Abstract: Su Xuelin has studied the concept, origin and extension of “ninth heaven” in The Songs of Chu from the perspectives of natural philosophy and mythology with methods of comparative study. According to her basic contentions in “foreign culture theory” for the study of The Songs of Chu, Su Xuelin believes that the concept of “ninth heaven” derived from Aristotles theories on celestial bodies, was imported to China during the period of Qu Yuan, and later evolved into the nine-stratum mythological system in Chinas mythology. Su Xuelin has conducted a comparative study between Chinese and foreign cultures on the nine-stratum mythological system in The Songs of Chu in an attempt to construct “Chinas Mythological System”. Su Xuelins study of the mythologies in The Songs of Chu has certain cultural significance for Chinas mythology; at the same time, Su Xuelin has interpreted The Songs of Chu with foreign cultures, which is of great inspirational significance to expand the cross-culture study of The Songs of Chu and the open-label research perspective of Chinese culture.

Key words: “ninth heaven”, nine-stratum mythological system, comparative study, cultural significance