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{{Short description|Chinese writer, poet, philosopher, musician and alchemist (223–262)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Ji Kang
| native_name         = 嵇康
| image               = 
| image_size          = 180px
| caption             = 
| alt                 = 
| office              = Attendant Counsellor (中散大夫)
| term_start          = ?
| term_end            = ?
| monarch             = [[Cao Mao]] / [[Cao Huan]]
| birth_date          = 223
| birth_place         = [[Suixi County, Anhui|Suixi County]], [[Anhui]]
| death_date          = 262 (aged 39)
| death_place         = [[Luoyang]], [[Henan]]
| relations           = Ji Xi (brother)
| father              = Ji Zhao
| spouse              = [[Cao Lin (Prince of Pei)|Cao Lin]]'s daughter
| children            = [[Ji Shao]]
| occupation          = Composer, essayist, philosopher, poet
| blank1              = [[Courtesy name]]
| data1               = Shuye (叔夜)
}}
{{infobox chinese
| c = 嵇康
| p = Xī Kāng, Jī Kāng
| w = Hsi<sup>1</sup> K'ang<sup>1</sup>, Chi<sup>1</sup> K'ang<sup>1</sup>
| j = Hai<sup>1</sup> Hong<sup>1</sup>, Kai<sup>1</sup> Hong<sup>1</sup>
| y = Hāi Hōng, Kāi Hōng
| poj = Ê Khng, Hê Khng
}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Ji (surname 嵇)|Ji]]|lang=Chinese}}

'''Ji Kang''' ({{zh|c=嵇康}}, 223–262), sometimes referred to as '''Xi Kang''', [[courtesy name]] '''Shuye''' ({{lang|zh|叔夜}}<ref> "shu" means the 3rd son of the main wife, "ye" means night</ref>), was a Chinese composer, essayist, philosopher, and poet of the [[Three Kingdoms]] period. He was one of the [[Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove]] who held aloof from the dangerous politics of third-century China to devote themselves to art and refinement.

Ji Kang is noted as an author and was also a famous composer and [[guqin]]-player. He was described as a handsome and tall man (approximately 1.88 metres).

==Life==
As a thinker, Ji Kang wrote on longevity, music theory, politics and ethics. Among his works were ''Yangsheng Lun'' (飬生論, Essay on Nourishing Life), ''Shengwu Aile Lun'' (聲無哀樂論, Discourse on sounds [as] lacking sorrow or joy, i.e. On the Absence of Sentiments in Music), ''Qin Fu'' (琴賦, A Composition on the [[Guqin|Qin]]), and ''Shisi Lun'' (釋私論, Discourse on Individuality). As a musician, Ji Kang composed a number of solo pieces for the [[Guqin|qin]]. 

Ji Kang was highly critical of [[Confucianism]] and challenged many social conventions of his time, provoking scandal and suspicion. He married [[Cao Cao]]'s granddaughter (or great-granddaughter according to some). Ji Kang assumed a post under the [[Cao Wei]] state, but official work bored him. When the regent [[Sima Zhao]] came to power, he offered Ji Kang a civil position, but Ji Kang insolently rejected Sima Zhao's envoy [[Zhong Hui]]. When one of Ji Kang's friends was imprisoned on false charges, Ji Kang testified in his defense, but both were sent to jail. At Zhong Hui's urging, Sima Zhao sentenced Ji Kang to death. Three thousand scholars petitioned for his pardon, but his enemies were implacable. Before his execution, Ji Kang is said to have played one last melody on the guqin, a swan song forever lost.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://the-scholars.com/viewtopic.php?p=508746#p508746 | title=Romance of the Three Kingdoms Groups/Bands • the Scholars of Shen Zhou}}</ref>

Ji Kang wrote ''Guangling San'', a composition for the [[guqin]] recounting the assassination of a king of Han. It was said to be inspired by a spirit visitation, and was widely acclaimed.<ref>Lai, T.C. and Mok, Robert (1981). ''Jade Flute: The Story of Chinese Music''. Schocken Books, New York.</ref> He was also believed to have become a ''[[Xian (Taoism)|xian]]'' (Taoist immortal) through [[Shijie (Taoism)|shijie]] by mainstream [[Taoism]].

==See also== 
* [[List of Chinese authors]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Owen, Stephen [translator], Swartz, Wendy [translator], Tian, Xiaofei [editor], Warner, Ding Xiang [editor] (2017). [https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/467830 The Poetry of Ruan Ji and Xi Kang] {{openaccess}}. '' De Gruyter Mouton''. {{ISBN|978-1-5015-0387-0}}

==External links==
* [http://www.silkqin.com/09hist/qinshi/xikang.htm Xi Kang] Xi Kang and Qin music.

{{Seven sages}}
{{Qin list}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ji, Kang}}

[[Category:223 births]]
[[Category:262 deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century Chinese poets]]
[[Category:3rd-century musicians]]
[[Category:Ancient Chinese composers]]
[[Category:Cao Wei essayists]]
[[Category:Cao Wei musicians]]
[[Category:Chinese male composers]]
[[Category:Chinese non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Guqin players]]
[[Category:Musicians from Anhui]]
[[Category:People from Huaibei]]
[[Category:Philosophers from Anhui]]
[[Category:Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove]]
[[Category:Three Kingdoms philosophers]]