In the Voice of Qu Yuan Lu Yun’s Perception and Practice of Writing the “Jiumin” (Nine Sufferings)

Abstract

Since the time of the Eastern Han (25–220), the composition of “Nines,” suites of nine poems written in the Chuci style, has been perceived as a practice to transmit the paradigmatic poet Qu Yuan’s texts and intention. The actual practice of composition, however, invites the negotiation, if not tension, between two voices: the actual author’s and that of Qu Yuan’s texts. This paper examines Lu Yun’s 陸雲 (262–303) “Jiumin” 九愍 (Nine sufferings), a rewriting of Qu Yuan’s “Jiuzhang” 九章 (Nine declarations), in light of Lu Yun’s private letters clarifying his prin- ciples of rewriting. I argue that, despite Lu Yun’s claimed fidelity to Qu Yuan, the suite is largely a private projection of Lu’s own literary criticism and family experience, a projection giving rise to an anachronistic persona of Qu Yuan in the poems. Through a close reading of the “Jiumin” and Lu’s literary criticism, the paper sheds light on the authorial role in rewriting canonical texts and its cultural significance.