屈原贾生列传 — Shiji

The Grand Officer Shang Guan was his colleague and equal in rank. Obsessing over royal favor, Shang Guan grew jealous of Qu Yuan's abilities. When King Huai assigned Qu Yuan to draft laws and ordinances, Qu Yuan prepared the initial draft but had not yet finalized it. Shang Guan saw the document and tried to seize it; Qu Yuan refused to give it up. Shang Guan thereupon slandered him to the king: "The king appointed Qu Yuan to draft these laws, yet everyone knows about it. Every time an edict is issued, Qu Yuan vaunts his own accomplishments, claiming that no one else could have done it." The king, enraged, distanced himself from Qu Yuan.

Qu Yuan lamented that the king's ears were deaf to truth, that calumny and flattery had obscured his vision, that crookedness harmed the public good, and that upright men found no tolerance. Therefore, in sorrow and deep contemplation, he composed the Li Sao.

Li Sao—"Lament on Encountering Sorrow"—conveys the meaning of "parting from sorrow." Heaven is the origin of humanity; parents are the root of the person. When people reach their limits, they return to fundamentals; when exhausted and in pain, they call out to heaven; when suffering and distressed, they call out to their parents. Qu Yuan followed the straight path and acted with integrity, giving his utmost loyalty and wisdom in service to his lord, yet slanderers came between them—his situation could not have been more desperate. Trusted, he was suspected; loyal, he was maligned. How could he not have resented it? Qu Yuan composed the Li Sao precisely because his resentment arose from within.

When Zhang Yi heard of this, he said, 'With just myself, Zhang Yi, I can be exchanged for the land of Hanzhong; I beg to go to Chu.' Arriving in Chu, he used generous gifts to bribe the powerful minister Jin Shang and devised specious arguments before King Huai's favored consort Zheng Xiu. King Huai in the end heeded Zheng Xiu and once again let Zhang Yi go free. At this time Qu Ping had already been sidelined and no longer held any important office. He had been sent as an envoy to Qi; upon his return, he remonstrated with King Huai, saying, 'Why did you not kill Zhang Yi?' King Huai regretted it and gave chase to Zhang Yi, but could not catch him.

King Huai mobilized all the state's military forces for a deep incursion into Qin, fighting at Lantian. When Wei heard of this, it invaded Chu, reaching Deng. The Chu army, terrified, withdrew from Qin. Meanwhile, Qi, furious, refused to come to Chu's aid. Chu found itself in dire straits.

By this time Qu Yuan had already been estranged, no longer holding his former position. When he was sent as an envoy to Qi, he returned and remonstrated with King Huai: "Why did you not execute Zhang Yi?" The king regretted his decision but was unable to overtake Zhang Yi.

Later, the other lords jointly attacked Chu, defeating them soundly and slaying their general Tang Mo. At this time, King Zhaoxiang of Qin sought marriage ties with Chu and wished to meet with King Huai. King Huai was inclined to go. Qu Yuan said: "Qin is a nation of tiger-wolves—it cannot be trusted. Better not to go." Zilan, the king's youngest son, urged the king to proceed: "How could we sever our friendship with Qin?" King Huai ultimately set out. Upon entering the Pass at Wu, Qin laid an ambush and cut off his retreat. They then detained King Huai and demanded territorial concessions. The king, furious, refused. He fled to Zhao, but Zhao would not admit him. He returned to Qin and ultimately died there, his body being sent back for burial.

His eldest son, King Qingxiang of Chu, ascended the throne and appointed his younger brother Zilan as Prime Minister. The people of Chu blamed Zilan for having urged King Huai to enter Qin, never to return. Qu Yuan harbored hatred for this; though exiled, he looked back toward Chu, his heart bound to King Huai, never forgetting his desire to return. He hoped the sovereign might awaken and the customs might reform. His concern for his sovereign and his ambition to revive the state—he expressed this aspiration three times in a single essay. Yet there was nothing to be done; he could not return, and thus he witnessed King Huai's utter failure to come to enlightenment.

The Yijing says: "The well leaks and is not drunk—this moves my heart to pity; one could still draw from it. If the ruler is enlightened, all share in the blessing. If the ruler is not enlightened, how can there be blessing?"

When Prime Minister Zilan heard of this, he flew into a rage. He had Shang Guan Daifu denounce Qu Yuan to King Qingxiang, who in his anger banished Qu Yuan to a remote place.

Qu Yuan came to the banks of the river. Disheveled, he wandered along the shore, reciting poetry. His face haggard, his form withered. A fisherman saw him and asked: "Are you not the Lord of the Three Passages? What brings you here?" Qu Yuan replied: "The world is foul, yet I alone am clean; the multitude is drunk, yet I alone am sober. This is why I have been cast out."

Its verses say:

Gladsome early summer, the grasses and trees flourish.

Grieving in eternal sorrow, I haste southward.

The gaze is veiled in depths of silence,

Wrongs entangle the heart, the suffering of separation knows no end.

Carving the square to make it round, yet the constant measure remains unchanged;

Changing the original course—gentlemen hold this in contempt.

Adorning patterns and functions—prior measures remain unchanged;

Being upright within, substantial in nature—great men prize this.

Who can discern his rule and compass?

Dark lacquer in hiding—