Ji Kang, also known as Shuye, whose surname is Xi, was born in Kuaiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). His ancestors moved to Zhi County, Qiaoguo (now Linhuan Town, Huaibei, Anhui) to avoid a feud, and changed their surname to Ji. ("Ji" is built to commemorate the ancestral home "Ji"). The leader of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove". A famous poet and musician in the late Wei Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, he was one of the representatives of metaphysics at that time.
Ji Kang is a great master of art. He wrote "The Theory of No Sound of Sadness and Music", "The Theory of Difficult Nature to Love Learning", "The Proverbs of the Grand Master", "The Theory of Ming Dan", and "The Theory of Personal Interpretation" ” and “The Theory of Health Preservation” have been passed down from generation to generation, and he played the piano well, especially “Guangling San”, which attracted much attention. At that time, he was as famous as Ruan Ji, who was thirteen years older than him. In the history of music, there is often a saying of "Ji Qin and Ruan Xiao", but in terms of thought and personality, Ji Kang was superior to Ruan Ji. Ji Kang was dissatisfied with those long-standing and grandiose dogmatic etiquette, and even more deeply despised those officialdoms that were full of chaos and flattery. He would rather be an unknown and free blacksmith outside Luoyang than join the ranks of the scumbags. He is obsessed with pursuing the lofty realm of life in his heart: getting rid of constraints, releasing human nature, returning to nature, and enjoying leisure. The roaring fire and the vigorous hammering are the perfect interpretation of this realm. Therefore, when his friend Shan Tao recommended him to the imperial court for an official position, he resolutely broke off relations with Shan Tao and wrote the famous "Book of Breaking Diplomacy with Shan Juyuan" in cultural history to clarify his aspirations.
He is an upright person, lost his father when he was young, and is inspirational and diligent in studying. Later, he married the owner of Changle Pavilion (one theory is that she is the granddaughter of Cao Cao, the daughter of Cao Lin; another theory is that she is the great-granddaughter of Cao Cao, the granddaughter of Cao Lin). When the Cao family was in power, she held the official position of Zhongsan Dafu. Sima Zhao once wanted to win over Ji Kang, but Ji Kang leaned towards the royal family in the political dispute at that time and adopted an uncooperative attitude towards the Sima family, so he was quite jealous. Sima Zhao's confidant Zhong Hui wanted to make friends with Ji Kang, but was treated coldly, and the feud started. Ji Kang's friend Lu An was falsely accused of being unfilial by his brother. Ji Kang came forward to defend Lu An. Zhong Hui immediately advised Sima Zhao to take the opportunity to get rid of Lu and Ji. Ji Kang's outstanding talent and carefree style of life eventually brought him disaster. His life propositions of "not using Tang Dynasty and martial arts but despising Zhouli" and "going beyond fame and religion and letting nature take its course" deeply hurt the vitality of the ruling class: Ji Kang despised the classics of saints and hated the official career. If it goes on for a long time, wouldn't it be harmful to him? In our Taiping Jiangshan rule, this person cannot be killed to rectify the people's customs and clear the king's way. Isn't there a ready-made case of Lu An here? Wouldn't it be great to involve him so that he can be killed without being used as a weapon? Therefore, under the slander and instigation of some villains who hated Ji Kang, in 262 AD, the ruler Sima Zhao ordered Ji Kang to be executed. On the execution ground, three thousand imperial students petitioned the imperial court to pardon Ji Kang and to worship Ji Kang as their teacher. This demonstrated Ji Kang's academic status and personality charm to the society, but of course this "unreasonable request" Will not be accepted by those in power. What Ji Kang was thinking about at this moment was not that his splendid life was about to end, but that there was no successor to this wonderful piece of music. He asked to pass a harp, and on the high execution platform, facing thousands of people who came to see him off, he played the last "Guangling San". The clang of the harp and the mysterious melody were overwhelming. drifted into everyone's heart. After finishing playing, Ji Kang calmly raised his head and poked. He was only thirty-nine years old at the time.
Ji Kang later came from a poor family, so he and Xiang Xiu often forged iron under the shade of trees, not to make a living, but to follow their own wishes. Your noble son Zhong Hui is a good judge of talent. One day, Zhong Hui came to visit and brought a large number of officials. Ji Kang was disgusted when he saw this scene and ignored him. He just lowered his head to work. Zhong Hui stayed for a long time, feeling dissatisfied. At this time, Ji Kang spoke: "Why did you come here after what you heard? Why did you leave after what you saw?" Zhong Hui immediately replied: "Come here after hearing what you heard, and leave after seeing what you saw." After speaking, he walked away. , Later Zhong Hui hated Ji Kang deeply and often spoke ill of him in front of Sima Zhao.
According to Liu Ji's "Qin Yi": Ji Kang learned "Guangling San" from Du Kui's son Du Meng. Ji Kang loved this piece of music very much and played it often, which attracted many people to ask for advice, but Ji Kang would not teach it.
After Sima came to power, he refused to comply with his rule. He and Ruan Ji, Xiang Xiu, Shan Tao, Liu Ling, Ruan Xian and Wang Rong, known as the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest", opposed Sima and were later killed by Sima. Fang Si died at the time of his death. Ten years old. Before his execution, three thousand imperial students interceded for him, but they were not allowed to do so. Before his death, he played this piece on his piano and sighed with emotion: "Guangling San" is now extinct. A molded portrait brick of Ji Kang was unearthed from the Southern Dynasties Tomb in Xishanqiao, Nanjing, depicting a majestic image of Ji Kang sitting on a banquet and playing the harp.
Ji Kang loved music. He said in the preface to "Qin Fu": "Young Master Yu is good at the sound, and he has been accustomed to it for a long time. He thinks that things have their ups and downs but this does not change. The taste is boring, but he is not tired of it. ." He is very familiar with both traditional and contemporary Qin music, which can be seen in his "Qin Fu". Ji Kang composed "Wind into the Pine" and four other qin pieces, "Changqing", "Duanqing", "Longside" and "Shortside", which are known as "Ji's Four Nongs". "Cai's Five Nongs", collectively known as "Nine Nongs", are a group of famous Qin music in ancient my country. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty once made playing "Nine Nongs" one of the conditions for recruiting scholars, which shows its great influence and high achievements.
In addition to being famous for playing "Guangling San", Ji Kang also made unique contributions to music theory, which are his "Qin Fu" and "Soundless Sad Music Theory". "Qin Fu" mainly expresses Ji Kang's understanding of Qin and music, and also reflects Ji Kang's views that are inconsistent with traditional Confucian thought. "On Soundless Sadness and Music" is the author's direct and concentrated criticism of the Confucian thought of "music governing the world". Ji Kang's true knowledge of music shines in it.
Wang Rong has been dating Ji Kang for twenty years, and he has never had a bad look on his face. Therefore, he has the reputation of "distant in taste and open-minded in mind"; however, Ji Kang has a side of "hard-hearted, ill-willed, outspoken, and prone to anger when trouble arises". His love for "Guangling San" is a manifestation of his cynical, arrogant and rebellious character, and his contempt for Sima Zhao, which led to his death, is a clear example of this uprightness.
Ji Kang is good at calligraphy and specializes in cursive script. His "Calligraphy Meeting" by Zhang Yanyuan of the Tang Dynasty ranked second in cursive script. He was also good at painting. In the Tang Dynasty, there were "The Picture of Ears Washing by a Nest" and "The Picture of a Lion Attacking an Elephant" that were handed down to the world. Unfortunately, they have all been lost now.