220;Lisao” (Encountering Sorrow). It is ninety-two stanzas long, with four lines per stanza. In comparison to other poems of the Chuci, this is a long poem, but justifiably long. Like many other works in the Chuci Tradition, “Encountering Sorrow” makes numerous references to flowers, herbs, and spices, but their interpretations are up in the air. The reason for this is partly due to the difficulty of translation. Owen contends that the floral characteristics could refer to “qualities of the deity, who is, on one occasion addressed by a flower name.” It is important to note the existence of this debate; how one interprets the flowers will have an impact on the meaning of the poem. “Encountering Sorrow” appears to be an autobiographical work by Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan is like an ancient version of today’s postal worker. According to Wilt Idema and Lloyd Haft, “Qu Yuan became the archetypical model of the loyal but unrecognized official.” He is disgruntled, and this dissatisfaction evolves into torment. He was under appreciated by his king, and fell into the king’s disfavor as a result of rivals who slandered him! The poet says, “They made scurrilous songs, / they said I loved lewdness.” / Legend has it that he was banished from his homeland. He allegorically represents his exile by comparing himself to a shaman who is in love with a goddess and then wrongfully scorned and the affair is broken off. Qu Yuan writes in “Encountering Sorrow” of how the times were morally backwards; how the wicked are promoted and the good are banished: Of these times the firm folkways: to be skillful in guile, facing compass and square, they would alter the borehole. They forswear the straight line, go chasing the crooked; rivals for false faces, such is their measure. He is left feeling hollow. He yearns for a new match, a new lover. Surely, the events that had st...
