After Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, had subdued the separatist forces across the land, he reunited China once more. He worked to stabilize the government while actively recruiting talent, particularly inviting renowned scholars from various regions to serve in the imperial court.
One day, Emperor Liu Xiu recalled his old classmate Yan Guang from their days studying in Chang'an and resolved to summon him. Yan Guang, also known as Yan Ziling, was a renowned scholar from Yuyao (in present-day Zhejiang Province) who had been close friends with Liu Xiu. However, after Liu Xiu ascended the throne, Yan Guang changed his name and went into hiding, making him extremely difficult to find.
What to do? Liu Xiu racked his brains and finally came up with a plan: search by portrait. He summoned a painter, described Yan Ziling's appearance, and had him paint. After it was done, Liu Xiu thought it looked close enough, so he ordered several more copies. He then sent people to distribute the portraits to various commanderies, instructing local officials and citizens to search for Yan Ziling.
Soon after, the state of Qi (in present-day northern Shandong) sent a memorial to Emperor Guangwu, reporting that a man there bore an almost exact resemblance to the portrait. This man was always seen wearing a sheepskin coat and fishing by the riverside. Overjoyed, Emperor Guangwu immediately dispatched an envoy with a carriage and imperial gifts to Qi, inviting the man to the capital.
When the envoy met Yan Ziling, he presented gifts and invited him into the carriage. Unexpectedly, Yan Ziling neither accepted the gifts nor agreed to board, declining, "I am a fisherman. You have mistaken me for someone else. I do not wish to be an official. Let me live out my days here in peace."
The imperial envoy, having been ordered to summon him, would not accept any refusal and forcibly pulled him onto the carriage, heading straight for the capital.
Upon arriving in the capital, Yan Ziling was settled into a specially prepared residence with many attendants. That very day, Emperor Liu Xiu personally came to visit him.
Yan Ziling heard that Emperor Guangwu had come to see him, so he deliberately lay on the bed, turned his face to the wall, and pretended not to know. Liu Xiu quietly walked up to him, touched his belly, and said, "Hey, Ziling, stop sleeping. Come and help me out!"
After a long while, Yan Ziling finally turned around, opened his eyes, stretched lazily, and said slowly, "As the saying goes, each person has their own aspirations. I have my own wishes, so why must you force me?" Having said this, Yan Ziling closed his eyes again. Emperor Guangwu sighed and said, "Ziling, can I truly not employ you?"
This time, Yan Ziling said nothing at all. Emperor Guangwu, left with no choice, returned to the palace in a sullen mood.
The next day, Emperor Guangwu invited Yan Ziling to the palace and, treating him as a friend, discussed scholarship with him. Only then did Yan Ziling speak freely and without restraint with the emperor.
That night, Emperor Guangwu slept with him. In the middle of the night, Yan Ziling deliberately snored loudly and placed his leg on the emperor. Guangwu let him and did not take offense. The next morning, Guangwu asked him, "How do I compare to before?"
"It seems a bit better."
Emperor Guangwu laughed heartily and immediately wanted to appoint him as Imperial Advisor. But Yan Ziling refused outright, saying, "Let me go back, and we remain friends; force me into office, and it will only harm our harmony!"
Emperor Guangwu had no choice but to let Yan Ziling return to his hometown. Back in Fuchun Mountain (west of modern Tonglu County, Zhejiang Province), Yan Ziling resumed his leisurely life of farming and fishing, undisturbed by the world.
Mount Fuchun stands beside the Fuchun River (in present-day Zhejiang Province), where a terrace marks the legendary fishing spot of the hermit Yan Ziling, known ever since as Yan Ziling's Fishing Terrace.
Yan Ziling refused all official posts, even turning down the emperor's personal appointment, and his reputation for lofty integrity grew ever greater. Emperor Guangwu, desperate to win over this celebrated scholar, humbled himself before Yan Ziling, and his own fame for treating talent with respect also soared. In this way, both men elevated each other's standing.
Later, people used the story of "Fishing in a Sheepskin Coat" to describe those who disdain official titles and choose to live in seclusion.
Source: *Book of the Later Han*, "Biography of Yan Guang"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "羊裘垂钓" came to describe those who disdain official titles and choose to live in seclusion.