View source for Song Yu

{{Short description|Chinese poet (3rd century BCE)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|c=宋玉
|p=Sòng Yù
|w=Sung<sup>4</sup> Yü<sup>4</sup>
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|s|ong|4|-|yu|4}}
|j=Sung<sup>3</sup> Juk<sup>6</sup>
|y=Sung Yuhk
|ci={{IPAc-yue|s|ung|3|-|j|uk|6}}
|poj= Sòng Gio̍k
|oc-bs=&ast;{{IPA|[s]ˤung-s [ng](r)ok}}
}}
'''Song Yu'''{{family name footnote|[[Song (Chinese name)|Song]]|lang=Chinese}} ({{zh|c=宋玉|w='''Sung Yü'''}}; {{fl.}} 298–263 BC) was a [[Chinese poet]] from the late [[Warring States period]], and is known as the traditional author of a number of poems in the [[Chuci|''Verses of Chu (Chu ci'' 楚辭'')'']].  Among the ''Verses of Chu'' poems usually attributed to Song Yu are those in the ''[[Nine Changes|Jiu Bian]]'' section. Also credited to Song Yu, somewhat improbably, are several ''[[fu (poetry)|fu]]'' collected in the 6th century literary anthology ''[[Wen Xuan]]''.{{sfnp|Hawkes|2011|p=207-8}}

== Biography ==
Biographic information about Song Yu tends to be anecdotal, rather than truly historical,{{sfnp|Hawkes|2011|p=207-8}} and little reliable information about Song's life exists.{{sfnp|Knechtges|2014|p=1007}}  Historical accounts agree that Song was from the [[Chu (state)|state of Chu]], and was born in the city of Yan {{lang|zh|鄢}} (modern [[Yicheng, Hubei|Yicheng]], [[Hubei Province]]), and lived during the reign of [[King Qingxiang of Chu|King Xiang of Chu]] (r. 298–263 BC).{{sfnp|Knechtges|2014|p=1008}}

== Works ==
According to the section covering literature and art in the ''[[Book of Han]]'', Song wrote 16 works, but only 14 of them have been handed down, such as ''[[Nine Changes|Jiu Bian]]'' and ''Dengtuzi Haose Fu'' ({{lang|zh|登徒子好色赋}}). However, it is uncertain if, with the exception of ''Jiu Bian'', these works were actually written by Song.  [[Wang Yi (librarian)|Wang Yi]] the noted ''Chu Ci'' anthologist and commentator also attributes the "''[[Zhao Hun]]''" (Summons of the Soul) to Song Yu.{{sfnp|Hawkes|2011|p=208}} As a writer of ''cifu'', Song was an accomplished successor to [[Qu Yuan]] with his own original style. In the ''[[fu (poetry)|fu]]'' poems attributed to Song Yu in the [[Wen Xuan]] literary anthology compiled by [[Xiao Tong]] (501–531), the poems appear in the context of a purported dialogue between Song Yu and [[King Qingxiang of Chu|King Xiang of Chu]], in which the King requests a ''fu'' on a certain subject.  However, this is likely to be a literary device deployed by a later author, rather than an authentic historical record of a real event.{{sfnp|Hawkes|2011|p=207-8}} Song's name has long been put together with Qu Yuan's as "Qu-Song". Qu Yuan is known for writing poems with a strong personal voice.

Song Yu's main contribution to [[Classical Chinese poetry]] can be considered to be the development of the theme of nature together with an implicit sense of inherent [[pathos]].{{sfnp|Hawkes|2011|p=208}} Apart from proving a rich source of reference points for Chinese poets in centuries to come, many Chinese idioms that are still widely used today can be traced back to his poems.

==See also==
*[[List of Chu Ci contents]]
*[[Liu An]]
*[[Liu Xiang (scholar)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{ref begin}}
*{{cite book|editor-link1=David Hawkes (sinologist)|editor-last=Hawkes|editor-first=David|date=2011|title=The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets|location=London|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-044375-2}}
* {{cite book | first=David R. | last=Knechtges | authorlink=David R. Knechtges | chapter=Song Yu 宋玉 | editor-first=David R. | editor-last=Knechtges | editor-first2=Taiping | editor-last2=Chang | title=Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Part Two | year=2014 | publisher=Brill | location=Leiden |pages=1007–1022 | isbn=978-90-04-19240-9 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{ref begin}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Jiang|first=Liangfu|archive-date=2007-09-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095656/http://203.72.198.245/web/Content.asp?ID=64734&Query=1|title=Song Yu|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of China]] (Chinese Literature Edition)|edition=1st|url=http://203.72.198.245/web/Content.asp?ID=64734&Query=1}}
{{ref end}}

== External links ==
* {{gutenberg author| id=Song+yu | name=Song Yu}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:3rd-century BC Chinese poets]]
[[Category:Chu state people]]
[[Category:Zhou dynasty poets]]