From the Ruan Ji 阮籍 and Ji Kang 嵇康at the early Medieval China, their devout yet agonizing pursuit of the inner idealized world that essentially accompanied with the intense disdains and denials to the hypocritical and corrupted Confucian-dominated ruling orders and values, in truth stood as the unparalleled phenomenon in nearly the entirety of the history of China. Such unparalleled phenomenon was grounded in their cultivated highly independent and exclusive aristocracy identity and most critically born of their luminous awakening of the ultimate inner world spirit that unfortunately failed to sustain and endure itself in the long-term history.
After the great collapse of the Han Empire at the late second century, the aristocracy class that had completed the preliminary class structural formation under the endurable Han period, deeply retreated to maintain their distinctive identity particularly after the great suffering of the political oppression that happened on the late Han period, and the status of aristocracy class was further reinforced through the process of political withdrawal by in fact taking the expanding role in the ordering of the communities and society as whole.
Thus accordingly the philosophical system of ultimate natural order has been established in order to ideologically consolidate and and validate the relationship between aristocracy class and centralized imperial power. The philosophical idea of the ultimate natural order powerfully asserted and justified distant position of the aristocracy class from the centralized politics to preserve the unique and exclusive aristocracy identity and meanwhile to maintain the true state of constancy and tranquility that fundamentally regulated and determined by the ultimate principle of natural order.
In term of the necessary predisposition that the core essence of the World Spirit, or known as the Geist, is the freedom. The belief and practice onto the philosophical system of ultimate natural order could be regarded as the prelude for the true awakening of the world spirit.
The forcible imposition of the political oppression from the regent ruling of Sima family heavily disrupted the ongoing restoration process of the relation-rebuilding between the aristocracy class and centralized power. However, such political oppression simultaneously served as the pivotal moment for the aristocracy intellectuals who underwent the immense emotional and spiritual sufferings under the continuous environment of political oppression, to strongly but ephemerally awakened their world spirit, which the spirit is essentially proved to be exclusively existed with the realm of inner idealized world.
今汝造音以亂聲，作色以詭形，外易其貌，內隱其情。懷欲以求多，詐偽以要名；君立而虐興，臣設而賊生。坐制禮法，束縛下民。欺愚誑拙，藏智自神。強者睽視而凌暴，弱者憔悴而事人。假廉而成貪，內險而外仁，罪至不悔過，幸遇則自矜。馳此以奏除，故循滯而不振。
Now you devise sounds to confound harmony, and fashion colors to pervert form; outwardly you alter appearance, inwardly you conceal intention. Harboring desire, you seek abundance; through fraud and falsehood, you pursue a name. When lords arise, cruelty follows; when ministers are set, treachery is born. Seated, they contrive rites and laws, to bind and fetter the common folk. They deceive the foolish, delude the simple, and hoard wisdom as though it were divine. The strong glare askance and oppress with violence; the weak grow haggard and serve in subjection. Feigned integrity becomes greed; within lurks peril while without appears benevolence. When guilt arrives, they repent not; when fortune comes, they vaunt themselves. Thus they hasten in this course to gain advancement and discharge, and so they revolve in stagnation, without renewal or uplift.
今汝尊賢以相高，競能以相尚，爭勢以相君，寵貴以相加，趨天下以趣之，此所以上下相殘也。竭天地萬物之至，以奉聲色無窮之慾，此非所以養百姓也。於是懼民之知其然，故重賞以喜之，嚴刑以威之。財匱而賞不供，刑盡而罰不行，乃始有亡國、戮君、潰敗之禍。此非汝君子之為乎？汝君子之禮法，誠天下殘賊、亂危、死亡之術耳！而乃目以為美行不易之道，不亦過乎！
Now you exalt the worthy only to contend in height, compete in talent only to outshine one another, strive for power only to set yourselves as lords, heap favor and rank upon each other, and rush through the world in pursuit of gain—thereby do the high and the low destroy one another. You exhaust the utmost treasures of Heaven and Earth to serve the endless desires of sound and color; this is not the way to nourish the people. Therefore, fearing that the people may perceive the truth, you gladden them with lavish rewards and awe them with severe punishments. Yet when wealth is spent and rewards can no longer be supplied, when punishments are exhausted and penalties no longer enforced, then arise the calamities of lost states, slain rulers, and broken realms. Is this not the work of you, the so-called gentlemen Your rites and laws are indeed but the arts of destruction and plunder, of disorder, peril, and death—yet you behold them as virtuous conduct and the immutable Way. Is this not a grave delusion?
The severe criticism and vehement denunciation on the people who surrendered to fully embody with the system of oppression indicated the deep awareness and realization of the fundamental hypocrisy of the ongoing system of oppression, and the inevitable eventual self-deviation and self-destruction of the correlated individual and system. Such deep and painful realization is the key to the understanding that the true world spirit will never be awakened and fulfilled under system of oppression.
..立六經以爲準，仰仁義以爲主，以規矩爲軒駕，以講誨爲哺乳。由其途則通，乖其路則滯；遊心極視，不睹其外；終年馳聘，思不出位。聚族獻議，唯學爲貴。執書擿句，俯仰諮嗟；使服膺其言，以爲榮華...謂六經爲太陽，不學爲長夜耳。今若以明堂爲丙舍，以誦諷爲鬼語，以六經爲蕪穢，以仁義爲臭腐，睹文籍則目瞧，修揖讓則變傴，襲章服則轉筋，譚禮典則齒齲。於是兼而棄之，與萬物爲更始，則吾子雖好學不倦，猶將闕焉。則向之不學，未必爲長夜，六經未必爲太陽也。
They have set up the Six Classics as their standard, looked up to benevolence and righteousness as their guiding principles, taken rules and measures for their chariots and steeds, and instruction and discourse as their nourishment. If one follows their path, he is said to reach enlightenment; if he strays from their way, he is deemed obstructed. They roam in thought and gaze to their utmost, yet see nothing beyond these bounds. All their lives they gallop and race within that pen, their minds never venturing from the prescribed track. Gathered in clans, they offer opinions— for them, learning alone is held as noble. They clutch the books and parse the sentences, bending and raising their heads with sighs and admiration, pressing the words to their bosoms as ornaments of glory and success. They said: “The Six Classics are the sun itself; to be without study is but eternal night.” But if one were now to take the Hall of Enlightenment as a burning house, recitation as the speech of ghosts, the Six Classics as weeds and brambles, and benevolence and righteousness as rotting carrion—then, at the sight of written scrolls, his eyes would turn askance; at gestures of ceremony and bowing, his frame would grow contorted; in donning the robes of office, his muscles would twist; and at the mention of rites and statutes, his teeth would ache. Should he then cast all these aside together, and make a new beginning with the ten thousand things, even though he be tireless in his love of learning, he would still fall short of the mark. Thus it may be said: what was once called ignorance is not necessarily endless night, and what is called the Six Classics is not necessarily the sun.
The further total rejection of the dominated moral and ruling ideology that systematically employed by the system of oppression created the imperative and necessity of constructing the fully immersive inner idealized world that is completely detached from the corrupted external world system, and the true spirit can only be awakened and realized within the full existence of that inner world.
天地解兮六和開，星辰霄兮日月隤，我騰而上將何懷？衣弗襲而服美，佩弗飾而自章，上下徘徊兮誰識吾常？遂去而遐浮，肆雲轝，興氣蓋，徜徉迴翔兮漭瀁之外。建長星以為旗兮，擊雷霆之康蓋。開不周而出車兮，出九野之夷泰。坐中州而一顧兮，望崇山而迴邁。端余節而飛旃兮，縱心慮乎荒裔，釋前者而弗修兮，馳蒙間而遠逌。棄世務之眾為兮，何細事之足賴？虛形體而輕舉兮，精微妙而神豐。命夷羿使寬日兮，召忻來使緩風。攀扶桑之長枝兮，登扶搖之隆崇。躍潛飄之冥昧兮，洗光曜之昭明。遺衣裳而弗服兮，服雲氣而遂行。朝造駕乎湯谷兮，夕息馬乎長泉。時崦嵫而易氣兮，揮若華以照冥。左朱陽以舉麾兮，右玄陰以建旗，變容飾而改度，遂騰竊以修征。陰陽更而代邁，四時奔而相逌，惟仙化之倏忽兮，心不樂乎久留。驚風奮而遺樂兮，雖雲起而忘憂，忽電消而神逌兮，歷寥廓而遐遊。佩日月以舒光兮，登徜徉而上浮，壓前進於彼逌道兮，將步足乎虛州。掃紫宮而陳席兮，坐帝室而忽會酬。萃眾音而奏樂兮，聲驚渺而悠悠。五帝舞而再屬兮，六神歌而代週。樂啾啾肅肅，洞心達神，超遙茫茫，心往而忘返，慮大而志矜。粵大人微而弗復兮，揚雲氣而上陳。召大幽之玉女兮，接上王之美人。體雲氣之逌暢兮，服太清之淑貞。合歡情而微授兮，先豔溢其若神。華茲燁以俱發兮，采色煥其並振。傾玄麾而垂鬢兮，曜紅顏而自新。時曖靆而將逝兮，風飄颻而振衣。雲氣解而霧離兮，靄奔散而永歸。心惝惘而遙思兮，眇迴目而弗晞。揚清風以為旟兮，翼旋軫而反衍。騰炎陽而出疆兮，命祝融而使遣。驅玄冥以攝堅兮，蓐收秉而先戈。勾芒奉轂，浮驚朝霞，寥廓茫茫而靡都兮，邈無儔而獨立。倚瑤廂而一顧兮，哀下土之憔悴。分是非以為行兮，又何足與比類？霓旌飄兮雲旂藹，樂遊兮出天外。
Heaven and Earth are unbound, the Six Directions opened wide; the stars and constellations glimmer in the skies, and sun and moon descend in turn. I soar aloft—what longing should I bear? My robe is unadorned, yet it is fair; my girdle untrimmed, yet it shines of itself. I wander between above and below—who shall discern my constancy? Then I depart, drifting far abroad, riding upon clouds, raising the canopy of vital breath. I roam and wheel beyond the boundless vast. I set the Long Star as my banner, and strike the thunders for my sounding drums. I open the Gate of Unreached Perfection, and pass through the Nine Fields, tranquil and wide. Seated in the Central Realm, I turn my gaze— toward lofty mountains I move again. I lift my emblem and unfurl my pennon, releasing my heart’s thought to the utmost wastes. I let go what was before and tend it not, rushing through the misty void to remote distances. I cast aside the affairs of the world’s many matters— what petty thing is worth reliance? My form grows light and empty; I ascend with ease, subtle and profound, my spirit abundant and free. I command Yi the Archer to broaden the sun, summon Xin-lai to gentle the wind. I climb the long branches of the Fusang tree, and mount the high spiral of the whirling gale. I leap and drift through the dim obscurities, to cleanse myself in the brilliance of the shining light. I cast off garments and do not wear them, but clothe myself in cloud-breath and go forth. At dawn I drive my chariot to the Hot Valley; at dusk I rest my steeds beside the Long Spring. When the sun declines beyond Mount Yan-zhi, I change my breath; I wave the blossoming flower to illumine the dark. To the left, the Vermilion Sun lifts my banner; to the right, the Dark Shade sets my flag. I alter my form and change my measure, then rise swift and pure upon the journey. Yin and Yang take turns in their passing; the Four Seasons race and meet each other. The transformations of the Immortal are but a moment’s flash— the heart finds no joy in long abiding. The startled wind stirs and leaves music behind; though clouds arise, my sorrow is forgotten. Sudden as lightning fading, my spirit expands, passing through the vastness, wandering afar. I wear the sun and moon as my pendants, spreading forth their light; I ascend and drift above in freedom. Advancing onward along the distant Way, I shall plant my steps in the Land of Void. I sweep the Purple Palace and set forth mats, and in the Hall of the Emperor we meet in sudden communion. Gathering the myriad tones, I sound the music— its echo is distant, its resonance unending. The Five Emperors dance in twin succession; the Six Spirits sing in their appointed rounds. The music rustles, pure and solemn; it pierces the heart and reaches the divine. Far and vast, beyond reckoning, the mind goes forth and forgets to return— thoughts expand, and the will exults. Now the Great Man, subtle and unseen, rises again, spreading cloud-breath above in display. He summons the Jade Maid of the Deep Gloom, and greets the Beautiful One of the Upper King. They clothe themselves in the ease of cloud-vapors, and wear the pure chastity of the Great Clarity. With hearts joined in secret joy, they move in divine grace; before beauty overflows, it already seems celestial. Their splendors bloom together, their hues shine and glow in mutual radiance. They tilt the dark banners and let down their tresses, their rosy faces gleam anew. When the time grows dim and they are about to part, the wind stirs and their robes flutter in motion. The vapors disperse, the mists withdraw; the haze rushes apart and returns to eternity. My heart is wistful and my thoughts roam afar, my gaze drifts into the distance and does not clear. I raise the pure wind as my pennon, wheel my chariot on airy wings and turn back in flight. I rise with the blazing sun beyond all bounds, and command Zhu Rong to lead the way. I drive the Dark God to guard the firm, and make Ru Shou bear the vanguard spear. Gou Mang attends the axle, floating through morning glow. Vast and boundless, without dwelling or city, remote and peerless, I stand alone. Leaning upon the jade balustrade, I look once more, and grieve for the waning of the world below. Dividing right and wrong for the path’s sake— what worth have such distinctions? Rainbow banners wave, cloud pennons gather; I delight in roaming beyond the sky.
The deliberate constitution of the inner idealized world needed to be started with the remarkable cultural imaginations and visions. The world spirit itself is absolutely universal, but that universality is necessary to be executed by the definite particularity to be fully fulfilled in the specific condition.
The thorough repudiation on the external world of order and morality reasonably led to the imaginative construction of the inner idealized world that overwhelmingly centered on the ancient landscapes and legends that beautifully infused with the profound mystic dimensions. As the corporeal self with all the pains and struggles miserably inflicted onto it meant to be entirely vanished in that inner realm, and the self-identity and soul are fully integrated into the whole unity with the inner idealized world.
The creation of the inner idealized world was deeply inspired by the cultural particularity, but the experience inside is truly transcendental that surpassing any practical forms of engagements. And the true freedom that reflected in the very essence of world spirit can be achieved solely through the experience of transcendence.
It is undeniable that the sustainable existence of the inner idealized world is the exceptionally difficult task. The nature of the inner idealized world that being completely detached from the hypocritical external world meant it can only find existence with the domain of inner consciousness. An individual who had faithfully embraced the spirit of inner idealized world would be continuously forced to confront the external system.
一日復一夕，一夕復一朝。顏色改平常，精神自損消。胸中懷湯火，變化故相招。萬事無窮極，知謀苦不饒。但恐須臾間，魂氣隨風飄。終身履薄冰，誰知我心焦。
Day follows day, and night follows night; each evening returns to dawn again. My countenance has changed from what it was, my spirit wastes and withers of itself. Within my breast I harbor boiling flame, and change forever calls to change again. All things are endless, without bound; wisdom and striving only bring me pain. I fear but this — that in a fleeting breath my soul and vital spirit drift away like wind. All my life I tread upon thin ice — who knows the fever burning in my heart?
The immense struggles and sufferings from the system of oppressions could not identify the practical solution to be remedied, and the state of intense mind suffering is in the constant and haunting presence.
吾寧憤陳誠，讜言帝庭，不屈王公乎？將卑懦委隨，承旨倚靡，為面從乎？寧愷悌弘覆，施而不德乎？將進趣世利，苟容偷合乎？寧隱居行義，推至誠乎？將崇飾矯誣，養虛名乎？寧斥逐凶佞，守正不傾，明臧否乎？將傲倪滑稽，挾智任術，為智囊乎？... 寧隱鱗藏彩，若淵中之龍乎？將舒翼揚聲，若雲間之鴻乎？寧外化其形，內隱其情，屈身隨時，陸沈無名，雖在人間，實處冥冥乎？將激昂為清，銳思為精，行與世異，心與俗並，所在必聞，恆營營乎？寧寥落閒放，無所矜尚，彼我為一，不爭不讓，游心皓素，忽然坐忘，追羲農而不及，行中路而惆悵乎？將慷慨以為壯，感慨以為亮，上干萬乘，下凌將相，尊嚴其容，高自矯抗，常如失職，懷恨怏怏乎？寧聚貨千億，擊鍾鼎食，枕藉芬芳，婉孌美色乎？將苦身竭力，翦除荊棘，山居谷飲，倚岩而息乎？
Shall I rather speak forth in anger, laying bare my sincerity, uttering words of rectitude before the imperial court, refusing to bow to princes and lords? Or shall I abase myself in weakness and compliance, fawning upon command, to become one who flatters with his face and serves with his tongue? Shall I be gentle and broad in kindness, bestowing favor without seeking its return? Or shall I chase after worldly gain, yielding and conniving for hollow accord? Shall I live in seclusion and walk in righteousness, pursuing the utmost sincerity? Or shall I exalt false show and cunning deceit, nourishing a hollow name? Shall I cast out the wicked and flatterer, hold firm to uprightness and never bend, judging clearly what is worthy and what is base? Or shall I act with mocking arrogance and slippery wit, grasping at cleverness and relying on artifice, becoming a mere bag of tricks? Shall I hide my scales and colors, like the dragon concealed in the deep? Or shall I spread my wings and cry aloud, like the swan soaring through the clouds? Shall I transform my form outwardly while concealing my heart within, bending my body to suit the times, sinking nameless beneath the world’s surface— dwelling among men, yet truly abiding in the dark? Or shall I rouse myself in proud clarity, sharpening my thought to brilliance, walk apart from the world yet keep my heart with the crowd, so that wherever I go, my name is known, my days consumed in restless striving? Shall I live spare and free, with nothing to boast or claim, making no distinction of self and others, content in peace, neither contending nor yielding, wandering with a pure and shining mind until I sit in sudden forgetfulness— seeking to follow Fu Xi and Shen Nong, yet falling short, walking the Middle Way, yet sorrowing still? Or shall I stir my heart to valiant feeling, exalting passion as brightness, pressing upward to defy the throne of ten thousand chariots, and downward to challenge the ministers of state, holding my countenance in proud restraint, raising myself high in self-assertion, forever as one who has lost his post, nursing resentment and bitter regret? Shall I amass a thousand millions in treasure, strike the bells and dine from tripods, recline among fragrance and delicate beauty? Or shall I toil and exhaust my strength, clearing away the thorns and briars, dwelling in the mountains, drinking from the valleys, and resting by the cliffs?
To live with the enduring sense of the pain, It is crucial to keep the self in the state of constant awareness and reflection about the preservation and sustenance of the inner idealized world. The world spirit itself is permanent and universal, but the state of the awakened spirit and the intellectual and spiritual consciousness of the transcendent freedom that exclusively exist and thrive within the inner idealized world may undergo the significant fluctuations that primarily depending on the steadiness and resilience of the individual will.
The inherently hypocritical and corrupted nature of the external system of oppression must be continually remembered and recognized, and the individual ultimate commitment and persistence on guarding and preserving the transcendental spirit and freedom within the inner idealized world must be resolute and enduring.
誰言不可見，青鳥明我心。
Who says that she cannot be seen? The azure bird has brightened and made my heart known.
The persistent devotion to the cultivation of the inner idealized world is completely individual but meanwhile absolutely universal. The spirit of inner world would be only perceived by the self but meanwhile the self-perception is in the perfect unity with the awakened inner world spirit. The inner world spirit has been initially awakened through the deep philosophical reflections on the painful confrontations with the external world, and it must continue and it is indeed destined to flourish as both the symbol of transcendental purity and act of resistance against the system of oppression.
The spirit of the inner idealized world, in reality, ceased to be fully existed after the time of Ruan Ji and Ji Kang. The ruling of the Sima family did find the new equilibrium of relationship with the aristocracy class, and the further consolidation of the aristocracy class and their distinct incorporation into the centralized power continued to be developed substantially over the course of centuries.
While the pursuit of the inner idealized world did not end with the time of Ruan Ji and Ji Kang, the moral courage to completely deny and reject the external system and the immense painfulness accompanied with it was rarely observed after then, and the ultimate spirit of the inner world cannot be truly awakened without such specific condition.
The writing on the Ruan Ji and Ji Kang in the current moment essentially the construction of the self-consciousness for deeply understanding and approaching the inner idealized world with the awakened spirit. The endless painfulness from the unceasing struggles with the system of oppression by no means halts at the particular period but rather attains the unprecedented intensity that under the distorted empowerment of modernity. The spirit from the Ruan Ji and Ji Kang, from their inner idealized world, cannot be authentically reproduced, but the genuine dedication to the pursuit of the inner world spirit with the shared and sympathetic intensity of painfulness, must never be ceased.
*** This essay is written for Postgraduate program of World History and Philosophy at King's College London, and is part of the series on Spiritual World of Ruan Ji and Ji Kang that under the Medieval China series. The content of the essay has been featured on MyNewsGH.
