About the Author

Although Chu Ci is an anthology of poems by many poets, Qu Yuan was doubtless its central figure. Jiu Ge ("Nine Songs"), also attributed to Qu Yuan, is the first example of what could be called shamanic literature in China. It is in remembrance of the circumstances of his death that the annual Dragon boat races are held. David Hawkes was Professor of Chinese at Oxford University from 1959 to 1971. From 1973 to 1983 he was a Research Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and subsequently became an Emeritus Fellow. He died in Oxford on Friday 31 July 2009.

Reviews

"The Songs of the South is cause for celebration. There is simply no substitute. The text is fundamental to the Chinese tradition, and Hawkes’s introduction itself is a work of wonder. It should be kept in print in perpetuity." — Philip Kafalas, Associate Professor of Chinese, Georgetown University