Dr WU Ka-Chun Gary, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies

A Structural Reassessment of Cao Zhi’s Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo River. From Tradition to Innovation: The Fourth Hong Kong Young Scholars Research Forum on History and Literature. School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Chinese Literature, Centre for Asian Studies, Hong Kong Chu Hai College; School of Arts and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Metropolitan University; Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Hong Kong Shue Yan University & Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, 22 February 2025.

Abstract
Prof. Chen Enwei argues that Cao Zhi’s Luoshen fu synthesizes structural elements from Song Yu’s Shennü fu and Dengtuzi haose fu, creating a literary innovation. This paper agrees, but further suggests that the work also inherits Qu Yuan’s “seeking-the-beloved” motif from the Chuci tradition. Thus, Luoshen fu merges the stylistic legacies of both Qu Yuan and Song Yu, and its significance should be reexamined within the broader framework of Chinese literary genre theory.