Ruan Ji had a many-sided personality, but poetry brought him the glory and fame of being the greatest poet of his epoch. Liu Se gave a classical evaluation to the place of poetry in the life of Ruan Ji. Comparing two geniuses of the 3rd century, Ji Kang and Ruan Ji, he wrote: "Ji Kang expressed in his compositions the intellect of an outstanding thinker, Ruan Ji put all his spirit and all his life into his poems. Their voices are different, but they sound in full harmony! Their wings are not similar, but they are flying in absolute unity!" Zhong Rong in his work "The Categories of Poems" ascribes Ruan Ji's work to the highest rank of poetry: "... his poetry can strengthen one's temper and spirit, it can cast a deep thoughtful mood ... but the meaning of his poetry is hard for understanding." Mikuchi Fukanaga sees in Ruan Ji's poetry a unique attempt to explain the experience called satori in Japanese Buddhism.