hermit; recluse; loyalist of fallen dynasty
Meanings
2 senses · 4 examplesnoun
hermit; recluse who avoids public office and lives in seclusion
literaryLiterary term for scholars or nobles who withdrew from society to live in solitude rather than serve in government, often as a moral or political statement.
He refused to wallow in the mire with the vulgar world, preferring to be a recluse living in seclusion in the mountains.
Many hermits in ancient times took pleasure in farming and studying, never taking office their whole lives.
noun
loyalist of a fallen dynasty; surviving subject who refuses to serve the new regime
literaryRefers specifically to those who remained loyal to a defeated dynasty and refused to serve in the government of the succeeding dynasty.
After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, many loyalists refused to surrender to the Qing even unto death, living in hiding among the common people.
These loyalists maintained their loyalty to the former dynasty, never serving the new regime their whole lives.