In Chinese society, the spouses of one's children are thought ideally to come from families of equal status, and while most of the great families would arrange matches of corresponding wealth, Yens would often marry the offspring of scholars. Yen Yun-nien even had many of the hang-ups of the literati.
顏雲年不但在事業成功後又開始縱情詩文，與文人交，甚至連其他大家族最重視挑選、務必門當戶對，有助於拓展家族勢力的兒女親家，也有多位是當時的文人。