ruǎn 阮

Ruan Yu (? - 212) Style name: Fuyu. A native of Chenliu (now Chenliu County, Henan Province) in the Kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was good at writing official documents and memorials, and was as famous as Chen Lin. Most of the military and state documents and imperial edicts were written by the two of them. He was one of the Seven Scholars of Jian'an. Ruan Ji (210 - 263) Style name: Sizong. The son of Ruan Yu. A native of Weishi in the Kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. He was extremely talented, unrestrained by convention, fond of the teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and addicted to alcohol. He opposed the Confucian moral code and was open - minded and not bound by social etiquette. Due to the many taboos in his era, he used alcohol to indulge himself to avoid disasters. He served as the Colonel of the Military Department and was called "Colonel Ruan". Because of his virtuous reputation, he was commonly known as "Elder Ruan" and was as famous as his nephew Ruan Xian. He wrote more than eighty pieces of "Poems of Yearning", "On Reaching the Realm of Zhuangzi", and "Biography of the Great Man and Gentleman". Ruan Xian Style name: Zhongrong. His birth and death years are unknown. A native of Chenliu Weishi (southeast of present - day Kaifeng, Henan) in the Kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was the nephew of Ruan Ji. He was unrestrained and free - spirited, and was proficient in music. The Qin melody "Three Gorges Flowing Spring" that was popular in the Tang Dynasty was said to be his work. He was good at playing the straight - necked pipa. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.