| This paper focuses on Cui Yin, an Eatern Han literary figure, who made the poetic composition "Attaining My Purpose" as a response to his peers who accuse him of inactivity in the imperial court. Cui Yin's "Attaining My Purpose" takes up Yang Xiong's "Resolving Ridicule" as a model, in a tradition that is eventually labelled "hypothetical discourse" or perhaps better "discourses in a setting," as they are staged responses posed between an imaginary guest and a host. After a brief account of Cui Yin's biography and the position of "Attaining My Purport" in the history of the development of the "discourses in a setting" genre a complete translation with annotations follows. |
