Almost nothing is known of his life beyond stories of him at the court of King Xiang of Chu. Paired with
屈原 as
屈宋, he is credited with 《
九辩》, an autumn lament that began the long tradition of autumn sorrow,
悲秋, in Chinese poetry, and with 《
高唐赋》, 《
风赋》 and 《
对楚王问》, the source of
曲高和寡.
