Yuan Dan, also known as Yuan Xingchong, was a renowned Tang Dynasty scholar who authored thirty chapters of *Wei Dian*, a work so influential that Emperor Xuanzong himself admired his talent.
One day, Minister Wei Guang submitted a memorial to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, requesting that the *Book of Rites*, as compiled and revised by the renowned early-Tang chancellor Wei Zheng, be officially recognized as a Confucian classic. The emperor agreed and ordered the scholar Yuan Dan and his team to carefully collate the text and add annotations for publication.
Upon receiving the imperial decree, Yuan Dan joined forces with Imperial Academy scholar Fan Xinggong and Four Gates Academy assistant instructor Shi Jingben to compile and revise the work, producing fifty chapters with annotations before presenting it to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
After Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty reviewed their work and deemed it highly successful, he prepared to issue it. Before doing so, he summoned his right chancellor, Zhang Yue, to seek his opinion.
When Zhang Yue reviewed Yuan Dan's manuscript, he said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, the *Book of Rites* has always been a Confucian classic. The version everyone uses today was compiled and annotated by Dai Sheng of the Western Han Dynasty. This edition has been in use for a thousand years, proving it has stood the test of time. I see no need to replace it with a new annotated version."
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, finding Zhang Yue's reasoning sound, agreed with his proposal.
Yuan Dan and his colleagues were deeply dissatisfied when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang changed his mind, shelving their hard work without use. To express their frustration, Yuan Dan wrote an essay titled "Dispelling Doubts," structured as a dialogue between a host and a guest. In it, he compared the "Book of Rites" compiled by Dai Sheng of the Western Han with their own annotated version, arguing that the new edition was clearly superior. "Yet those who cling to old interpretations stubbornly hold onto tradition," the host lamented, "truly a regrettable state of affairs."
Finally, through the words of a guest, he remarked that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Chancellor Zhang Yue were both "players lost in the game"—just like in chess, where the players are confused, but the onlookers see everything clearly.
Later, the idiom "the player is lost" came to describe how those directly involved become confused by overthinking gains and losses.
Source: *New Book of Tang*, "Biography of Yuan Dan"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "当局者迷" came to describe how those directly involved become confused by overthinking gains and losses.