The Wei-Jin period (220-420 AD) was one of the most chaotic in Chinese imperial history. This turbulent time nonetheless produced distinguished literati (mingshi) of formidable talent and charisma. In this talk, we focus on the figure of Ruan Ji ( 阮籍 , 210-263 AD) and try to understand the pressures that faced the literati of this period and the difficulties that underlay their sometimes eccentric responses.
Free online English event