Chen Caozhi knew full well that Zhu Yingtai meant him well. Attending Xie An's Dongshan Gathering was an excellent opportunity to win a reputation. If the Qiantang Chen Clan hoped to join the ranks of the aristocratic clans, it needed outstanding sons and a broad network of acquaintances. How could it confine itself to its own village and county!
Xi Chao had opposed Chen Caozhi going personally to Jiankang to see Registrar Jia of the Genealogy Office precisely because he wanted Chen Caozhi to cultivate his reputation, becoming a celebrated scholar before entering officialdom, with Xie An as his model.
Xie An had enjoyed a great reputation from his youth. From the distant Xianbei Murong Chui to Wang Dao and everyone below him, all had praised him highly. Huan Wen's father, Huan Yi, had described Xie An as possessing "a refined bearing and lucid spirit." In his early years, Xie An had held the undemanding post of court historian, but after just one month, he had pleaded illness and resigned to return home. He had then retired to Dongshan for over a decade. Of the four outstanding men of the Xie Clan-Xie Shang, Xie Yi, Xie An, and Xie Wan (Xie Shi, the chief commander at the Battle of Fei River, was not yet well known)-Xie An had willingly remained behind the scenes, devoting himself to educating his sons and nephews. The abundance of talent among the younger Xie generation was inseparable from his teaching by word and example. Xie Daoyun, famed for her verse on willow catkins, was the First in Jiangzuo among distinguished young ladies. The four talented youths known as "Feng, Hu, Jie, and Mo"-Xie Shao, Xie Lang, Xie Yan, and Xie Xuan-were outstanding figures among the younger generation of the Northern Aristocratic Clans. The reason the