北宋神宗元豐五年(1082)，洛陽的士大夫以文彥博為首，集結13人成立「耆英會」。他們標榜「尚齒不尚官」，除司馬光外，都是70歲以上高年，在資聖院興建大廈，置放諸人畫像，名為「耆英堂」。這一群鬚眉皓白、衣冠甚偉的老人們，經常宴會於洛陽名園古剎或林泉勝地。集會時，尚有約定「酒、食、菜」的排場，所到之處，風靡西京洛陽都人，形成一種賢士大夫在政事餘閒的樂境，後世甚至傳頌為北宋太平之盛事。耆英會中，位列高官聞人有文彥博(1006-1097)、富弼(1004-1083)、王拱辰(1012-1085)和司馬光(1019-1086)。這些人的政治立場，總會令人聯想到新舊黨爭的關係。但進一步閱讀其他成員的墓誌銘、行狀、傳記後，如席汝言(1006-)、王尚恭(1007-1084)、趙丙(1008-)、劉几(1008-1088)、馮行己(1008-1091)、楚建中(1010-1090)、王慎言(1011-1087)、張問(1013-1087)、張燾(1013-1082)等人，卻可見他們在書法、音律、詩賦、觀書、養生與花草園林等，具有相似藝文造詣與偏好，或許才是耆英們聚合交往的重要元素。本文透過探討耆英會諸公的出身家世、處世態度、聚會活動，以及藝文交往，分析北宋以來士大夫的修養與生活，從中瞭解所謂士大夫氣質的具體內涵，並觀察士大夫風氣與社會的互動。耆英會員的交往，未必只反映出洛陽地域性，他們受矚目的集體活動，或許也顯示兩宋士大夫若干共通價值觀。

During the yuanfeng year of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty (1082), Luoyang's scholar officials organized an ”Association for Eminent Elderly” (Qi Ying Hui) with Wen Yanbo as their head. Using the slogan of ”honor the aged, don't venerate official rank,” they were all eminent men of more than seventy years old (with the exception of Sima Guang). Inside the Zisheng Temple they built a large hall where they put images of the participants, calling it the Hall of the Eminent Elderly. This group of retired officials, gray-bearded and splendidly clothed, regularly convened for festive dinners in Luoyang's famous gardens, old landmarks and superb lands. Whenever they gathered, they would hold in high esteem the arrangements for wine and food; wherever they came, they were the fashion of the capital city Luoyang, and they formed a kind of pleasure ground for scholar officials who were free from government duties. Later generations eulogized this as the zenith of the Northern Song's great peace.
Among the ranks of the ”Association for Eminent Elderly” were such famous figures as Wen Yanbo (1006-1097), Fu Bi (1004-1083), Wang Gongchen (1012-1085), and Sima Guang (1019-1086). The government positions of these people might make one think of a relation with factional struggles. Yet a different picture emerges if one more carefully considers the tomb-inscriptions, official documents, and biographical records of their members, such as Xi Ruyan (1012-1085), Wang Shanggong (107-1084), Zhao Bing (1008 - ?), Liu Ji (1008-1087), Feng Xingji (1008-1091), Chu Jianzhong (1010-1090), Wang Shenyan (1011-1087), Zhang Wen (1013-1087), Zhang Tao (1013-1082), etc. Then it is possible to discern that in the areas of calligraphy, music, poetry, as well as in nourishment of life and gardening, they all had an equally cultured profundity and skill. This, perhaps, was the predominant aspect of the interactions among the members of the ”Association for Eminent Elderly.”
This article analyzes the cultivation and life of scholar officials since the Northern Song through an exploration of the lineages, unofficial attitudes, congregational activities, as well as cultural interactions of the members of the ”Association for Eminent Elderly.” In the process we can begin to understand the actual content of the charisma of the scholar official, and simultaneously observe the mutual relationship between the common practices of scholar officials and society.