The Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties lasted more than 360 years, but over thirty dynasties came and went in quick succession. On average, each dynasty lasted barely a decade, and the result was the collapse of social norms throughout the land.
Confucian orthodoxy crumbled, metaphysics and Buddhism and Daoism flourished, and the cultures of the Hu and Han peoples blended together. The whole world was in chaos.
As a result, nearly everyone chose to go "mad."
From emperors and generals to renowned scholars and writers, all lived in a state of "madness." For convenience, I'll refer to them collectively as the "Madmen of the Wei and Jin."
The madness of emperors and generals concealed power struggles as well as the distortion of human nature. The madness of renowned scholars and writers concealed their steadfast ideals as well as their yearning for freedom.
I wrote this Record of Madmen in the Wei and Jin for two reasons. First, I didn't want to focus only on renowned scholars or treat "madness" as their exclusive label. Instead, I wanted to set the "madmen and mad deeds" of emperors, generals, scholars, and writers against the backdrop of the turbulent Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, and share them with everyone.
Second, I hope to offer a different perspective on the struggles and despair of people from every social class during that miserable period of history.
I hope that as you read these stories, you can laugh at their absurdity and ridiculousness, yet also understand the sorrow and resolve behind them; see the darkness of a chaotic age, but also the glimmers of humanity.
It reproduces in detail the life stories of the main historical figures in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and also reproduces that period of history. The language is humorous and worth reading.