THE SEVEN SAGES OF THE BAMBOO GROVE: PERIOD OF DISUNITY, JIN
DYNASTY.
Remember, the Jin re-unified China briefly after the Three Kingdoms that ended the
The feudal
Han Dynasty
andConfucian.
the Period of Disunion
456 was corrupt, aristocratic,
Han, but the Jin
-- not
So the SEVEN
SAGES refused to work for them, and instead became China's first great REBELS
common road, with no way to cast my thoughts afar, simply makes me
and ESCAPISTS.
melancholy.
What did they escape
to?
Taoism,
wine, my
nature,
calligraphy -A chronic
illness
has weakened
spirits music,
these lasthumor,
days andpoetry,
I have not
been able to put forth many forceful teachings.
and friendship.
Xi Kang AND Ruan Ji, below, are two of the most famous "sages."
XI lUNG (223-262)
457
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion
I Came, I'm Leaving
Zhong Hui was thoroughly equipped with ability and reasoning powers,
but he had not previously been acquainted with Xi Rang. Zhong wanted
to go to visit Kang in company with other worthy and outstanding
gentlemen of the time. Rang was at that moment engaged in forging
metal beneath a tree, with Xiang Xiu assisting him at the bellows. Kang
continued to pound with the hammer without interruption, as if no one
else were present. Some time passed without his exchanging a single
word, until Zhong finally rose to go. Kang said, "V"hat had you heard that
made you come, and what have you seen that now makes you leave?"
Zhong replied, "I came after hearing what I heard, and I'm leaving
after seeing what I've seen."
- from Tales, chapter 24
Solitary Pine
Xi Kang's body was seven feet eight inches tall, and his manner and
appearance conspicuously outstanding. Some who saw him sighed,
saying, "Serene and sedate, fresh and transparent, pure and exalted!"
Others would say, "Soughing like the wind beneath the pines, high and
gently blowing."
Shan Tao said, "As a person Xi Kang is majestically towering, like a
solitary pine tree standing alone. But when he's drunk he leans crazily
like ajade mountain about to collapse."
from Tales, chapter 14
-
The Melody Is No More
Figure 29. Xi !(ang. (Source: Ellen Johnston Laing, "Neo-Taoism and the 'Seven Sages of
the Bamboo Grove' in Chinese Painting," Arlibus Asir:e [1974], 36 [1/2])
CommentaJ)~ Xi K:'mg, depicted playing his lute, or qin, with elegant finesse and
concentration, is seen in a neatly' frontal view Witll his head turned tmvard Ruan Ji.
The lute rests on Xi's bare left leg which is bent horizontally in front of him; his right
knee is raised. Xi, noted as a musician and as a poet, frequently worked at a forge,
apparently "to imitate the activity of the Tao, the Great Smith"; and he, too, was
acquainted with the mountain recluse, Sun Deng. Despite Xi's efforts to remain aloof
from the intrigues of the times, he was unwittingly snared in an unfortunate political
trap and executed.
On the eve of/Xi Kang~ execution in the Eastern Marketplace of
Luoyang (in 262), his spirit and manner showed no change. Taking out
his seven-stringed zither (qin), he plucked the strings and played the
"Melody of Guangling." When the song was ended, he said; ''Yuan Jun
once asked to learn this melody, but I remained firm in my stubbornness,
and never gave it to him. From now on the 'Melody of Guangling' is no
more!"
Three thousand scholars of the Grand Academy sent up a petition
requesting Xi's release to become their teacher, but it was not granted.
Sima Zhao (who had ordered the execution) himselflater repented of it.
-
from Tales, chapter 6
/
458
The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion
The Lute: A Rhapsody
Extracts
Translated by Robert Van Gulik
During the Jin and Wei periods, when Buddhism spread over China, and neo-Taoism
flourished, the magical virtues of the Lute, or Qin, were much praised, as being
conducive to meditation, and prolonging life. Xi !(ang's celebrated rhapsody
describes in exquisite language the mysterious virtues of the Lute, and the materials
suitable for building it.
1
\
From the days of my youth I loved music, and I have practiced it ever
since.
For it appears to me that while things have their rise and decay, only
music never changes;
And while in the end one is satiated by all flavors, one is never tired of
music.
It is a means for guiding and nurturing the spirit, and for elevating
and harmonizing the emotions.
N otbing equals music in its power to bring solace to those who dwell
in poverty and loneliness.
Therefore, if instrumental music proves to be insufficient, one hums
a melody to set forth one's intention;
If this is not sufficient, one composes words for the tune, in order fully
to exp:.:-ess one's thoughts. 6
2
Brilliant men of former ages have in poetical compositions and odes of
praise written about the eight kinds of musical instruments 7 and the
various figures of song and dance ....
Of all musical instruments the lute has the greatest virtue.
Therefore I have now made a poetical essay, or rhapsody, setting forth
my thoughts regarding the lute.
This essay says:
6 This sentence is an elaboration of the second paragraph of the "Greater Preface" to the
Baal! of Songs. [See chapter 15.]
7 Made of stone, metal, silk, bamboo, wood, skin, gourd, and clay.
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion
459
3
The trees of that species from which lutes are built' grow on the lofty
ridges of steep mountains.
Rich soil ensures them great age, their tapering stems rise high into
the sky.
They are saturated with the pure harmony of Heaven and Earth, they
inhale the beneficent splendor of sun and moon.
. Their solitary luxuriant gro'\vth overtops the surrounding vegetation,
their verdure leaps high to the azure vault of heaven.
At twilight they borrow the red glow of the evening sky, in the morning the sun dries the dew on their stems.
For a thousand years they wait for him who shall recognize their value,
quietly they repose, forever robust.
4
The scenery there is rugged and irregular, with many a hidden depth.
There are rock-covered heights and lonely mountain peaks, dark
rocks and craggy ascents, steep cliffs and precipitous ridges.
Red rocks rise steeply upward, and there are green walls ten thousand
fathoms high.
Mountain crest rises above mountain crest, they seem to be pressed
down by the clouds.
Lofty and verdurous summits far off show their massive shapes; here
and there a solitary peak rising in impressive splendor draws the eye.
5
The spiritual haze that hovers over these mountains mingles with the
clouds, and from their mysterious founts stream burst forth.
Tumbling waves gush <?:Qe after the other; running onwards they vie in
crazy torrents, they hurtle themselves against rocks and beat in recesses
in a boiling rage.
The wild waters churn, the billows spurt foam, with a roaring noise
they turn round and round, like a mass of intertwined, coiling dragons.
Then they spread out and form the great streams that gush forth to
water the land.
Farther on, their current slows down, to broaden out into a floating
vastness.
8 TreGs of the calal/Nl species.
Ff\ ~
I
460
The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion
Placidly the waters spread out wider and wider, till they embrace
mountains and hills.
6
_
Now observing more closely what is found growing in this region, the
precious products of this mysterious domain, one sees on the slopes of
these mountains rare and strangely shaped jadestone, and deep red
jasper, massed about in luxuriant abundance.
Vernal orchids cover their eastern sides, their western slopes produce
the yellow crab-apple tree,
On their southern sides the immortal Juanzi9 dwells, in front an
ambrosia fountain bubbles up,
Their summits are covered with dark clouds, phoenixes with fluttering
wings gather on their peaks.
Pure dew moistens their flanks, a gentle breeze blows over them.
They are quiet in majestic passiveness, they are subtle in serene
repose.
.
Being surrounded by such scenery, these trees naturally are spiritual
and beautiful, and suitable for inspiring the love of music.
~---7
Here it is that wise men fleeing the world, worthy companions of a
Yongqi lO or Qili, II together ascend high mountain atches and cross
deep-cut vales.
Clinging to branches of fairy trees they climb steep ridges, in order
that they may roam under these trees.
Wandering about they remain gazing into the distance for ever; their
horizon is as wide as that of a bird in its flight.
Looking upward they see the Kunlun ranges, looking down they
discern the marshes that border the ocean.
They point to the Cangwu mountains!2 afar off, they approach the
imposing calm of meandering rivers.
9 Said to have been a recluse from the state ofQi, who could command wind and rain and
reputedly wrote a treatise entitled The Mind oJthe Lute.
10 A recluse famous as a lute player, said to have lived on Mount Tai.
1: A recluse of the beginning of the Han dynasty.
12 According to the Book of HiUs and Seas, a mountain range containing MountJiuyi, where
the mythical Emperor Shun (traditionally the inventor of the lute) was buried.
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion
461
Then they realize the constraining shackles of worldly life, and longingly they look up to the splendor that lingers over MountJi.!3
Enamoured with the generous broadness of these heights, their hearts
are filled with noble emotions, and they forget to return.
8
Their emotions become broad and even, their eyes have a faraway look.
They long to continue the music left by the Yellow Emperor,!4 they
cherish the mountain spirit Laodong of the Gui rock,15 and admire the
inspired songs of Tai Yong. 16
Beholding these trees they grow thoughtful, they long to express the ~
feelings of their hearts in a tangible way.
' ,~Then they lop off the young branches, and weigh and measure a block
of wood meet to be employed.
r'
Thus, in order to expand their feelings, Superior Men made the
Elegant Lute ....
?
9
One should play the lute in a high building or on a towering terrace, in
a spacious hall or in a secluded room;
On a wintry night when the air is limpid and a bright moon is shining;
clad in rustling new garments whose perfume pervades the air: then the
instrument is cool to the touch, and the strings are correctly tuned.
If the heart is tranquil and the hands are able, the touch of the fingers
will respond to the thoughts, and the player will be able to express
himself in his music. ...
10
In the first part "f the thi~~ month, clad in the elegant garb proper to
that season, together with some good friends one sets out for a pleasant
excursion.
13 The mountain where it is said that Xu You, the famous recluse of antiquity, retired in / '
disgust when the mythical Emperor Yao offered him the empire.
14 That is, the music of the lute, the Yellow Emperor being also credited with having \. (
invented this instrument.
"-'15 According to the Booh of Hills and Seas, on Mount Cui lives a spirit whose voice is clear like
bronze bells or stone chimes. This spirit is said to have been a son of the Yellow Emperor.
16 The ~usic master of the Yellow Emperor.
f\
L'
462
The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion
They wander through fragrant gardens, climb hills, rest under old
trees or sit under gaily decorated sunshades.
They walk along clear streams, composing new poems. They admire
the leisurely movements afwater creatures, and enjoy the verdure.
Then is the right time for playing on the lute the songs left by the
Emperor Shun, which elevate the spirit and fill one with longing sadness.
Or, when one holds an informal feast in a jaily decorated hall,
together with one's bosom friends and some intImate guests, enjoying
dishes of rare flavor sprinkled with excellent wine of subtle bouquet,
then is the right time to play tunes like Nanjing and Xiqin, or to intone
the melodies Lingyang and Baren.
All sorts of other melodies may also be played; they will cheer up those
who hear them and exalt their spirits ....
11
In truth, those people who are not of a free and detached disposition
cannot find enjoyment in lute music.
Those who are not profound and serene cannot dwell with it. Those
who are not broad-minded cannot ungrudgingly give themselves to it.
Those who are not of the utmost refinement cannot understand its
deep significance ....
12
In admiration of the rich excellence of this musical instrumen t, for my
own satisfaction I composed this essay.
I shall always cherish the lute, without ever tiring of it. I believe it is a
treasure of present and bygone days.
In conclusion, I sing:
Solemn indeed is the virtue of the lute,
It cannot be fathomed.
Purity of body and aloofness of heart,
Difficult indeed it is to attain these heights.
Good instruments and excellent players.
Where are those to be found in the present age?
The silk strings resounding in harmony,
This music surpasses all other arts.
As those who understand music are few.
vVho can truly treasure this instrument?
Only to the Superior Man is it given
Completely to understand the elegant lute.
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion
463
A Song of Disillusionment
Translated by John Turner
Wisdom and learning I abhor:
Wander, my soul, in Quietude!
Wisdom and learning I detest:
In Quietude I set my rest:
Repenting what may be amiss,
All my ambition, all my bliss,
To trail my hook by some ravine,
Lord of a kingdom quite unseen.
And so, bare-headed as I go,
Though all around are scenes of woe,
This be my song for evermore:
Wander, my soul, in Quietude!
Letter to Shan Tao
Translated by J R. Hightower
In this letter, ,vntten shortly before his death, Xi Kang broke off relations with his
former friend Shan Tao, who had not kept to his vow of uncompromising integrity,
and who, after accepting a high post, had even dared to suggest that Xi Kang should
become his assistant. Xi Kang, full of violent indignation, threw the offer back in his
face, saying abruptly that his aspirations were not of this world, and explaining with
such eloquence what Flaubert somewhere in his letters has expressed in the lapidary
formula: Les honneurs desMnorent, le titre degrade, la foncticm abrutit.
- Etienne Balazs, 1964
Some time ago you spoke of me to your uncle, the Prefect ofYingchuan,
and I must say I f,mnd your estimate of me just. But I wondered how you
could have come to so accitrate an understanding without really knowing
what my principles are. Last year when I came back from Hedong,
Gongsun Chong and Lii An said you had proposed me as your successor
in office. Nothing came of it, but your proposal made it obvious you
really did not understand me at all.
You are versatile: you accept most things and are surprised at little. I,
on the other hand, am by nature straightforward and narrow-minded:
there are lots of things that I cannot put up with. It was only chance that
made us friends. When recently I heard of your promotion in office, I
was upset and unhappy, fearing that the cook would be shy of doing the
carving by himself and would call in the Impersonator of the Dead to
464
The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion
help, handing over a kitchen knife soiled with rancid fat. Hence I am
writing to make clear what may and may not be done.
It used to be that when in my reading I came across people resolutely
above the world, I rather doubted their existence, but now I am convinced that they really do exist after all. One can be so constituted that
there are things one cannot endure; honest endorsement cannot be
forced. So it is perhaps idle to talk about the familiar "man of understanding" who can put up with anything, who takes no exception to
vulgarity around him but who still preserves his integrity within; who
goes along with the vacillations of the times without ever feeling a twinge
of regret. Laozi and Zhuang Zhou are my masters: they held mean
positions. I would hardly criticize them. And Confucius, out of his love for
all, was ready to hold a coachman's whip; and Ziwen, with no desire for
the job, was thrice prime minister: these were gentlemen whose minds
were bent on saving the world. This is what is meant by "in success, he
shares the benefits 'with all and does not vacillate; in obscurity, he is
content and not depressed."
From this point of view, Ya0 and Shun's ruling the world, Xu You's
retirement to the hills, Zifang's helping Han and Jieyu's singing as he
walked all add up to the same thing. vVhen you consider all these
gentlemen, they can be said to have succeeded in doing what they
wanted. Hence all the various modes of conduct of the gentleman take
him to the same goal by different paths. He acts in accordance with his
nature and rests where he finds his ease. Thus there are those who stick
to the court and never emerge, and those who enter the wilderness and
never come back.
Moreover, I am filled with admiration when I read the biographies of
the recluses Shang Ziping and Tai Xiaowei and can imagine what sort of
men they were. Add to that the fact that I lost my father when young, was
spoiled by my mother and elder brother and never took up the study of
the Classics. I was already wayward and lazy by nature, so that my muscles
became weak and my flesh flabby. I would commonly go half a month
without washing my face, and until the itching became a considerable
annoyance, I would not wash my hair. "When I had to urinate, if I could
stand it I would wait until my bladder cramped inside before I got up.
Further, I was long left to my own devices, and my disposition became
arrogant and careless, my bluntness diametrically opposed to etiquette;
laziness and rudeness reinforcing one another. But my friends were
indulgent, and did not attack me for my faults.
Besides, my taste for independence was aggravated by my reading of
Zhuangzi and Laozi; as a re,sult any desire for fame or success grew daily
weaker, and my commitment to freedom increasingly firmer. In this I am
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion
465
like the wild deer, which captured young and reared in captivity will be
docile and obedient. But if it be caught when full-grown, it will stare
wildly and butt against its bonds, dashing into boiling water or fire to
escape. You may dress it up with a golden bridle and feed it delicacies,
and it will but long the more for its native woods and yearn for rich
pasture.
Ruan Ji is not one to talk about people's faults, and I have tried to
model myself after him, but in vain. He is a man of finer character than
most, one who never injured another. Only in drinking does he go to
excess. But even so the proper and correct gentlemen with their restrictions hate him as a mortal enemy, and it is only thanks to the protection
of Generalissimo Sima Zhao that he survives. But I, without Ruan Ji's
superiority, have the faults of being rude and unrestrained, ignorant of
people's characters and blind to opportunity, not careful like Shi Fen,
but driven to carrY.things to their end. The longer I were involved in
affairs the more clearly would these defects show. I might want to stay out
of trouble, but would it be possible?
Furthermore, in society there are prescribed courtesies, and the court
has its rules. "When I consider the matter ~arefully, there are seven things
I could never stand and hvo things which would never be condoned. I am
fond of lying late abed, and the herald at my door would not leave me in
peace: this is the first thing I could not stand. I like to walk, singing, with
my lute in my arms, or go fowling or fishing in the woods. But surrounded by subordinates, I would be unable to move freely - this is the
second thing I could not stand. When I kneel for a while I become as
though paralyzed and unable to move. Being infested with lice, I am
always scratching. To have to bow and kowtow to my superiors while
dressed up in formal clothes - this is the third thing I could not stand. I
have never been a facile calligrapher and do not like to write letters.
Business matters would pile up on my table and fill my desk. To fail to
answer would be bad m~J;mers and a violation of duty, but I would not
long be ahle to force myself to do it. This is the fourth thing I could not
stand. I do not like funerals and mourning, but these are things people
consider important. Far from forgiving my offense, their resentment
would reach the point where they would like to see me injured. Although
in alarm I might make the effort, I still could not change my nature. If!
were to bend my mind to the expectations of the crowd, it would be
dissembling and dishonest, and even so I would not be sure to go
unhlamed - this is the fifth thing I could not stand. I do not care for the
crowd and yet I would have to serve together with such people. Or on
occasions when guests fill the table and their clamor deafens the ears,
their noise and dirt contaminating the place, before my very eyes they
466
The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion
would indulge in their double-dealings. This is the sixth thing I could not
stand. My heart cannot bear trouble, and official life is full of it. One's
mind is bound with a thousand cares, one's thoughts are involved with
worldly affairs. This is the seventh thing I could not stand.
Further, I am always finding fault with Tang and Wu Wang, or running
down the Duke ofZhou and Confucius. If! did not stop this in society, it
is dear that the religion of the times would not put up with me. This is
the first thing which would never be condoned. I am quite ruthless in my
hatred of evil, and speak out without hesitation, whenever I have the
occasion. This is the second thing which would never be condoned.
To try to control these nine weaknesses with a disposition as narrow
and niggling as mine could only result in my falling ill, if indeed I were
able to avoid trouble with the authorities. Would I be long in the world
of men? Besides, I have studied in the esoteric lore of the Taoist masters,
where a man's life can be indefinitely prolonged through eating herbs,
and I firmly believe this to be so. To wander among the hills and streams,
observing fish and birds, is what gives my heart great pleasure. Once i
embarked on an official career, this is something I would have to give up
forthwith. Why should I relinquish what gives me pleasure for something
that fills me with dread?
What is esteemed in human relationships is the just estimate of
another's inborn nature, and helping him to realize it. When you see a
straight piece of wood, you do not want to make it into a wheel, nor do
you try to make a rafter of a crooked piece, and this is because you would
not want to pervert its heaven-given quality, but rather see that it finds its
proper place. Now all the four classes of people have each their own
occupation, in which each takes pleasure in fulfilling his own ambition.
It is only the man of understanding who can comprehend all of them. In
this you have only to seek within yourself to know that one may not, out
of one's O\\Tl1 preference for formal clothes, force the people of Vue to
wear figured caps, or, because one has a taste for putrid meat, try to feed
a phoenix a dead rat.
Of late I have been studying the techniques of prolonging one's life,
casting out all ideas of fame and glory, eliminating tastes, and letting my
mind wander in stillness: what is most worthwhile to me is Inaction. Even
if there were not these nine concerns, I could still pay no attention to
your wishes. But beyond this, my mind tends toward melancholy, increasingly so of late, and I am personally convinced that I would not be able to
stand any occupation in which I took no pleasure. I really know myself in
this respect. If worse comes to worst and there is no way out, then I shall
simply die. But you have no grudge against me that you should cause me
to lie lifeless in the gutter.
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion
467
I am continually unhappy over the recent loss of the company of my
mother and elder brother. My daughter is thirteen, my son eight years
old - neither grown to maturity, and I am in ill health. This is another
fact that pains me so much I cannot bear to speak further of it.
Today I only wish to stay on in this out-of-the-way lane and bring up my
children and grandchildren, on occasion relaxing and reminiscing with
old friends - a cup of unstrained wine, a song to the lute: this is the sun
of my desires and ambitions.
If you keep on relentlessly nagging me, it can only be because you are
anxious to get someone for the post who will be of use to the world. But
you have always known what an irresponsible, bungling sort of person I
am, not at all up on current affairs. I know myself that I am in all respects
inferior to our modern men of ability. If you think me unlike ordinary
men in that I ~lone do not find pleasure in fame and distinction, this is
closest to my true feelings and deserves to be considered. If a man of
great ability and endowments, able to turn his hand to anything, were
able to be ,vithout ambition, he would be worth your respect. But one
like me, frequently ill, who wants to stay out of office so as to take care of
himself for the remaining years of his life - in me it is rather a
deficiency. There is not much point in praising a eunuch for his chastity.
If you insist on my joining you in the king's service, expecting that we will
rise together and will be ajoy and help to one another, one fine day you
will find that the pressure has driven me quite mad. Only my bitterest
enemy would go so far. The rustic who took such pleasure in the warm
sun on his back, or the one who so esteemed the flavor of celery that they
wanted to bring these things to the attention of the Most High: this
showed them to be well-meaning, but it also showed their complete
ignorance. I hope you will not do as they did. This being the way I feel
about it, I have written to explain it to you and at the same time to say
farewell.
/
. l'
XIANG Xm (C. 221-300)
Commentary': None of the four figures in the second panel are related to each other by
pose or action. The most penetrating portrait of all the eight is that of Xiang Xiu. He
is presented in frontal view seated before a gingko tree, his bare right leg bent
horizontally in front of him, his left knee raised. His right hand appears to be resting
on his right knee. (The placement of his left arm cannot be determined because of
damage to the brick.) He slumps to one side and perhaps slightly forward. His eyes are
closed and his brow contracted; he appears unaware that his robe has slipped off one
shoulder. Xiang is not in a drunken stupor (there is no wine bowl or cup near him as
there is for Wang Rong, Shan Tao, RuanJi, and Liu Ling), but in a state of profound
concentration. This is a fitting and compelling characterization of the man who wrote
)
448
The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion
THE SEVEN
SAGES
OF
BAMBOO
GROVE.
of his raised
right leg
andTHE
his right
hand holds back
the left sleeve of his gannent as he
raises
the
wine
cup.
His
left
leg
is
bent
in
front
his body. Next to him is a wine
PERIOD OF DISUNITY, DURING THE JIN of
DYNASTY.
bowl. His morc modest pose and erect posture contrast with the contorted posture of
Remember,
the Jin re-unified China briefly after the Three Kingdoms that
Wang Rang. Like Wang, Shan devoted his life to civil service, but unlike Wang, ,vas
appreciated
for the
his straightforward
upright integrity.
[See chapter
14 for
Kang's
ended the
Han, but
Jin was corrupt,
aristocratic,
feudal
-- Xi
not
Confucian.
famous letter to Shan Tao.]
.
So the SEVEN
SAGES
Unpolished
Jade refused to work for them, and instead became
China's first great REBELS and ESCAPISTS.
characterized Shan Tao as follows: "He's like unpolished
What didWang
they Rong
escape
to? Taoism, wine, nature, music, humor, poetry,
jade or unrefined gold. Everyone delights in his great value, but no one
calligraphy
-- and
knows
how friendship.
to name what kind of vessel he is."
.
- from Tales, chapter 8
Ruan Ji and Xi Kang, below, are two of the most famous "sages."
RUAN JI (210-263)
Traditional
stories about
Ruan Ji
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion
Commentary: To Shan Tao's left is a locust tree and then the figure of Ruan Ji, who sits
facing the last figure in the panel, Xi Kang. These two figures are separated by a pine
tree; a gingko is placed beyond Xi Kang at the end of the panel. Ruan Ji's official
biography stresses his anti-Confucian behavior, tells us that he loved wine, knew how
to whistle and \vas an expert on the qin, or Chinese lute. He was also famous for his
beautiful and imaginative poetry. He is shown here as seated on a mat with one knee
up, the other leg extended; his body is braced by his bare left arm, while the thumb of
his right hand is held in front of his mouth and the fingers are extended. This gesture
has been interpreted as one of whistling, and indeed, Ruan's lips seem puckered and
his cheeks distended .... Ruan ,vas also wont to engage in occult Taoist practices (his
whistling may be related to breath control exercises) and he is knovm to have sought
the advice of the mysterious Taoist adept Sun Deng. A great toper, Ruan once
remained stone drunk for sixty days to avoid marrying into the usurping Sima clan.
Whistling
vVhen Ruan Ji Whistled,' he could be heard.several hundred paces away.
In the Sumen Mountains there appeared from nowhere a Realized Man
about whom the woodcutters were all relaying tales. RuanJi went to see
for himself and spied the man squatting with clasped knees by the edge
of a cliff. Ji climbed the ridge to approach him and then squatted
opposite him. Ji rehearsed for him briefly.matters from antiquity to the
present, beginning with an exposition of the Way of Mystical Quiescence
of the Yellow Emperor and Shen Nong, and ending with an investigation
of the excellence of the Supreme Virtue of the Three Ages. But when Ji
asked his opinion about it he remained aloof and made no reply.Ji then
went on to expound that which lies beyond Activism, and the techniques
of Resting the Spirit and Conducting the Vital Force. ButwhenJi looked
toward him for a reply, he was still exactly as before, fixedly staring
without turning. Ji therefore turned toward him and made a long whistling sound. Mter a long while the man finally laughed and said, "Do it
again." Ji whistled a second time, but as his interest was now exhausted,
he withdrew. He ,had .returned about halfWay down the ridge when he
heard above him a shrillness like an orchestra of many instruments,
4
Figure 28. RuanJi. (Source: EllenJohnston Laing, "Neo-Taoism and the 'Seven Sages of the
Bamboo Grove' in Chinese Painting," ArtilntsAsiae [1974J, 36 [1/2])
449
Donald Holzman, in his study of Ruan ]i, gives Sun Cuang's (765) definition of "whistling" - "a sound produced by breath striking against the tip of the longue ... , a method
of communicating with the spirits and achieving immortality" - and comments:
"vVhatevcr whistling did signify, the importanllhing to note is that it was an unintellectual
art, probably a fairly strange kind of sound divorced from speech and reason .... Like the
Zen masters of the Tang dynaslY who, with their eructations and physical blows, resemble
him so much, the Realized Man knows that the Truth is beyond words .... His whistling is
the very breath of Nature." Eds.
1/
C-
450
Eight Poems of My Heart
while forests and valleys fe-echoed with the sound. Turning back to look,
he discovered it was the whistling of the man he had just visited.
-
451
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion
The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion
Ruan Ji's lyrics.
Translated byJerome Gh 'en and Michael Bullock
from Tales, chapter 18
Ruan Ji's real importance in the Chinese poetic tradition rests on hi~ eighty-two
penta~eter poems entitled "Poems of My Heart," which describe hi,S anguIsh and fe~r
and his desire to find constancy and purity in an inconstant and Impure world, ~IS
poetry abounds in obscure satire and allegory, and some poems are al~ost Impenetrable, Unable to find fulfilment in politics, (the normal re,al,m of actI~n fo~ a
man of his class and times), he turned towards phIlosophy and relIgIOn, debatIng WItl1
himself on philosophical and religious problems, and exploring, in a subjective,
introverted way, themes unknown in earlier poetry,
_ Donald Holzman, Indiana Companian, 1986
Commandant of Infantry
There was a vacancy in the office of the commandant of infantry, in the
commissary of which were stored several hundred hu5 of wine. It was for
this reason that Ruan Ji requested to become commandant of infantry.
- from Talcs, chapter 23
Nothing Amiss
Sleepless at Midnight
The wife of RuanJi's neighbor was very pretty. She worked as a barmaid
tending the vats and selling wine. Ruan and Wang Rong frequently drank
at her place, and after Ruan became drunk he would sleep by this
woman's side. Her husband at first was extraordinarily suspicious ofhi~,
but after careful investigation he eventually ceased to think anything
amiss.
-
Being sleepless at midnight,
I rise to play the lute.
The moon is visible through the curtains
And a gentle breeze sways the cord of my robe.
A lonely wild-goose cries in the wilderness
And is echoed by a bird in the woods.
As it circles, it gazes
At me, alone, imbued with sadness.
from Talcs, chapter 23
A Rough and Rugged Terrain
Wang Gong once asked Wang Chen, "How would RuanJi compare with
Sima Xiangru?"
Wang replied, "RuanJi's breast was a rough and rugged terrain; that's
why he needed wine to irrigate it."
-
The Whites
In My Youth
In my youth,
I too was fond of singing and dancing.
I went 'west to the Capital
And frequented the Li's and the Zhao's.
Before the fun came to an' end,
I realized time had been wasted.
On my return j6urney, . f
I looked back at the riverside district
Where I had squandered a great deal,
So that not a coin was left.
Coming to the Taihang mountain path,
I was afraid of again losing my way.
from Tales, chapter 23
of His Eyes
When Ruan Ji was in mourning Xi Xi (brother of Xi l<ang) went to pay
him a visit of condolence. Now Ji was able to look with the whites of his
eyes, and he used the whites of his eyes when greeting worldly
gentlemen. "\Then Xi arrived,Ji did not perform the customary weeping.
Observing his white eyes, Xi withdrew in dismay.
Later, when Xi's brother, Kang, learned of it, he took a gift of win~,
and, tucking his lute under his arm, went to visit Ji, after which they
became good friends.
-
Last Rays of the Sun
from commentary to Tales, chapter 24
The last rays of the setting sun,
vVhich once shone upon me warmly, have now gone.
The wind keeps returning to strike the walls
5 A traditional measure equivalent to several gallons. Ed..;.
L
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