Ye Jiaying said of Ruan Ji's Poems of Contemplation

Author: Ye Jiaying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The original title of this book is "Lecture Notes on Ruan Ji's Poems on Contemplating the World," which was a lecture recording given by the author while teaching at a university in Taiwan during the 1960s. During the lecture, the author had no intention of compiling the content into a book, so the recordings were not preserved at the time. Unexpectedly, over thirty years later, the content was compiled and published in mainland China. This was truly something the author had never anticipated. Reflecting on the past, from the author's acceptance of the lecture invitation to the present compilation into a book, there were actually quite a few coincidental opportunities involved. Now, the author will briefly describe these coincidental opportunities and express gratitude to the friends associated with them.
Among the 87 poems of Ruan Ji that have been passed down, 85 are titled "Poems on Contemplating the World," which reflects the sorrow of a poet in turbulent times. Ruan Ji was a poet of the Zhengshi era in Chinese literary history, following the Jian'an literary period. At that time, it was the transition between the Wei and Jin dynasties, and a group of scholars in society appeared outwardly unrestrained, indulgent, free-spirited, and unbound by etiquette, but inwardly harbored deep sorrow and pain. Ruan Ji's poems are profound in meaning, with a spirit that is (unrestrained), (unleashed), (subtle), (deeply hidden), and richly veiled. When no one could share his pain, he expressed the scattered and sorrowful emotions of his heart through poetry.