First Identify Who Assigned the Name
The note says “regarded by the court as forming factions,” reminding readers that this is a political classification. Being called dangren does not place everyone in one modern-style organization or prove they shared a fixed platform.
“Scholars, officials, and their networks” does not replace evidence for individual people. Whether a name appears in a particular penalty or whether two people had a specific relationship remain separate questions. This page does not thereby create a complete partisan roster.
Why Does Chapter One Connect Prominent Scholars and Partisans?
Chapter One describes Dou Wu recruiting prominent scholars and rescuing partisans, then the employment of people who had been disqualified or kept at a distance. Following this line shows how group names and political eligibility together shape people's situations.
Dangren describes the political context into which people were classified; jingu describes a type of penalty. They are related, not synonyms. Each occurrence of dangren does not imply the same punishment or outcome.
Names Do Not Replace Personal Relationships
Belonging to the same politically classified group does not establish a personal meeting, friendship, or simultaneous participation in one action. Dialogue and scenes in the work are narrative reconstructions, not evidence for the group's actual organizational rules.