A figure that looks to some people like a wizened old fool will look to others like a wise sage, demanding respect.

Jin believed that only the emperor and wise sages could truly author a work.

Through trial and error, he learned to manipulate it, learning more about its functioning than even the wisest sages have since then.

Few lived longer than their 70s and people who attained advanced age (i.e. their 80s) were rare enough to be a novelty and were revered as wise sages.