Poet who hid from the 司马 clan's rise to power in wine and odd behaviour; his 82 poems 咏怀 speak of the times only indirectly. Showing the whites of his eyes to people he scorned gave 白眼.
When Ruan Ji met someone he disliked, he would show them the whites of his eyes.
Tips
culture
Besides the 白眼 of contempt he had 青眼, a straight look with the dark of the eye, which he gave 嵇康. 青 means black here, as in 青丝 'black hair', and the look lives on in 青睐, 'to look on with favour'.
history
When 司马昭 wanted Ruan Ji's daughter as a bride for his son 司马炎, the future first Jin emperor, Ruan Ji stayed drunk for some sixty days so the matter could never be raised, and it was dropped.
