明遺民很難避免與仕清官員的交往。以往的情誼，現實生活的需要，都帶來難以迴避的人情往還。仕清官員往往主動為遺民提供一些必須的幫助；一些雙方共同關注的事業，如史志的修撰、儒學義理的討論，亦成為雙方交往的橋樑。 雖然各種野史筆記中充斥著遺民痛斥變節者的快言快語，但這些可以給人們帶來道德情感滿足的事蹟卻有不少經不起推敲，很可能來自好事者的風傳。考察遺民對仕清官員的道德評判，可以看到他們對不同價值追求的理解。總的來說，曾在明朝為官而降清的「貳臣」最為人鄙棄，而沒有在明朝任職經歷者比較容易得到寬容。一些仕清者在社會動盪之時撫恤生民的現實功績，更贏得了許多遺民的讚美和支持。 不過，仕清者也確實有為清廷政治穩定打算，同化遺民政治立場的傾向；而遺民與仕清官員的交往則給他們帶來了很大的輿論壓力。

For adherents of the Ming dynasty, it was very difficult to avoid associating with Qing officials. The two groups were connected in many aspects, such as previous friendships, family relationships, a common enthusiasm for academic research, etc. Despite conf1icting political positions, their associations remained intact. Ming adherents even admired Qing officials for their outstanding achievement in improving people's living standards. Even so, public opinion regarding their relationship added a great deal of stress to the lives of these adherents.