Li Sao
Qu Yuan
Lineage and Names
Meet a person through his name.
The poet begins with his ancestry, his birth date and his names, then turns to his inner qualities and the fragrant herbs he wears. Listen to how he introduces himself: what he prizes is not only where he comes from, but the chance to keep cultivating himself.
帝高阳之苗裔兮，朕皇考曰伯庸。
I descend from the ancient lord Gaoyang; my late father bore the name Boyong.
摄提贞于孟陬兮，惟庚寅吾以降。
In the year of Sheti, in the first month of spring, on a gengyin day I came into the world.
皇览揆余初度兮，肇锡余以嘉名。
My father read the signs of my birth and gave me auspicious names:
名余曰正则兮，字余曰灵均。
he named me Zhengze, "True Pattern," and styled me Lingjun, "Spirit Balance."
纷吾既有此内美兮，又重之以修能。
Rich in inner beauty from the start, I added to it with cultivated skill.
扈江离与辟芷兮，纫秋兰以为佩。
I draped myself in jiangli and hidden angelica, and strung autumn lan herbs for a pendant.
The names express an upright ideal; the fragrant pendants make personal cultivation visible. The opening links an inherited identity to qualities the speaker intends to keep developing.