Abstract：An inspection into the development of the personal relationship between Yan Fu and Yan Shikai offers an inspiring perspective in the study of Yan's political thought.Yuan was Yan's long-stading friend. At the beginning, Yan kept himself aloof from Yuan. In later periods he gradually approached Yuan and rendered political surport, but eventually Yuan left him in disappointment. After the 1911 evolution,Yan stood on the side of Yuan.This was not because he had experienced a major retrogression in political thought. His change in action was nothing but the natural result of his political pursuit.
