“They were as two birds in flight, Their paired wings soaring, Using cinnabar ink they’d write their vows, I’ll never forget you.”
Born in 210 in the Henan Province in China, Ruan Ji was an eccentric Chinese poet and most renowned member of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of third-century poets and philosophers who sought refuge from worldly pressures in a life of drinking and verse making. His poetry is full of melancholy and has been praised for its profound view of a difficult time. His best-known collection is "Yonghuai shi" (Songs of My Heart) where he applies his brush to a homosexual theme.
