本文試圖探究明清間在科舉之道壅塞的情勢下，士人如何在經國濟民之仕途正道外，為其文藝技能另謀出路，藉以為其人生別開生面，建構別具意義之生命與技藝的實踐之道。明中期以來，士人以城市為據點，大肆展開交遊活動，此舉除交友目的外，名與利的追逐更是驅動其四處交遊的社會性因素。明清的「名士」可說是社交文化的產物，透過「名士」的生產過程與名士的社會作用，可以更具體地了解明清間社交活動的社會文化意義。明清士人聚散於商業城市，在其中頻繁地進行社交活動，乃有在科舉價值之外，別求聲名以安身立命，且借名以求利之動機，而此名利相生之機制，乃是推動社會文化發展的重要動力，在其推動下，乃衍生別具特色且精采豐富的文人文化。

The civil service examination was competitive in the Ming and Qing dynasties; the numbers of successful examinees were limited. Apart from devoting themselves to the country and people as officials, were there any other life choices for elites? This article investigates how elites displayed their literary competence and looked for meanings and possibilities of life. Since the mid-Ming, it had become a unique social trend for city elites to develop social networks through social and literary activities. A group of men called “famous elite” (ming-shih) pursued fame, fortune, and friendship in terms of promoting these activities. It is a research worthy topic to understand the sociocultural meanings of these activities by means of looking into how famous elites were “created” and their impacts on the society. In business cities, elites were more active in participating in social and literary activities through which they strengthened their social networks and raised social status. The more fame elites gained, the more fortune they pursued. This “mechanism” was important in the promotion of social and literary activities and unique and rich literati culture.