Siming and the Meaning of Life: A Comparative Interpretation of Qu Yuan's Jiu Ge and Lin Hwai-min's Jiu Ge

Centering on the representations of the Greater Siming and the Lesser Siming in Qu Yuan's Jiu Ge (Nine Songs), as well as on the stage treatment of the "Siming" sections in Lin Hwai-min's dance work Jiu Ge, this article examines different modes through which the "meaning of life" is articulated in classical Chinese literature and in contemporary dance adaptation. It begins by distinguishing between two spiritual paths, namely "salvation" and "release," and outlines the different ways in which Chinese and Western intellectual traditions have responded to existential predicament and its possible transcendence. It then turns to the text of Jiu Ge and its mythic-ritual context in order to analyze how the image of Siming in Qu Yuan's writing embodies existential distress, spiritual inquiry, and a tendency toward transcendence in the face of human finitude and historical frustration. Finally, through an examination of the stage imagery, corporeal writing, and modern transformation of the "Siming" scenes in Lin Hwai-min's Jiu Ge, the article argues that Lin's work is not a simple reproduction of the original text; rather, it intensifies, within a modern context, a sense of human powerlessness before divinity, fate, and the absurdity of existence. This study contends that Lin's treatment of Siming both preserves the mythic atmosphere of Jiu Ge and endows it with a modern consciousness of life, thereby transforming the question of the meaning of life from a spiritual inquiry in the classical text into an existential experience on the contemporary stage.