recluse

  • Beyond the World: Tao Yuanming [Jin & Southern-Northern Dynasties]

    Introduction: This article profiles Tao Yuanming, a celebrated Eastern Jin recluse. Disgusted by aristocratic corruption, he quit official life, refusing to bow for a petty salary. He embraced rural simplicity, wrote timeless pastoral poems, and created The Peach Blossom Spring – a utopia of peace and freedom. His integrity made him an icon of…

  • Xie An

    Xie An (320–385 CE) was a prominent statesman of the Eastern Jin dynasty. His courtesy name was Anshi, and he was a native of Yangxia, Chen Commandery (modern-day Taikang, Henan).

  • The Analects – Chapter 14.39

    While in Wei, Confucius was playing the qing (a stone chime). A reclusive passerby carrying a straw basket happened to walk by Confucius’s gate and said upon hearing the sound, “Ah! There is intention behind this chime!”After a moment, he added, “How narrow-minded! So obstinately persistent! If no one understands you, just let it…

  • Mencius – Chapter 3.9 Virtue of the Middle Way

    Mencius said: “Bo Yi would not serve a ruler he did not approve of, nor befriend anyone he deemed unworthy.”