Xu Zhi, whose courtesy name was Ruzi, was a native of Nanchang in Yuzhang Commandery. In his youth, he was renowned throughout the southern region for his profound mastery of the classics and his noble moral conduct.
During the reign of Emperor Huan, Chen Fan of Runan served as the Governor of Yuzhang and recommended Xu Zhi to the imperial court. As a result, Xu Zhi was nominated five times as a “Filial and Incorrupt” candidate and a “Worthy and Good” candidate, but he declined every appointment. He was also repeatedly summoned by the central ministries, yet he never went and never accepted any official summons. However, whenever a high-ranking official who had summoned him passed away, he would always go in person to mourn.
Huang Qiong, the Governor of Yuzhang, had also once summoned Xu Zhi. When Xu Zhi arrived to serve, Huang Qiong passed away and his coffin was returned to his hometown in Jiangxia for burial. Upon hearing the news, Xu Zhi immediately carried his bamboo book box on his back and traveled on foot for over three thousandli from Yuzhang to Huang Qiong’s tomb in Jiangxia, where he poured a libation of wine and wept in mourning. Later, the Office of Public Carriages summoned him three more times, but he refused to go, and he eventually passed away in his old age.
Note
Virtuous scholar Xu Zhi repeatedly turned down all official nominations and imperial summons. Yet he held deep gratitude to officials who valued him, once trekking three thousand Li on foot to mourn Huang Qiong, and attended all his patrons’ funerals till his death.
Xu Zhi / Xu Ruzi:
A legendary hermit and scholar of the Eastern Han dynasty. He is famous for his absolute refusal of political power combined with his profound, deeply personal sense of gratitude and loyalty to those who recognized his worth. The famous Tang dynasty poet Wang Bo later immortalized him in the Preface to the Prince of Teng’s Pavilion with the line: “Xu Ruzi’s bed, Chen Fan’s mat” (徐孺下陈蕃之榻), highlighting the special bond between a pure recluse and a respectful official.
Chen Fan and Huang Qiong:
Both were highly influential and respected statesmen of the Eastern Han dynasty. Their persistent attempts to recruit Xu Zhi, and Xu Zhi’s subsequent mourning for them, illustrate a unique cultural dynamic: political elites deeply respected the moral authority of recluses, and recluses, in turn, honored the officials who treated them with genuine sincerity rather than mere political opportunism.
Filial and Incorrupt / Worthy and Good (孝廉 / 贤良):
These were the primary systems for recruiting civil servants in the Han dynasty, based on moral virtues and talent. Refusing these titles was the ultimate statement of a hermit’s independence from the imperial bureaucracy.
Walking Three Thousand Li to Mourn:
This is one of the most famous acts of devotion in Chinese history. It demonstrates that while Xu Zhi rejected the system of government, he deeply valued human relationships and personal gratitude. Mourning a benefactor was a supreme Confucian virtue, and doing so on foot across vast distances proved the absolute sincerity of his heart.
Refusing Summons but Attending Funerals:
This paradox is the defining characteristic of Xu Zhi. It shows that his refusal of office was not born out of misanthropy or a lack of emotion, but out of a strict adherence to his own spiritual boundaries. He would not serve the state, but he would absolutely honor the individuals who respected him.
徐稚字孺子，豫章南昌人也。少以经行，高於南州。桓帝时，汝南陈蕃为豫章太守，因推荐稚於朝廷。由是五举孝廉、贤良，皆不就。连辟公府，不诣，未尝答命。公薨，辄身自赴吊。太守黄琼亦尝辟稚，至，琼薨，归葬江夏。稚既闻，即负笈徒步，豫章三千馀里至江夏琼墓前，致酹而哭之。后公车三徵，不就，以寿终。
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