"Nine Songs" - Kyuka

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[Chu Ci]
During the Warring States period, the new verse literature that emerged in the state of Chu, which flourished in the Yangtze River basin in southern China, was the Chu Ci. The book was compiled during the Han dynasty, but the main part of it is 25 pieces composed by Qu Yuan, and is divided into two categories: dance songs for ceremonies (such as the Nine Songs) and monologue-style fu (such as the Li Sao). The former were probably once sung, but the latter were probably recited from the beginning, and the sentence structure is longer than the Book of Songs, with a set rhyme pattern of every other sentence (alternate rhyme). …

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "Nine Songs" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

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［楚辞］
　戦国時代，中国南部の長江(揚子江)流域でさかえた楚の国で起こった新しい韻文文学が〈楚辞〉である。その書は漢代に編集されるが，そのおもな部分は屈原の作25編で，祭礼の舞歌(《九歌》など)と独白体の〈賦〉(《離騒》など)の2類に分かれる。前者はかつては歌唱されていたであろうが，後者は初めから朗誦されたと思われ，句形は《詩経》より長く，韻のふみかたは1句おき(隔句韻)に定まっている。…

※「《九歌》」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報