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Qu Yuan Quotes (-340--278)
Poet
About Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC) was a Chinese poet and minister who lived during the Warring States period of ancient China.
Best Qu Yuan Quotes
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Qu Yuan quotes.
“惟夫党人之偷乐兮，路幽昧以险隘。
• The fools enjoy their careless pleasure,
But their way is dark and leads to danger.”
• The fools enjoy their careless pleasure,
But their way is dark and leads to danger.”
“世溷浊而不分兮，好蔽美而嫉妒。
• The muddy, impure world, so undiscriminating,
Seeks always to hide beauty, out of jealousy.”
• The muddy, impure world, so undiscriminating,
Seeks always to hide beauty, out of jealousy.”
“O Soul come back to watch the birds in flight!
He who has found such manifold delights
Shall feel his cheeks aglow
And the blood-spirit dancing through his limbs.”
He who has found such manifold delights
Shall feel his cheeks aglow
And the blood-spirit dancing through his limbs.”
“O Soul go not to the West
Where level wastes of sand stretch on and on;
And demons rage, swine-headed, hairy-skinned,
With bulging eyes;
Who in wild laughter gnash projecting fangs.
O Soul go not to the West
Where many perils wait!”
Where level wastes of sand stretch on and on;
And demons rage, swine-headed, hairy-skinned,
With bulging eyes;
Who in wild laughter gnash projecting fangs.
O Soul go not to the West
Where many perils wait!”
“乱曰：已矣哉，
国无人莫我知兮，又何怀乎故都？
既莫足与为美政兮，吾将从彭咸之所居。
• Enough! There are no true men in the state: no one to understand me.
Why should I cleave to the city of my birth?
Since none is worthy to work with in making good government,
I will go and join Peng Xian in the place where he abides.”
国无人莫我知兮，又何怀乎故都？
既莫足与为美政兮，吾将从彭咸之所居。
• Enough! There are no true men in the state: no one to understand me.
Why should I cleave to the city of my birth?
Since none is worthy to work with in making good government,
I will go and join Peng Xian in the place where he abides.”
Quotes About Qu Yuan
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Qu Yuan from others.
Marilyn Chin on Qu Yuan
“Am I not the poet of witness?...Am I not a descendent of Qu Yuan, whose lyric intensity caused him to drown himself in the Mi Lo River in protest?”
Lin Yutang on Qu Yuan
“Ch'u Yüan (B.C. 343–c. 290) ranks undoubtedly as one of the three or four greatest poets of China characterized by his intensity of feeling, his rich mythological details, and his somber imagination. The Songs of Ch'u belong in an entirely different category from either the poems of Confucian China, or from the later T'ang poems. His poems are at the same time among those most difficult to read in Chinese.”
About Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC) was a Chinese poet and minister who lived during the Warring States period of ancient China.