Heavenly Questions

"Tianwen" redirects here. For other uses, see Tianwen (disambiguation).

Heavenly Questions (Tian Wen), attributed to Qu Yuan, but with evidence of an older source or sources. From the book The Illustrated Li Sao, illustrated by Xiao Yuncong, and inscribed by Tang Yongxian. Note that the title in the upper right is somewhat cut off due to some reason related to the historical preservation of the original before it was pasted down on a new sheet of paper.

The Heavenly Questions or Questions to Heaven (traditional Chinese: 天問; simplified Chinese: 天问; pinyin: Tiānwèn) is a piece contained in the Classical Chinese poetry collection of Chu Ci, which is noted both in terms of poetry and as a source for information on the ancient culture of China, especially the area of the ancient state of Chu. Of all the poems attributed to Qu Yuan, "Tianwen" contains more myths than any of the other pieces which may be attributed to him; however, due to the formal structure of "Tianwen" as a series of questions, information regarding the myths alluded to appear more as a series of allusive fragments than as cohesively narrated stories.[1]

According to legend, Qu Yuan wrote this series of questions in verse after viewing various scenes depicted on temple murals;[2][3] specifically, it is said that following his exile from the royal court of Chu, Qu Yuan looked upon the depictions of the ancestors and the gods painted upon the walls of the ancestral temple of Chu; and, then, in response, wrote his questions to Heaven, upon these same walls.[4]

  1. ^ Yang 2005, 8-10
  2. ^ Hinton 2008, 58
  3. ^ Yang 2005, 8-9
  4. ^ Yang 2005, 8-9