Zuo Si

As suggested by the titles of these melodies (see in particular Zhao Yin, alternatively "Seeking Seclusion" or "Seeking a Recluse"), Zuo Si was noted for advocating escape from the entanglements of society. See, for example, this poem in connection with seeking seclusion. And a story from Shi Shuo Xin Yu tells of Wang Huizhi being inspired to go see Dai Kui while humming to himself Zuo Si's poem.

In addition, here are two couplets at the end of the fifth of his Yong Shi 詠史 Poems on History (translation by Zhang Yue, source ).

被褐出閶闔， Clothed as a commoner, I go out the palace gate,
高步追許由。 With long strides, I pursue Xu You.
振衣千仞岡， I shake my clothes on the steep cliff edge.
濯足萬里流。 I bathe my feet in the long flowing river.

However, as yet I have read little of him actually being one himself.

Zhang Hua (232 - 303), mentioned in Zuo Si's biography below, wrote about Zuo Si in Bowu Zhi.

Zuo Si's biography in the History of Jin can be summarized as follows,⁵

Zuo Si, literary name 太沖 Taichong, was from 臨淄 Linzi in the country of 齊 Qi (an old name for the northern Shandong area). When young he showed great learning in written history. He was ugly and stammered, but (he wrote in) an elegant and grand style. To write a fu poem about the capital city of Qi (next to his home town) took him one year. He also wrote a fu about the three capitals (Three Kingdoms), 乃詣著作浪張載 about visiting lang Zhang Zai (Bio/1229, older brother of Zhang Xie), and 訪岷邛之事 inquiring into the affairs of Min Mountain and Qiu River (in Sichuan), investigating and thinking about it for 10 years. His home was very messy, with pens and paper everywhere, (so that) as soon as he thought of a sentence he could write it down. Once it was finished Zhang Hua wrote with regret, powerful and wealthy families, struggle-mutual-carry on-write, making paper in Luoyang very expensive. He rose to the position of 秘書浪 (25540.xxx) Secretary.

More to be added.⁶

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Zuo Si references (Wikipedia) (Wiki)
Qinshu Daquan, Folio 14 (QQJC V/319). See also QSCB, Chapter 3.A. (p.28). See also Giles: Tsuo Ssu, and there is a good biography in Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, Vol.1, p.806. A more recent article is,

張月 Yue Zhang, Self-Canonization in Zuo Si’s "Poems on History", Journal of Chinese Humanities; copied at brill.com (online Publication Date: 06 Jul 2020).

3. 晉 Jin
The Western Jin (265–316) had its capial in LUoyang; the Eastern Jin (317–420) had its capital in Nanjing.
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4. "Broad in book learning and played qin"
胡書及鼓琴
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5. Zuo Si in the History of Jin
The above is a tentative attempt to translate text found at 8922.199 左思 Zuo Si. Reference is to History of Jin, Chapter 92, but it seems to be only a summary. The complete History of Jin text is as follows. The QSDQ text seems to consist of only the first paragraph.

左思字太沖，齊國臨淄人也。其先齊之公族有左右公子，因為氏焉。家世儒學。父雍，起小吏，以能擢授殿中侍御史。思小學鍾、胡書及鼓琴，并不成。雍謂友人曰：「思所曉解，不及我少時。」思遂感激勤學，兼善陰陽之術。貌寢，口訥，而辭藻壯麗。不好交遊，惟以閑居為事。

造〈齊都賦〉，一年乃成。復欲賦三都，會妹芬入宮，移家京師，乃詣著作郎張載訪岷邛之事。遂構思十年，門庭籓溷皆著筆紙，遇得一句，即便疏之。自以所見不博，求為秘書郎。及賦成，時人未之重。思自以其作不謝班張，恐以人廢言，安定皇甫謐有高譽，思造而示之。謐稱善，為其賦序。張載為注〈魏都〉，劉逵注〈吳〉、〈蜀〉而序之曰：「觀中古以來為賦者多矣，相如〈子虛〉擅名於前，班固〈兩都〉理勝其辭，張衡〈二京〉文過其意。至若此賦，擬議數家，傅辭會義，抑多精致，非夫研核者不能練其旨，非夫博物者不能統其異。世咸貴遠而賤近，莫肯用心於明物。斯文吾有異焉，故聊以餘思為其引詁，亦猶胡廣之於《官箴》，蔡邕之於《典引》也。」陳留衛權又為思賦作《略解》，序曰：「余觀〈三都〉之賦，言不苟華，必經典要，品物殊類，稟之圖籍；辭義瑰瑋，良可貴也。有晉徵士故太子中庶子安定皇甫謐，西州之逸士，耽籍樂道，高尚其事，覽斯文而慷慨，為之都序。中書著作郎安平張載、中書郎濟南劉逵，并以經學洽博，才章美茂，咸皆悅玩，為之訓詁；其山川土域，草木鳥獸，奇怪珍異，僉皆研精所由，紛散其義矣。余嘉其文，不能默已，聊藉二子之遺忘，又為之《略解》，祇增煩重，覽者闕焉。」自是之後，盛重於時，文多不載。司空張華見而歎曰：「班張之流也。使讀之者盡而有餘，久而更新。」於是豪貴之家競相傳寫，洛陽為之紙貴。初，陸機入洛，欲為此賦，聞思作之，撫掌而笑，與弟雲書曰：「此間有傖父，欲作〈三都賦〉，須其成，當以覆酒瓮耳。」及思賦出，機絕歎伏，以為不能加也，遂輟筆焉。

秘書監賈謐請講《漢書》，謐誅，退居宜春里，專意典籍。齊王冏命為記室督，辭疾，不就。及張方縱暴都邑，舉家適冀州。數歲，以疾終。
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