Abstract: In this paper I reconsider young Dai Zhen as outsider of Eighteenth-century China and provide a revisionist account for the dynamics of mid-Qing Confucianism. The first section，“Merchant and Examination”，introduces the avenues of social mobility for Huizhou merchants in the system of elementary education and civil service examinations. Dai Zhen was cast as an outsider to this largely exclusive system and appeared to be incapable of succeeding in it. In the second section， “Overcoming Classical Literacy”， I describe how Dai Zhen chose to pursue， against overwhelming odds，elites status and knowledge，and how he acquired classical literacy by his own efforts. In the third section， “Engaging Literati Sociability”，I describe in detail the politics and sociability of Shi Jing (1693- 1769)，who embodied a residual form of Ming dynasty Donglin Activism. Here I will show how Dai Zhen attempted to take part in the unpredictable dynamics of sociability among members of the national elite. In the forth and final section，“Technical Methodology for Classical Studies”，I identify the intellectual proposal that emerged from Dai Zhen's engagement with Shi Jing. The proposal，embodied in this epistolary document，proves to be the key for understanding what had propelled Dai Zhen to this point in 1750 and what he would continue pursue afterwards.