Ji Kang, courtesy name Shuye, hailed from Zhi County in Qiao State (modern-day Suixi, Anhui Province). He was one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove," roaming the mountains with Shan Juyuan (Shan Tao) and five others. When the Sima clan seized power, Ji Kang despised their rule and retreated into seclusion at Shanyang. But Shan Juyuan later accepted an official post under the Sima regime, earning Ji Kang's contempt. When Shan Juyuan was promoted from Vice Minister of Personnel to Imperial Advisor, he invited Ji Kang to take his former position. Ji Kang flatly refused, writing a scathing letter of rejection that severed their friendship.
Soon, Shan Tao received a letter from his doorman—it was a letter severing their friendship from Xi Kang. In it, Xi Kang listed ancient sages like Laozi, Zhuangzi, Liuxia Hui, Dongfang Shuo, and Confucius, declaring, "My spirit is steadfast and cannot be taken away." He then expressed admiration for hermits Shang Ziping and Tai Xiaowei, shunning classical studies and worldly fame. The letter openly scorned hypocritical rituals and defied the court's laws, comparing himself to a wild deer: "Few deer are ever tamed; if bound and restrained, they grow frantic and reckless, caring not even for fire or water. Even with a golden bit and fine fodder, they still long for the forests and grasslands." Xi Kang thus vowed that if the Sima clan pressed him into office, he would, like a wild stag, "rage, break the reins, and charge into fire and water," firmly refusing to serve under their regime.
Ji Kang frequently made remarks that satirized the imperial court and worldly conventions, earning him deep resentment from the Sima ruling faction.
In the third year of the Jingyuan era (262 AD), Zhong Hui, the imperial censor who had once been humiliated by Ji Kang, falsely accused him of reckless speech and slandering the court. Ji Kang was arrested by order of Sima Zhao and executed shortly after.
Later, the idiom "Braving Fire and Water" came to describe fearlessly facing danger and charging forward.
Source: *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, "Biography of Ji Kang"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "赴汤蹈火" came to describe fearlessly facing danger and charging forward.