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Dongguo Shunzi [Biographies of Noble Scholars]
Dongguo Shunzi, a Daoist True Man, is Tian Zifang’s master. He transforms others quietly via inner purity rather than preaching. After hearing his merit, Marquis Wen of Wei deems his political learning trivial and sees his state as a heavy burden.
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Duan Ganmu [Biographies of Noble Scholars]
Scholar Duan Ganmu clung to Dao and shunned official posts, even climbing over walls to evade Marquis Wen of Wei. The marquis showed great reverence for his virtue, saluting his cottage and offering the premiership, which Duan Ganmu firmly rejected.
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Zhuang Zhou [Biographies of Noble Scholars]
Zhuang Zhou, a core Daoist thinker, rejects lavish official offers twice. Using tortoise and sacrificial ox metaphors, he chooses humble, free rural life over dangerous noble power, maintaining lifelong seclusion to preserve his spiritual autonomy.
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Lie Yukou [Biographies of Noble Scholars]
Daoist sage Lie Yukou declined grain from minister Ziyang, foreseeing peril from political favor gained via others’ words. Later Ziyang was killed in a revolt, leaving Liezi unharmed. He lived in seclusion and authored the classic Daoist work Liezi.
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The Master of the Old Merchant [Biographies of Noble Scholars]
Liezi’s master, the Old Merchant, taught him to transcend right-wrong and profit-loss over seven years. Impatient student Yin Sheng left resentful after getting no lessons. Liezi chides him that profound Daoist attainment demands long inner purification, not instant mastery.
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Huqiu Zilin [Biographies of Noble Scholars]
Daoist master Huqiu Zilin teaches Liezi that true travel lies in inner reflection instead of chasing outer scenery. Enlightened, Liezi abandons wandering and lives in quiet seclusion for forty years to seek inner self-sufficiency.