Zhao Mengfu
Qian Xuan started as an aspiring scholar-official during the rule of the Southern Song (960–1279). However, he had difficulty climbing the ranks of officialdom. When the Mongol-founded Yuan Dynasty took over the southern regions of China in 1276, he effectively gave up on the idea of a civil administration career. In 1286 his friend Zhao Mengfu found and accepted a position, and so for a time it seemed he could as well. However, he refused on patriotic grounds, while he citing old age in order to avoid difficulties. He nevertheless was considered a Song loyalist.