[2][3] The traditional version of the Chu Ci contains 17 major sections, anthologized with its current contents by Wang Yi, a 2nd-century AD librarian who served under Emperor Shun of Han.

However, southern influence was extremely insignificant, only limited to the ideas of shamanism and burial objects which were from the south; other than that literature, poetry, clothing and architecture all remained northern.

[7] Although Chu ci is an anthology of poems by many poets, Qu Yuan was its central figure, both as author of the Li Sao section and in the persona of protagonist.

[8] According to common tradition, Qu Yuan was an administrative official in the court of King Huai of Chu (r. 328–299 BC) who advocated forming an alliance with the other states against the increasingly dominant power of the Qin kingdom, during the Warring States period; however, his advice was not taken and he was slandered by other officials in court: seeing the corruption of his colleagues and the inability of his king to appreciate his true worth, Qu Yuan went into exile and then finally committed suicide by wading into the Miluo River with a heavy rock, when Qin general Bo Qi sacked the Chu capital Ying in 278 BC, forcing the royal court to relocate with considerable loss of territory.

[10] Modern scholars have devoted long studies to the question of the Chu Ci pieces' authorship, but there is no consensus on which may actually be by Qu Yuan himself.

There are also reasons to believe that some of the sections (juan) were subject to editing for various reasons, including to suit the verses to theatrical performance and due to the nature of the textual process of ancient China, involving writing lines of text on individual bamboo strips which were bound together, but when the bindings broke were subject to editorial decisions as to what their original order was.

Wang Yi's selections of certain specific verses to anthologize in the modern Chu Ci has remained standard since its publication, towards the end of the Han dynasty.

Much of the initial surviving annotation of the standard editions of the Chu Ci was provided by Wang Yi, the Han royal librarian.

Critics historically often interpret the "Li Sao" as political allegory, yet religious and mythological aspects arise, which derive from the culture of Chu.

[11][12] The second section, in standard modern order, the "Jiu Ge", despite its title translating to "Nine songs", actually includes eleven discrete parts.

These seem to represent some shamanistic dramatic practices of the Yangzi River valley area involving the invocation of divine beings and seeking their blessings by means of a process of courtship.

[20] Direct influences of the Chu Ci verses can be seen in the saoti (騷體) style of prosody as seen in the "Epilog" of the Cantong qi (the "Luanci", 亂辭), and in anthologies such as the Guwen Guanzhi.

Not only have the various poems or prose-poems influenced subsequent literature, but the contents of this material are a major primary source for historical information about the culture and religious beliefs in the territorial area of the former Kingdom of Chu.

Also, information of the meaning of and in regard to the Chinese characters used for the teng, the shi and chi also has been derived using the Chu Ci as a primary source.

The myths of Nüwa, Tian, the ancient sovereign Shun, and the Great Flood are among those importantly receiving treatment in the Chu Ci material.

As David Hawkes puts it, "[t]he Chu Ci poems, however popular, belonged to no canon, dealt in matters that were outlandish and unorthodox, and originated outside of the area of sanctified Western Zhou tradition.

"[26] However, part of the Chu Ci tradition includes a Confucian outlook, glorifying the loyal minister who prefers death over compromising his integrity.

The order in which the sections of the Chu ci are currently generally arranged was established through editorial re-arrangement during or following the tenth or eleventh century.

[28] The influence of the Chu Ci projects itself through the works of poets, including Jia Yi, Shen Quanqi, Zhang Yue, Du Fu, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, and Su Shi.