傳統關于《九歌》是屈原在楚國民間祭祀樂曲基礎上創作而成的認識并不全面。《九歌》中有海岱東夷族虞舜時代的《韶》樂、中原華夏族禹啟時代的《虬歌》、春秋戰國時期各諸侯國的生命生育祭歌,以及流傳于楚地的山川祭歌等不同層面。這些不同區域、不同族屬的遠古史詩祭歌,原本只在本血緣組織內部世代流傳,至春秋戰國時期由于血緣管理的瓦解、地緣管理的出現,才開始在部族外廣泛交流融合。楚國特殊的歷史淵源、楚懷王一統天下的雄心、屈原所處時代及其巫史身份等因素,使得《九歌》經屈原之手成套編組并加工潤色成為可能。《九歌》的價值不僅在于傳承融合了遠古部族文化,還體現在經過轉化創新而成為中華民族經典的高峰,深刻影響此后兩千多年中華傳統文化的發展。

The traditional understanding that the Nine Songs(Jiuge 九歌)were composed by Qu Yuan on the basis of sacrificial folk music is not telling the whole story.The Nine Songs comprise the shao music of the Dongyi people in the Haidai region from the age of Yu Shun;the qiuge of the Huaxia people in the Central Plains during the days of the great Yu and Qi;the sacrificial songs of vassal states in the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods;and popular sacrificial music from the Chu mountains.The ancient sacrificial songs of different regions and tribes were originally disseminated through kinship groups from generation to generation in remote antiquity.They only spread beyond the tribe through contacts occurring when kinship organization collapsed,to be replaced by geopolitical organization.The particular historical origin of Chu state and King Huai of Chu’s ambition to unify the whole country under his rule;the period in which Qu Yuan lived;and his role as a Wushi(巫史)or shaman were all factors that enabled him to compose and polish the Nine Songs.Their value lies in the fact that they not only inherit and integrate ancient tribal culture but also represent the acme of the Chinese nation’s classical literature,whence their enduring influence over more than two thousand years of traditional Chinese culture.