Gifted scholar Qiu Xin held the world in disdain. When summoned by the governor, he asked whether he would be treated as a subordinate, friend or teacher, rejecting top local official posts and the Xiaolian title. The governor dared not force him into service.
Herbalist Han Kang stuck to fixed prices for thirty years. Once recognized by a customer, he fled to mountains to shun fame. Summoned by the emperor, he took a plain ox cart, then escaped midway and lived out his days in seclusion.
Daoist hermit Tai Tong lived in a mountain cave gathering herbs and rejected official summons. When a governor pitied his harsh life, Tai argued the official’s endless political worries were real suffering, then secluded himself and never met the governor again.
Daoist hermit Gao Hui studied *Dao De Jing* and secluded himself with friend Liang Hong in Huayin Mountains. After Liang left east, he wrote a poem longing for Gao. Gao concealed his talents and never held official posts all his life.
Basic Information Chinese Idiom: 举案齐眉Pinyin: jǔ àn qí méiLiteral Meaning: Hold the food tray level with one’s eyebrows.Figurative Meaning: Describe a married couple who treat each other with deep respect and courtesy in daily life.
Eastern Han scholar Liang Hong rejected officialdom. He wed virtuous Meng Guang, who respected him by holding food trays level with her brows. They lived simply in seclusion; Liang wrote the satirical *Song of Five Sighs* and passed away far from his hometown.
The unnamed East Sea Hermit was once friends with official Wang Liang. After Wang resigned from high office, the hermit reproached him for craving political posts despite insufficient virtue, cut off contact forever, and won great admiration for his strict moral standards.
Niu Lao was Emperor Guangwu’s childhood friend. He once claimed an upright man should not befriend an emperor. After Liu Xiu took the throne, Niu kept declining imperial summons by feigning illness and wearing plain clothes, clinging to his integrity.