According to folklore, during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dongfang Shuo once considered himself a hermit who secluded himself from the court, but there is a lack of accurate documentary records. The earliest known documentary record is Wang Kangju of the Jin Dynasty's "Reverse Zhao Yin Poem":

Xiao Yin hides in the mausoleum, and Dayin hides in the market.

Bo Yi fled to Shouyang, and Lao Dan fell on the pillars of history.

Starting from the legendary "Ear Washer" Xu You in the Yao and Shun era, ancient China's hermit culture has a long history.

Dongfang Shuo, courtesy name Manqian, was born in Yanci, Han Plains (now Qinfeng Village, Huimin County, Shandong Province). Dongfang Shuo's life can be roughly divided into two periods, namely the period when he first got an official position as a permanent minister. The early period was the period of humorous seeking for an official position, and the later period was the period of outspoken advice. Whether it was asking for an official position in the early stage or direct remonstrance in the later stage; whether it was the first time he submitted a letter to the imperial edict, or the later "Chen Nong's plan to fight to strengthen the country", Dongfang Shuo was all in order to gain the respect of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and then "become a minister of the emperor" , to realize his grand ambition of making contributions. However, throughout his life, Dongfang Shuo did not gain the political trust and importance of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. "The official was no more than a minister, and the position was no more than a halberd." Instead, he was regarded as an advocate for excellence by others. He started with a comedy life and ended with a tragic life. Dongfang Shuo, who had heard, witnessed and personally experienced the darkness, injustice, cruelty and danger of feudal authoritarian politics, summed up the experiences and lessons of history and life, created and practiced Dayin's way of life. The ancient hermit culture has a long history. If we follow the summary of Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi in his poem "Zhongyin", there are roughly three types of hermitage in ancient China: Dayin, Zhongyin and Xiaoyin. From this point of view, Dongfang Shuo in the Han Dynasty can be regarded as the pioneer of the Dayin form in China and a representative figure of the Dayin wisdom.

Dongfang Shuo's Dayin thought is mainly reflected in his "Song of the Base" and "Poem of the Commandments". "Song of the Base" says: "The land is buried in the secular world, and the Golden Horse Gate hides from the world. You can hide yourself from the world in the palace, why bother in the mountains, under the wormwood?" This short twenty-eight-character song has clear thoughts, sincere feelings, and beautiful language. Plainness is the poetic confession of Dongfang Shuo's Dayin philosophy. To hide from the world in the imperial court and hide in the status of a mere official without seeking to be visible is Dongfang Shuo's "great hiding". "Poems of the Commandments" says: "A wise person lives in the world without being superior to the middle; he wanders leisurely and follows the Tao. Shou Yang is a clumsy person, and Liu Hui is a workman. Eat well and walk comfortably, and use official duties to replace farmers. Play in isolation In the world, there are no good times. Talents are in danger, good reputations are gained, and there are many people. There is no wealth left, and there is not much left. The way of a saint is like a dragon and a snake. "Things change at any time, and there is no permanent home." This neat and solemn four-character poem of 88 characters is Dongfang Shuo's "life-conscious work", and it is also a comprehensive, profound and concentrated expression of Dongfang Shuo's thoughts. .

Dongfang Shuo's "Great Hermit" is the Golden Horse Gate, where he lives in seclusion in the imperial court. The reason why it is called "big" in "hiding" is because hiding in the court means being hidden and invisible. Is the imperial court a place of retreat? This seems to be a self-contradictory paradox, because before Dongfang Shuo, most of the people who lived in seclusion chose to stay away from the court in the mountains and forests or in the fields and huts. The former, such as Boyi and Shuqi, and the latter, such as Changju and Jiedrong. From the perspective of values, seclusion highlights the reclusive subject's maintenance of self-life value and spiritual value. As for seclusion in the mountains or in the imperial court, that is just a matter of form. If you attach too much importance to form and stick to it instead of adhering to the inner purpose of seclusion, you will easily go to the opposite direction and take the "shortcut to the south" like Lu Zangyong of the Tang Dynasty. What should be emphasized in particular is that Dongfang Shuo's Dayin Thought regards one's own life value and spiritual value as equally important. It does not advocate that only spiritual value is supreme.

Bo Yi and Shu Qi were originally the second sons of Gu Zhujun. When King Wu conquered Zhou, they detained their horses and remonstrated; when King Wu destroyed Yin, they refused to eat Zhou millet and lived in seclusion in Shouyang, gathering weeds for food. In the end, they both died of starvation in Shouyang Mountain. The ancients regarded them as examples of noble and righteous people. Dongfang Shuo once regarded them as models for him to follow, "Instead of following the sycophants and succeeding, it is better to follow the lonely bamboo in Shouyang". However, Dongfang Shuo believed that Boyi and Shuqi stayed away from the court and lived in seclusion in the mountains and forests. Not only did they not contribute to the real politics at all, but more importantly, although they achieved noble spiritual integrity, they both starved to death in the difficult life and failed to save their own lives. This kind of "valuing one's mind and harming one's body" approach to life is not in line with the principle of "There is no disadvantage in getting fat" in the Book of Changes, nor is it in line with the Taoist way of maintaining health.

How are they different from those who were killed and whose lives were taken? Therefore, although Confucius praised Boyi and Shuqi for "not lowering their ambitions and not humiliating their bodies", Dongfang Shuo bluntly said that "Shou Yang is clumsy" and did not follow their own path.

The deeds of Liu Xiahui of the Lu State of the Zhou Dynasty were recorded and commented on in The Analects and Mencius. He was an official (prison officer) of the State of Lu, and he was "deposed three times" without leaving his parents' homeland of the State of Lu and hiding in a foreign country; he did not consider it a humiliation to serve a filthy monarch, nor did he resign because of his junior status, nor did he hide himself in the court talents, and pursue their own principles in doing things. He does not resent being abandoned and does not grieve when he is in poverty. Even when getting along with country people, Liu Xiahui was too happy to leave. His famous saying is, "You are for you, and I am for me. Even if you are naked on my side, how can you help me?" From this point of view, Liu Xiahui is a person who can not only cherish his own life but also maintain himself. A wise man with a noble spirit who has the best of both worlds. Therefore, although Confucius commented that Liu Xiahui "lowered his body and humiliated his ambition", Dongfang Shuo still praised "Liuxia as a worker" and followed his example.

In general, before the Qin and Han Dynasties, especially during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chinese scholars had their own independent and free personalities politically. After the establishment of the centralized Qin and Han Empires, the political independence and freedom of the scholars was greatly restricted. The supreme imperial power and boundless imperial prestige made feudal scholars change their personality from independence and freedom to dependence and attendants, and sometimes they even had to sacrifice their own personality. The era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in which Dongfang Shuo lived was exactly such a period. Dongfang Shuo had a clear and profound understanding of the arbitrariness of feudal emperors and the dark injustice of officialdom. In "Answering a Guest", he pointedly pointed out: "If you respect someone, you will become a general, if you humble him, you will become a prisoner; if you resist, you will be above the blue clouds." If you suppress it, you will be under the abyss; if you use it, you will become a tiger; if you don't use it, you will become a rat. "Scholars have no escape in front of the supreme imperial power! Judging from "Bo Yi", Dongfang Shuo probably once wanted to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests like Boyi and Shu Qi, but he finally decided not to resign from a small official position and "replace farming with officialdom." However, as an official in the imperial court, he must not be flattery and lose the principle of being an official with integrity, but must also maintain noble moral integrity and high personal dignity. This had to give Dongfang Shuo a lot of thought. For this reason, even though Dongfang Shuo was in a humble position like a minister advocating excellence, he still continued to speak out and give advice. Dongfang Shuo's behavior was indeed as Zhang Pu commented: "It is true that Yue Yue, Ji Changru is worse than sick. Not to mention Prime Minister Gongsun and below? "However, Dongfang Shuo also knew that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger, and he always said that it is difficult to tell whether good or bad will happen. Therefore, he used his funny nature and otherworldly behavior to protect himself and confuse others. Marrying a wife in Chang'an, drawing swords to cut flesh, getting drunk in the palace, and wisely discerning the teeth of the oars, etc. are indeed as Zhang Pu said: his appearance is similar to that of a dwarf actor - but this is what Dongfang Shuo said: "The way of the saint, one dragon and one dragon." "Snake; the form embodies the hidden treasure and changes with things" is the external manifestation of Dongfang Shuo's great hidden wisdom.

In the past, we seemed to criticize Dongfang Shuo's Dayin thought too much as a vulgar philosophy of survival in the world, and a negative and harmful thought. In fact, from the perspective of social and political history, it reflects the sad survival plight of upright feudal scholars who suffered oppression and injustice under feudal autocracy. It also euphemistically expresses the dissatisfaction of feudal scholars with feudal autocracy. , resistance, resentment and helplessness; from the perspective of individual scholars, it reflects the feudal scholars' tenacious pursuit of independence, freedom, and noble personality, and also reflects the bitter mentality of the feudal scholars who were in a dilemma and had to compromise. Boyi and Shuqi sacrificed their lives to maintain their noble spiritual integrity, showing a tendency to exaggerate spiritual values; Laozi and Zhuangzi, who "hid themselves in obscurity", advocated protecting oneself, preserving one's life, raising one's relatives, and living out one's life. It shows the tendency to exalt the value of life; and Dongfang Shuo's Tao of Great Yin is to seek balance and unity between the two. This may be the ideological, cultural and life meaning of Dongfang Shuo's hidden wisdom.