A Readable History of the Wei and Jin Dynasties

The Wei and Jin dynasties are my favorite period in history, because people of that era seemed to live by the maxim, “Go wherever inspiration takes you, and return when it has run its course.” They did not have to care too much about what others thought, and could embark on a carefree journey without restraint. The people of the Jin dynasty are even more fascinating. Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, Shan Tao, Xiang Xiu, Liu Ling, Wang Rong, Ruan Xian, Zu Ti, Wang Dao, Xie An, Huan Wen, Tao Yuanming... So many familiar names, and so many familiar anecdotes.

The famous Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove may seem unruly and unconventional by today’s standards, yet in the Jin dynasty they were admired by everyone as paragons of virtue. That seems to say something. Perhaps the aesthetics of the Wei and Jin era, and even society as a whole, had something pathological about them: a beauty in the flawed, or a beauty in imperfection. If nothing is perfect, then aren’t a few shortcomings and flaws a kind of beauty? Why did this aesthetic emerge? The best way to understand the reasons is to gain a comprehensive understanding of this long stretch of history, the period our book tells. I hope readers will come to love this era because of its people, and love these people even more because of the era they lived in.