In the 11th year of Chu Huaiwang, Qu Yuan was promoted from a literary courtier to the left. This position is quite high, second only to Ling Yin, the chief executive of Chu, and equivalent to the later deputy prime minister. At this time, Qu Yuan was only 22 years old.
Qu Yuan's rise on the political stage of Chu State and his series of political opinions had a great influence both inside and outside the Chu Palace. The people clapped their hands and cheered, but it caused panic among the aristocratic forces. Because Qu Yuan's political ideas, especially his reform ideas, have a lot in common with Wu Qi, a reformer in Chu's early years, which is obviously unfavorable to the old aristocratic forces and a heavy blow to the pro-Qin faction in Chu. The representatives of these two forces are Lingyin Zijue, Shangguan Doctor Jin Shang and later Gongzi Lan. They became best friends. They spoke ill of Qu Yuan in front of Wang Huai and slandered him with evil words.
Although Wang Huai admired Qu Yuan very much, the other side of his character was arrogance, simple mind and no opinion. Chu Huaiwang can't stand the incitement of Zheng Xiu and Shanxi merchants. In a rage, he alienated Qu Yuan, removed Qu Yuan from his post as a disciple, appointed him in charge of state affairs, and prevented him from participating in state affairs. Since then, Qu Yuan has been unhappy.
In the thirty-third year of Chu Huaiwang, Qu Yuan was politically frustrated. Seeing that the pro-Qin faction gained the upper hand, he took advantage of the opportunity of bringing his son back and silently offering sacrifices to the whole country to expose the crimes of those pro-Qin factions that brought disaster to the country and the people, and suffered a heavier blow. His exile marked the end of his political career.
It can be said that Qu Yuan's life is a tragedy. Throughout his life, he "walked on the right path and exhausted his loyalty and wisdom". Why did he "believe and see doubt, but be slandered and loyal"? He's confused. He turned anger into poetry. He has written more than 20 works, such as Li Sao, Nine Questions, Nine Songs and Nine Chapters, expressing his ardent feelings of loving the motherland, sympathizing with the people, longing for light and hating darkness. These poems are immortal now.
In the twenty-first year of King Xiang of Chu, Qin captured the capital of Chu. Qu Yuan, who had been in exile in Dongting Lake basin for a long time, knew that Chu was doomed and was unable to return to heaven, so he had to be martyred and died in early May of that year at the age of 62.
Qu Yuan's life is a tragedy, a tragedy of patriots, a tragedy of reformers, and a tragedy in which justice is destroyed by evil. As a politician and reformer, he failed all his life. His ideals and career will always be regretted by future generations. But as a great thinker and writer, he succeeded. His character of caring for the country and the people, being honest and clean was praised as a model by later generations. His magnificent works and gorgeous words are masterpieces of the world literature hall. The style of "Chu Ci" created by him is unique in the history of China literature, and it is also called "coquettish" with the Book of Songs, which has a positive impact on later poetry creation. Modern scholar Liang Qichao first recommended Qu Yuan as "the ancestor of China writers". Guo Moruo commented that Qu Yuan was a "great patriotic poet", a shining star in the era of bright stars, and "especially a colorful first-class star". Wen Yiduo commented that Qu Yuan was "the only person with sufficient conditions to be called a people's poet in the history of China". The History of China Literature rated Qu Yuan as "the first great patriotic poet in the history of China". The Encyclopedia of China Literature rated Qu Yuan as "the founder of romantic literature in China".