由於不認同異族新朝而自覺選擇不仕，明遺民往往必須思索如何維持生計，對於各種治生方式的價值亦有豐富的議論。本文認為可以進一步探討：明遺民如何以詩歌書寫可能引發爭議的治生方式，又能傳達合乎道德價值，足以通過輿論檢視的「詩性自我」？此一自我形象的塑造又運用了哪些修辭策略？本文以方文（1612-1669）醫卜與游食詩為研究中心，發現一方面他運用香草意象、史事典故等手法書寫自我，將醫卜身分轉化為遺民形象的展演；另一方面，其贈答詩特別著重仕清官員因多年友情或對其詩才、學識的看重而慷慨援助，盡可能撇清自己有干謁企圖，因而既能恰如其分的頌美、流播對方品德，亦能維持一有道有才的布衣形象。透過析論方文此類詩作，應能具體而微反映明遺民治生形象不同於史傳記載的複雜面貌。

Ming loyalists frequently faced a desperate problem: how should they make a living? They vividly discussed on methods and values of every possible way for living. Therefore, the following questions are worthy to be further discussed: how did those Ming loyalists convey their moral values in poems that were disputable for living, and thus expressed their “poetic-self”? What rhetoric strategies were used to construct the images of those Ming loyalists? To examine the questions mentioned above, the poems related to medicine, prophecy, and sponsorship-seeking by Fang Wen should be carefully studied. On the one hand, he utilized images relating to herbal and historical metaphors to present self-image of Ming loyalists; on the other hand, he stressed the talented and educated self-portrait and his long-term friendship with the officials, while properly praised the moral values of those officials without being subsequently suspicious of seeking for financial support. As a result, he could maintain a self-image being a civilian with ethic and talent. Based on the above mentioned analysis, the article will be able to specifically reflect the complexity of poems about the ways for living, and the differences from those relevant historical records.