What is the historical background of the existence of the seven sages of bamboo forest?

The Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest refer to seven celebrities who became famous later than the Seven Sages of Jian 'an. Including Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, Dan Tao, Xiang Embroidery, Liu Ling, Wang Rong and Ruan Xian. At that time, there were often seven people gathered under the bamboo forest in Shanyang County (now Xiuwu area of Henan Province), so they were called the seven sages of the bamboo forest. The seven men's political thoughts and attitudes towards life are different from those of the seven men in Jian 'an. Most of them "abandon the classics and respect Laozi and Zhuangzi, and respect the openness." In politics, Ji Kang, Ruan Ji and Liu Ling did not cooperate with Sima Group, and Ji Kang was killed. Dan Tao and Wang Rong successively took refuge in the Sima family and served as senior officials, becoming confidants of the Sima regime.

Ruan Ji and Ji Kang are representatives in article creation. Ruan Ji's 82 Poems of "Yong Huai" mostly use the methods of comparison, sustenance, symbol, etc., which implicitly reveals the evil of the supreme ruling group, satirizes the hypocritical ethical code people, and shows the poet's depressed mood under political terror. Ji Kang's "Breaking Up with Mountain Juyuan" takes Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi's advocating nature as the argument, which shows that he is an official, and publicly shows his political attitude of not cooperating with Sima Jia. The article is quite famous. Other works, such as Ruan Ji's Biography of Mr. Adult, Liu Ling's Ode to Wine Virtue, and Xiang Xiu's Homesickness Poem, are also readable. The Annals of Sui Shu's Classics and Records recorded five volumes of Dan Tao. Seven people were representatives of metaphysics at that time, although their ideological tendencies were slightly different. Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, Liu Ling, Ruan Xian, etc. have always advocated learning from Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, "The more famous people are, the more natural they are". Dan Tao and Wang Rong are good at Laozi and Zhuangzi and integrate Confucianism, while Xiang embroidery advocates the integration of Taoism and nature. They live an informal life, quietism, and gather in the bamboo forest to drink and sing. The work exposes and satirizes the hypocrisy of Sima court.

There are obvious differences in political attitudes. Ji Kang, Ruan Ji and Liu Ling. They are officials of Wei, but they don't cooperate with Sima Group, which is in power and has become a substitute. After Ji Kang was killed, Xiang Xiu was forced to become an official. Ruan Xian was a Sanshou riding assistant minister when he entered Jin, but he was not taken seriously. At first, Dan Tao was "invisible", but at the age of 40, he became an official and was under the protection of Sima Shi. He has served as a senior official, such as Shangshu, Shizhong and Situ, and became a senior official of Sima Shi's regime. Wang Rong is stingy and has the greatest ambition for fame and fortune. After he entered Jin, he served as assistant minister, official department minister and Si Tuleideng for a long time. He served as an official during the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin and Emperor Hui of Jin, and remained at leisure until the uprising of the Eight Kings. The uncooperative attitude of the seven sages in the bamboo forest was not tolerated by Sima's court, and finally collapsed: Ruan Ji, Liu Ling and Ji Kang did not cooperate with Sima's court, and Ji Kang was killed. Wang Rong and Dan Tao took refuge in Sima Chaoting, and the Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest finally scattered things.