楚辞

"On the other hand, Elegies of the South may be said to be the earliest collection of romantic poems written by poets of the largest State of Chu along the Blue River or the Yangzi Valley, permeated with time-hallowed tradition, fantastic imagination and violent emotions of a mythical world."

This snippet, taken from the Preface, covers well the nature of this work: a staggering collection of almost reckless romantic poetry that shaped and influenced Chinese stories and culture to modern times.