Scholar Hu Zhao declined summons from Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. Respecting his wish for seclusion, Cao Cao let him retreat to Luhu Mountain. He farmed, immersed himself in classics, and peacefully passed away at eighty-nine in his old home.
Recluse Panggong lived humbly on Mount Xian, treating his wife with full respect. He turned down Governor Liu Biao’s official offers, arguing seclusion brings lasting peace to descendants. Later he took his family to Mount Lumen to gather herbs and never came back.
Scholar Ren An secluded himself in mountains, shunning fame and official offers, hailed as “Master Ren”. Inspired by Lu Lian’s story in *Records of the Grand Historian*, he upheld purity and inner peace, rejecting office all his life and revered as Summoned Scholar Ren.
A towering erudite of late Eastern Han, Zheng Xuan mastered classics, math and calendars. Pressured to visit General He Jin, he met him in plain commoner’s attire, left overnight, and turned down over ten official summonses all his life.
Fleeing Han chaos, scholar Guan Ning took refuge in Liaodong. Foreseeing Gongsun Yuan’s revolt, he returned home and declined ten imperial summons. For fifty-five years, he maintained proper sitting manners, wearing plain clothes and revered as a sage by locals.
Erudite Jiang Gong cherished profound fraternal love with his brothers and taught thousands of disciples. He declined countless official summons. Seeing the court controlled by corrupt factions, he fled by sea to evade appointment and died at seventy-seven at home.