靳尚等人讒害，被懷王放逐到漢北，又被襄王流放於江南。

Upon hearing the news that the capital of Chu was captured by the State of Qin, Qu Yuan ended his life in frustration by leaping into the Miluo River.

楚國淪亡後，自沉汨羅江而死。

Qu Yuan's unswerving spirit of fortitude and patriotism shined through his entire life and was embodied in his literary works.

不屈不撓的鬥爭精神和始終不渝的愛國熱情，是屈原思想與性格中最輝煌的地方，他的作品是他一生鬥爭的實錄。

Li Sao, his key poetic work, is the first existing long lyric poem in the history of Chinese literature and a masterpiece of romanticism.

代表作《離騷》是我國詩歌史上現存第一篇宏偉壯麗的抒情長詩，也是一篇浪漫主義的傑作。

In this first-person narrative poem, he successfully created the image of a chaste and lofty gentleman by using himself as the prototype.

這是一篇自敘性長詩，以詩人自身爲原型，成功地塑造了一個純潔高大的抒情主人公形象。

Loaded with romantic ideas, Li Sao was compiled into an anthology of poetry called Chu Ci (or Odes of Chu), which marks the fountainhead of the romantic strain of Chinese literature. Li Sao was also made comparable with the major collection of Chinese poems, Shi Jing (The Book of Songs).

濃厚的浪漫主義色彩，是其中最引人注目的成就。以《離騷》爲代表的楚辭成爲我國詩歌浪漫主義傳統的源頭，與《詩經》被後人並稱爲“詩騷”。

Other works of Qu Yuan include Jiu Ge (Eleven Odes), a collection of surrealistic lyric poems adapted from ritual songs of the State of Chu. His Jiu Zhang (Nine Elegies) faithfully records his life in exile and expresses his intense political frustration and patriotic emotions. In Tian Wen (The Riddle), he bombards with 170 questions throughout the poem, presenting his extensive learning and inquisitive spirit.

此外，屈原的作品中，《九歌》，11篇，是在楚國民間祭神樂歌的基礎上改寫而成的一組體制獨特的抒情詩，充滿奇異而濃烈的神靈氣息;《九章》，9篇，真實記敘了放逐期間的生活經歷，表達了他在政治上的苦悶和強烈的愛國情感;《天問》則從頭至尾一口氣提出了170個問題，充分反映了詩人思想的博大和勇於探求真理、敢於大膽懷疑的精神。

As one of the earliest great poets in Chinese literature, Qu Yuan marked a turning point from poetry as collective chanting to independent composition.

屈原是中國文學史上第一個偉大的詩人，開創了中國詩歌從集體歌唱到個人獨立創作的新紀元。