Master Gai, a Huang-Lao hermit and Yue Chengong’s pupil, rejected official posts. He taught Cao Can governance through tranquility and non-interference. Cao followed his wisdom to govern Qi and later the whole Han Empire well, while Master Gai remained a private recluse till his peaceful old age.
Yue Chengong, a Huang-Lao scholar from Song, shunned officialdom unlike his famed military kinsman Yue Yi. Fleeing Zhao’s fall to Qin, he settled in Qi, won renown for mastering the Dao De Jing, and was revered as a worthy teacher by local elites.