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Lord E Zixi
A Chu lord who, according to Liu Xiang's Shuoyuan, had a Yue boatman's song translated into the Chu tongue and covered the singer with his embroidered quilt: the story behind the Song of the Yue Boatman.
Mural of the cultural record “Sung Shijing and Chu Verse”, which this person is tied to.
Also known as Lord of E · Zi Zixi
- Roles
- Chief Ministers
Lord E Zixi was a Chu noble, called Lord of E after his fief, Zixi being his courtesy name. In a speech by Zhuang Xin recorded in Liu Xiang's Shuoyuan (chapter Shanshuo), he appears as a full brother of the king of Chu who served as chief minister with the rank of zhigui. Boating in his blue-feathered barge, he heard a Yue oarsman sing a song he could not understand, had it rendered into the Chu language, then embraced the singer and covered him with an embroidered quilt; the song became known as the Song of the Yue Boatman. His identity is disputed: some take him to be Prince Heigong, son of King Gong of Chu, others the Lord Qi of E enfeoffed under King Huai.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; identified either with Prince Heigong of Chu (d. 529 BCE) or with Lord Qi of E (4th century BCE)