Abstract: Due to recommending the wrong person, CHEN Baochen was laid off from his position and returned to his hometown in the eleventh year of the reign of Guangxu. In the last year of the reign of Guangxu, CHEN Baochen followed determinedly his path of official reinstatement at the age of almost 60 because of the common recommendation ofcontemporary powerful ministers. The official reinstatement of CHEN Baochen in his old age was not accidental. It depends on two factors, one is the current situation of the shortage of talents and the other is his deep belief on Confucian tradition——to be an official or to oppose it.

Key words: CHEN Baochen, old age, official reinstatement

摘要： 光绪十一年，陈宝琛因荐人不当被贬里居，其后身处林泉长达二十四年。光绪末年，由当朝多位权臣共同举荐，陈宝琛在年届花甲之龄走上了复仕之路。陈宝琛晚年复仕并不是偶然的，而是晚清治国人才紧缺状况及其个人深受儒家传统“出处进退”观影响内外两个因素共同使然。

关键词: 陈宝琛, 晚年, 复仕