Ruan Ji

Historical Record

Ruan Ji, courtesy name Sizong, was a famous man of letters and thinker of the Wei-Jin transition. He came of an illustrious family; his father Ruan Yu was also one of the Seven Masters of Jian'an. Ruan Ji was renowned for his expansive, unrestrained character and his disregard for ritual convention. In the politically turbulent Wei-Jin period, by way of pure conversation and abstruse learning, and by drinking and feigning madness, he avoided many a political whirlpool and managed to preserve himself. His works are chiefly poems, expressing through veiled language his anxiety over the times and his reflection on the philosophy of life. Although Ruan Ji has no independent biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, his life and deeds are scattered through the biographies of other figures and the historical sources—for instance, the "Biography of Ruan Ji" in the Book of Jin records him in detail—showing his distinctive standing and influence among the gentry of his day. Together with Ji Kang, Shan Tao, and others, he was numbered among the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove," and was one of the representative figures of abstruse-learning pure conversation. Ruan Ji's life is a typical picture of how a Wei-Jin gentleman sought spiritual freedom and individual peace in an age of chaos, and his thought and artistic achievement exerted a profound influence on later ages.

In the Novel

(No novel material)

Since Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other historical romances focus chiefly on the military struggles and political intrigues of the Three Kingdoms period, they give very little space to the men of letters and elegant scholars of the Wei-Jin transition, especially to a figure like Ruan Ji, who lived mainly by pure conversation, abstruse learning, and withdrawing from the world to preserve himself. In the existing novel material, therefore, Ruan Ji is not cast as a central character and has no notable plot. This stands in contrast with his historical standing as a man of letters and thinker, and shows the emphasis of romance literature in its choice of characters. The romance tends rather to depict heroes directly involved in the tripartite struggle of the Three Kingdoms, while Ruan Ji's character—"expansive and unrestrained, disregarding ritual convention"—though singular in history, lacked direct conflict and drama within the narrative framework of the romance, and so was not taken up for literary treatment. As for Ruan Ji's image in the romance, then, there is no clear record.

Key Relationships

There exists an important blood relationship between Ruan Ji and his father Ruan Yu. Ruan Yu was one of the Seven Masters of Jian'an, renowned for his literary talent, which doubtless provided Ruan Ji with a deep cultural nurturing and family background. Ruan Ji inherited his father's literary gifts and carried them forward in the Wei-Jin period, becoming a literary master of his generation. This passing of a literary tradition from father to son was a common phenomenon in the gentry society of the day, and reflects the family's important influence on the individual's development. Besides this father-son relationship, Ruan Ji also joined with Ji Kang, Shan Tao, Xiang Xiu, Liu Ling, Wang Rong, and Ruan Xian to form the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove," who often gathered beneath the bamboo, drinking wine and composing poems, conversing on abstruse principles, forming a distinctive cultural group. This bond of friendship was not only a vehicle for personal feeling but also a concentrated expression of the spiritual character of the Wei-Jin gentry.

Iconic Scenes

One of Ruan Ji's iconic scenes is his life-attitude of being "expansive and unrestrained, disregarding ritual convention". The sources record that he often drove a broken-down cart wherever his fancy took him, and when he reached a place where his wine was gone, he would weep bitterly and then go on—a behavior later ages called "Ruan Ji's wild abandon." It is also recorded that when Ruan Ji's mother died, he did not follow the usual rites but instead ate and drank heartily, to the bewilderment of all, yet he said, "What are vulgar men, that one should speak of ritual and propriety with them!" This fully displays his contempt for worldly ritual and his pursuit of individual freedom. The story of Ruan Ji's "blue eyes and white eyes" is likewise representative. It is said that when he met a man to his liking, he received him with blue (favorable) eyes to show his regard; but when he met one disagreeable or hypocritical, he showed him the whites of his eyes to express his disdain. This direct and singular manner of treating others became a vivid portrait of his character, reflecting too the Wei-Jin gentry's esteem for genuine feeling. Together these scenes make up the image of Ruan Ji's unconventional individuality, setting him apart in the long course of history.