From Wiki:
Lu Ji (261 - 303 AD), courtesy name Shiheng, was a Chinese essayist, military general, politician, and writer who lived during the late Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China.George: Hey ChatGPT, acting as an historian of China, pleaes give me a synoptic overview of the Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China.
The Three Kingdoms Period in Ancient China
The Three Kingdoms period in ancient China is one of the most fascinating and influential times in Chinese history, lasting from 220 to 280 AD. This period followed the fall of the Han Dynasty and was characterized by a tripartite division of China between the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu.
Background:
The end of the Han Dynasty was marked by chaos, corruption, and uprisings, including the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which weakened the central authority. The power vacuum led to the rise of regional warlords who battled for control of China.
The Three States:
- Wei (220–265): Founded by Cao Cao and his son Cao Pi, Wei was the most powerful and the largest among the three states. It was located in the northern part of China, with its capital at Luoyang and later at Chang'an. The state of Wei was recognized for its strong central government and military strength.
- Shu (221–263): Established by Liu Bei, with the help of his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and the strategist Zhuge Liang. Shu was based in the southwest in the Sichuan basin, with its capital at Chengdu. Shu was the least powerful state and often engaged in defensive positions against Wei.
- Wu (229–280): Founded by Sun Quan, Wu was located in the southeastern part of China, with its capital at Jianye (modern-day Nanjing). Wu had a strong navy and controlled many key river routes.
Significant Events:
- Battle of Red Cliffs (208): This pivotal battle occurred before the official start of the Three Kingdoms period but set the stage for the tripartite division. The allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao's army, which prevented Cao Cao from establishing dominance over all of China.
- Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions: The Shu kingdom, under the guidance of the brilliant strategist Zhuge Liang, launched several military campaigns against Wei, but they ultimately failed to alter the balance of power significantly.
- Simultaneous Rise and Fall: Despite periods of alliances and relative peace, the three kingdoms were often in conflict. The period was marked by political intrigue, alliances, and warfare.
End of the Three Kingdoms:
- Conquest of Shu by Wei (263): Wei launched a successful campaign against Shu, leading to the latter's annexation.
- Sima Yan's Foundation of the Jin Dynasty (265): The state of Wei was usurped by its own general, Sima Yan, who established the Jin Dynasty.
- Conquest of Wu by Jin (280): The Jin Dynasty eventually conquered Wu, reuniting China under one rule and marking the end of the Three Kingdoms period.
Cultural Impact:
The Three Kingdoms period has had a lasting impact on Chinese culture, inspiring a rich body of literature, art, and folklore. The most notable work is the historical novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guanzhong, which dramatizes the events of this era and has become one of China's Four Great Classical Novels.
Legacy:
The era is remembered for its legendary figures and their strategies, as well as for the lessons of loyalty, brotherhood, and the art of war. It has also been romanticized in popular culture, influencing everything from operas to video games, and continues to be a subject of study for both historians and enthusiasts.
He was the fourth son of Lu Kang, a general of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period, and a grandson of Lu Xun, a prominent general and statesman who served as the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.
Lu Ji was related to the imperial family of the state of Eastern Wu. ... After the Jin dynasty conquered Eastern Wu in 280, Lu Ji, along with his brother Lu Yun, moved to the Jin imperial capital, Luoyang. He served as a writer under the Jin government and was appointed president of the imperial academy. "He was too scintillating for the comfort of his jealous contemporaries; in 303 he, along with his two brothers and two sons, was put to death on a false charge of high treason."
Lu Ji wrote much lyric poetry but is better known for writing fu, a mixture of prose and poetry. He is best remembered for the Wen fu (文賦; On Literature), a piece of literary criticism that discourses on the principles of composition. Achilles Fang commented:
The Wen - fu is considered one of the most articulate treatises on Chinese poetics. The extent of its influence in Chinese literary history is equaled only by that of the sixth-century The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons of Liu Hsieh. In the original, the Wen-fu is rhymed, but does not employ regular rhythmic patterns: hence the term "rhymeprose."
The author of The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons Liu Xie (ca. 465–522 AD) offers a rebuttal of the text we are interested in here.
There are several English translations available. Theodore Grayck offers one. The URL I had for this no longer points in the right direction, but Grayck's translation is archived in The Wayback Machine. If you haven't been to the Wayback Machine, go soon. It's arguably the best thing on the Internet.
The translation offered below is Sam Hamill's (1987). He offers an Afterword that provides an excellent historical background. It's an inexpensive book worth buying.
PREFACE
When studying the work of the Masters, I watch the working of their minds. Surely, facility with language & the charging of the word with energy are effects which can be achieved by various means Still, the beautiful can be distinguished from the common, the good from the mediocre. Only through writing and then revising and revising may one gain the necessary insight. We worry whether our ideas fall short of their subjects, whether the form rhymes with the content. This may be easy to know, but it is difficult to put into practice. I have composed this rhymed prose on the Ars Poetica to introduce past masterpieces as models for an examination of the good and the bad in writing. Perhaps it will be said one day that I have written something of substance and use, that I have entered the Mystery. When cutting an axe handle with an axe, surely the model is at hand. Each writer finds a new entrance into the Mystery, and it is difficult to explain. Nonetheless, I have set down my thinking as clearly as I am able. The poet stands at the centre of the universe contemplating the Enigma. He draws sustenance from the masterpieces of the past. 1. The Early Motion Studying the four seasons as they pass, he sighs. Seeing the inter-connectedness of things, he knows the many ways of the world. He mourns the leaves torn away by the cruel hands of autumn; he honours the fragrant tender bud of spring. Autumn frost sends a shudder through his heart; summer clouds can make his spirits soar. He learns to recite the classics; he sings in the clean fragrance of old masters. He explores the treasures of the classics where form and content join. Thus moved, he lays aside his books and takes the writing brush in hand to make this composition.II. Beginning
Eyes closed, he hears an inner music; he is lost in thoughts and questions His spirit rides to the eight corners of the universe, his mind a thousand miles away. And then the inner voice grows clearer as objects become defined. And he pours forth the essence of words, savouring their sweetness. He drifts in a heavenly lake, he dives to the depths of seas. And he brings up living words like fishes hooked in their gills, leaping from the deep; And beauty is brought down like a bird on an arrowstring shot from passing clouds. He gathers his words & images from those unused by previous generations; his music comes from melodies unplayed for a thousand years or more. The morning blossoms bloom; soon the night buds will unfold. He sees past and present commingle; he sees the whole Four Seas in the single blink of an eye.III. Choosing Words
He chooses from among his ideas and orders his thoughts; he considers his words with great care and fits them with a sense of defined proportion. Shadowy thoughts are brought into the light of reason; echoes are traced to their sources. It is like following a branch to find the trembling leaves, like following a stream to find the spring. The poet brings light into darkness, even if that means the simple becomes difficult or the difficult easy. Hence, the tiger may silence other beasts, and the dragon send away the birds in terrifying waves. In writing, the travelling is sometimes level & easy, sometimes steep and rocky. He calms his mind's deep waters; he collects from deep thoughts the proper names for things. Heaven and earth are trapped in visible form; all things emerge from his writing brush. At first, his brush parched his lips, but now his brush is moist from deep dipping. Pure reason is the tree-trunk; style makes beautiful foliage. Emotion & reason become one, every shift in feeling can be read. Finding joy, he also finds joy's laughter; in sorrow, and he identifies a sigh Sometimes the words come easily; sometimes he sits in silence knawing at his bursh.IV. The Satisfaction
The pleasure a writer knows is the pleasure all sages enjoy Out of non-being, being is born; out of silence, the writer produces a song. In a single yard of silk, infinite space is found; language is a deluge from one small corner of the heart. The net of images is cast wider and wider; thought searches more and more deeply. The writer spreads the fragrance of new flowers, an abundance of sprouting buds. Laughing winds lift up the metaphor; clouds rise from a forest of writing brushes.V. Catalogue of Genres
The body of writing takes a thousand different forms, and there is no one right way to measure. Changing, changing at the flick of a hand, its various essence, the forms are difficult to capture. Words and phrases compete with one another, but the mind is still master. Caught between the unborn & the living, the writer struggles to maintain both depth and surface. He may depart from the square, he may overstep the circle, searching for the one true form of his reality. He would fill the eyes of his readers with splendour; he would sharpen the mind's values. The one whose language is muddled cannot do it; only when the mind is clear can the language be noble. The lyric [shih] articulates the emotions. Rhymed prose [fu] presents its objects clearly. Inscriptions [pei] are written simply. Elegies [lei] contain the tangled webs of grieving and should be kept mournful. Admonitions [chen] cut against the grain and should be directly written. The eulogy [sung] praises, but must be kept in balance. A treatise [lun] should be subtle, smooth, & polished. Memorials to the Throne [tsou] are simply quiet, but carry a polished elegance all their own. The discourse [shuo] should sparkle. Although each form is different, each stands opposed to evil, and none grants the writer license. Language speaks from its essence, from its reason; verbosity is never a virtue.VI. On Harmony
Each composition assumes a special air, but only after trying many shapes and changes. Ideas must find harmony, one with the other, through a language that is beautiful and true. Sounds intermingle like five colours in embroidery, each enhancing the others. While it is true the emotions are capricious, indulgence is self-destructive. Knowing order is like opening a dam in the river. Not knowing is like grabbing the tail to direct the head of the dragon. When light and dark are poorly mixed, its only effect will be muddy.VII. On Revision
Looking back, one finds the disharmonious image; anticipating what will come, one seeks the smooth transition. Even with right reason, the words will sometimes clang, sometimes the language flows, though the ideas tend to be trivial. Knowing one from the other, the writing is made clearer; confuse the two, and everything will suffer. The General inspects his soldiers for every minutest detail, down to a single hair. When corrections are precise, the building stands square and plumb.VIII. The Key
While the language may be lovely & the reasoning just, the ideas may be trivial. What wants to continue must not end; what has been fully stated is itself a conclusion. The perfect word in the perfect place is a key to unlock the whole composition. However the sentences branch & spread, they grow out of well-placed phrases. When verbosity is restrained and proper order established, one is saved from the pain of further and further revision.IX. On Originality
The mind weaves elaborate tapestries with elegant, many-coloured foliage. Isivit sdy The composition must move the heart like music from an instument with many strings. There are no new ideas, only those which rhyme with certain classics. The shuttle has worked in my heart as it worked in the hearts of those who came before me. As a matter of honour, I must surrender the fruits of this labour.X. Shadow and Echo and Jade
Perhaps only a single blossom of the whole bouquet will bloom; perhaps a single cornstalk rises in the field. Shadows cannot be held. Echoes cannot be harnessed. Poor work is an eyesore, & always obvious; it cannot be woven into music. When the mind is caged & separate, the spirit wanders, and nothing is controlled. When the vein of jade is revealed in the rock, the mountain glistens; the images must shine like pearls in water. The thorn-bush, left unpruned, opens its arms to glory. A common song sung to a great melody is another way to find beauty.XI. The Five Criteria
I. Music
When the rhythm is slack and has no tradition, the poem falters. The poet searches in the silence for a friend, but finds none; he calls &calls into the Void, but nothing answers, A single note from the lute, however beautiful, is not music.2. Harmony
When the phrasing is self-indulgent, the music is gaudy, and no one can find beauty. Where the beautiful mingles with the common, it is the beautiful which suffers. It is like hearing a harsh note from a flute from the courtyard below: one can make music and still lack harmony.3. Feeling
Searching for a subject, the poet may indulge in the needlessly obscure or in the trivial, forsaking common sense. Then the words lack grace, and they ramble, and all love is betrayed As with the thinnest chords of the lute, one detects music and harmony, but cannot identify the feeling.4. Restraint
Sometimes the rhythms and harmonies take over and the poet finds them seductive. Then vanity fills the eye with the vulgar -- a pretentious tune is unsuited for common song. Even when feeling is there, it is not enough unless there is also refinement.5. Refinement
When the poem is free of all confusion, the passions come into perspective. But it may still be so bland as to lack even the flavour of Sacrificial Broth; it may be a blurred note from a string. It may be good enough for one to sing, three to praise' and still be lacking character.XII. Finding Form
Know when the work should be full, and when it should be compacted; know when to lift your eyes and when to look closely, to scrutinize. Adapt to occasions as they arise; permit the emotions to be subtle. Even when language is common, the images must be telling; or when the thinking is clumsy, the language must move smoothly. Old clothes can be refurbished; the stream we muddy soon runs itself clean again. Only after looking, and looking closely, can one make the various subtleties work magic. The sleeves of dancers move with the melodies; the voices of singers rise and fall with the music. P'ien the Wheelwright tried to explain it, but couldn't; nor can the artificial flowers of the critics describe it.XII. The Masterpiece
I take the rules of grammar and guides to good language and hold them in my heart. know what is and is not merely fashion; learn what old masters praised highly. The wisdom found in a subtle mind may be laughed at by the public. The brilliant semi-precious jewels of popular fashion are like ordinary crops in the field. As infinite as space, good work joins earth to heaven. Though the writers of my generation produce in profusion, all their real jewels cannot fill the cup I make of my empty hands. We carry the bucket from the well, but it is soon again empty; wanting each word to sing, the writer worries. Nothing is ever perfect; the true writer must never become complacent. We hear the jade bell's laughter and think it laughs at us; for the poet there is terror in the dust.XIV. The Terror
I worry that my ink well will run dry, that right words cannot be found; I want to respond to the moment's inspiration. I work with what is given; that which passes cannot be detained. Things move into shadows & they vanish; things return in the shape of an echo. When Spring arrives, we understand that Nature has its own reason. Thoughts are lifted from the heart on breezes, and language finds its speaker. Yesterday's buds are this morning's blossoms which we draw with a brush on silk. Every eye knows a pattern, every ear hears a distant music.XV. The Inspiration
The time comes when emotions strangle, though every stimulus wants response, there are times when the spirit freezes. The writer feels dead as old wood, as dry as a riverbed in drought. He searches the depths of his soul for a spirit; he begs for a sign of life. The dark inside of the mind lies hidden; thoughts must be brought like a child from the womb, terrified and screaming Forcing the emotions brings error and error again; letting them come naturally is the way to make them clear. The truth of the thing lies inside me, but no power on earth can force it. Time after time I search my heart in the struggle; sometimes the door slowly opens, and sometimes the door is bolted.XVI. Conclusion
Consider the use of letters, for all principles demand them. Though they travel a thousand miles & more, nothing in the world can stop them; they traverse ten thousand years. Look at them one way, and they clarify laws for the future; look at them another, and they provide models from old masters. The art of letters has saved governments from certain ruin and propagates proper morals. Through letters there is no road too distant to travel, no idea too confusing to be ordered. It comes like rain from clouds; it renews the vital spirit. Inscribed on bronze & marble, it honours every virtue; it sings through flute and strings, and every day is made newer.