Is there a difference between a modern hermit in China and an ancient hermit?

The phenomenon of scholars' seclusion and the seclusion culture formed from it were once considered as a "specialty" of ancient China society and an important part of traditional culture. Jiang Xingde, a scholar of the Republic of China, thinks that hermits are "specialties of China society" in the preface to his cousin Jiang Xingyu's book Hermits in China and China Culture (see Jiang Xingyu's Hermits in China and China Culture, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 29, p. 3). Liang Shuming pointed out: "China hermits have a considerable relationship with China culture ... We take it as the fourteenth feature today. See Liang Shuming's Cultural Essentials of China, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 25.

Zhongnanshan

In recent years, with the news media continuously reporting the phenomenon of seclusion in Zhongnanshan, Shaanxi Province, seclusion culture has once again become a focus of social attention. There are not only many "hermits" in Zhongnanshan, but also various types: among them, there are painters and monks who have lived in seclusion for many years, some people who have lived in seclusion for a while and then merged into the bustling city after several years, and some people who go to work from Monday to Friday and choose to live here on weekends.

what kind of people can be called hermits in ancient times?

what is a hermit's "seclusion"? In ancient times, it had a specific meaning, which was a concept relative to "Chu" and "Shi". The Book of Changes, Cohesion, said: "The way of a gentleman is either Chu or Chu, or silence or language." Mencius Zhang Wan also said: "You can be in the right place and be an official." Compared with "going out" and "being an official", they are roughly equivalent to "not being an official". Then, why are scholars called "hiding" when they are not official? This was standardized when the gentry class was formed.