Heavenly Questions

Heavenly Questions or Questions to Heaven (traditional Chinese: 天問; simplified Chinese: 天问; pinyin: Tiānwèn) is an important section of the Classical Chinese poetry collection Chuci. The collection is important both for the poetic verse which it contains as well as being a source for information on the ancient culture of China, especially the area of the state of Chu. According to legend, Qu Yuan wrote this series of questions in verse after viewing various scenes depicted on temple murals.^[1][2]

Description

The Heavenly Questions consists of a series of verses, in question format, addressed to Tian, or Heaven. The questions asked revolve around Chinese mythology and ancient Chinese religious beliefs, and perceived contradictions thereof.

Influence

Examples of the influence of the Heavenly Questions include the poem of Li He, which A. C. Graham translates as "Don't Go Out of the Door"; and also, as well, the lyrics of the Pink Floyd song "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", attributed to Roger Waters, and which was inspired by the Li He's lyrics, as translated by A. C. Graham. This translation features the line: "Witness the man who raved at the wall as he wrote his questions to Heaven"^[3].

Notes

References

• Graham, A. C. (1977). Poems of the Late T'ang. New York, New York: The New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-257-5
• Hinton, David (2008). Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. ISBN 0374105367 / ISBN 9780374105365.
• Yang, Lihui, et al. (2005). Handbook of Chinese Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533263-6