As one of the characteristics of Chinese culture, the time of hermit's appearance can be pushed back to the period of the Yellow Emperor.
The appearance of the hermit does not mean that the idea of hermit has taken shape. The emergence of Chinese recluse thought was formally established after Confucius put forward the idea of "no way, then recluse". Confucius's "no way is hidden" is based on the history of the hermit's friendship and the actual environment at that time, the principle of official and hidden for the scholars. Afterwards, Confucianism continued to develop on the basis of Confucius' theory, and further determined the standard for scholars to go to work. Daoism, on the other hand, takes a new approach, with the attitude of "doing nothing and having a state", cutting off all desires related to external things, and in a natural way, one with the Tao. Legalists, on the other hand, stand in the position of the monarch and the state, and hold a negative view of hermits. They think hermits are deceivers, and they are regarded as one of the "five beetles" that endanger the country.
Hermits from the Three Dynasties to the Two Han Dynasties have their own characteristics of the times in their behaviors and thoughts. Cheng Tang obtained Yi Yin and built a merchant, and Wu Ding was rejuvenated by Fu’s teaching; King Wen of Zhou obtained Jiang Taigong, so King Wu was able to defeat the merchants and build Zhou; in the Spring and Autumn Period, the princes got the help of the hermits, so they could dominate the princes. In the military, the participation of the hermits is also critical to the success or failure of military operations. Duke Zhuang of Lu relied on Cao Gui's "one-shot effort" to defeat the Qi army in the Battle of Changshao; Duke Wen of Jin was short of appointments and captured Bai Di's leader, solving Bai Di's long-term threat to Jin; The Law of the Stove", defeated the Wei army twice, and established the military strength of Qi. In the event of national salvation and survival, Zheng Guozhu's military retreated from the Qin division to protect Zheng Guo; Wei Zhi Zhu Hai and Hou Ying helped Wei Xinling to seize military power, Lu Zhonglian Yibu Emperor Qin solved the danger of Zhao Guo's Handan, and then proved the hermit Achievements in the rise and fall of nations and military operations. It is precisely because the hermit is so important to the country that the monarchs and emperors have always attached great importance to the hermit.
In the Qin and Han Dynasties, in response to the needs of the times, the situation of hermits not serving as officials has not subsided. The reasons why the hermits are reluctant to go to work reflects the different problems they face in different eras. Generally speaking, the reasons for hermits not serving can be roughly divided into political and personal factors. The so-called political factor is what the Confucian so-called "no Tao is hidden". When Wang Mang usurped the Han, that is, when there was "no way", the scholars retired one after another. In addition, he felt the danger of politics, so he retired from officialdom. Fan Li left Jujian after destroying Wu, and Zhang Liang faded out of the political circle in the name of learning "the art of guidance". In terms of personal factors, it is mainly based on the recluse's sexual orientation, or focusing on academic research, or the Taoist thought of "not being constrained by the state" and not serving. After Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, the rulers of the regime hoped to gain the recognition of the people through the hermit's official career to prove the legitimacy of their regime. The purpose of recruiting recluses is nothing more than to stabilize the legitimacy of their regime, rather than focusing on the talents of the hermits. This trend has been developed until the Eastern Han Dynasty, only the importance of whether the hermit has a high reputation, but not whether the hermit has real talent and knowledge.
From the generation of hermit thoughts and the performance of hermits to the country and society in various periods, it proves the value of hermits to the country and society. Even after the development of the Western Han Dynasty, the ruling class paid more attention to the support of the hermit rather than its ability to govern the country, but it could not erase the value of the hermit. Although the hermit is not an official, he also has specific achievements in the folk culture, education and correct customs. Zheng Xuan, known as the "Master of Classics", made great contributions to annotating and commenting on classics during his closed-door period, teaching in seclusion, and preserving traditional Chinese culture. Through the analysis of the hermits from the pre-Qin period to the Han Dynasty, it is proved that the hermits made significant contributions in politics, military affairs, and culture. They are by no means a passive attitude, but they are defeatists and personal injustices.