Zuo Si

Zuo Si (c. 250 – c. 305), also Tso Ssu, was a scholar and poet during the Jin dynasty, born to an aristocratic family of Confucian scholars in Linzi, now Shandong, in China. His courtesy or literary name was Taichong. His most notable works are San Du Fu (Rhapsodies on the Three Capitals) and Yong Shi (Poems on History). He is known for his thoughtful and elegant literary style and his reclusive nature. He advocated escape from the entanglements of society. His influence was great, and according to a story from Shi Shuo Xin Yu, Wang Huizhi being inspired to go see Dai Kui while humming to himself Zuo Si's poem.

Wisdom & Quotes

• No need for silken string or flute of bamboo,

An unsullied music is in the streams and hills.
Who would wait for human singing
When the clustered trees,
Murmur in their sadness for themselves.

• The bird in a forest can perch but

On one bough.
And this should be the wise man's pattern.

Tsai Yen