formal style of this type of verse. Other Chu ci style verses were written, including some which survive, but are not generally included in the standard anthology. Wang Yi made an extensive commentary on the Chu ci, as well as appending his own "Nine Longings", as the seventeenth and final section. Authorship and editing Although Chu ci is an anthology of poems by many poets, Qu Yuan was its central figure, both as author of The Lament section and in the persona of protagonist. There are various other authors which are also thought to have written various sections of the Chu ci, as well as some sections which may derive from some traditional source. Various scholarly sources propose solutions for who wrote what, in the Chu ci, with more doubt or questions about some sections than others. Besides the actual authorship of the diverse material of the Chu ci, another scholarly concern is in regard to the history of who and when these pieces were collected and anthologized into one work, and also what other editorial work was done. Besides the authorship of the actual content, much commentary has been written in regard to the Chu ci, some of which is traditionally incorporated into the printed editions. Qu Yuan The name "Qu Yuan" does not occur in any text prior to the Han dynasty (202AD220). According to common tradition, Qu Yuan was an administrative official in the court of King Huai of Chu (r. 328–299) who advocated forming an alliance with the other states against the increasingly dominant power of the Qin kingdom, during the Warring States period; however, his advice was not taken and he was slandered by other officials in court: seeing the corruption of his colleagues and the inability of his king to appreciate his true worth, Qu Yuan went into exile and then finally committed suicide by wading into the Miluo River with a heavy rock, when Qin general Bo Qi sacked the Chu capital, Ying, 278 BC, forcing the royal court to relocate with considerable loss of territory. It is also traditionally said that it is in remembrance of the circumstances of Qu Yuan's death that the annual Dragon boat races are held. During his days of exile, Qu Yuan is thought to have written The Lament. The authorship, as in many a case of ancient literature, can be neither confirmed nor denied. Written in