Fan Zhongyan (989-1052) (that is, the second year of Duangong of Taizong - the fourth year of Huangyou) was named Xiwen. In the same dynasty as Bao Zheng, he was a famous official, politician and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty. His posthumous title was "Wenzheng". He was a native of Wuxian County (now Suzhou, Jiangsu Province) and of Han nationality. When he was young, his family was poor but he was eager to learn. When he was a scholar, he often took the world as his own responsibility and had a reputation for speaking out. He wrote many letters criticizing the prime minister at that time, and was demoted three times. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty, he was an official who participated in political affairs and was equivalent to deputy prime minister. Yuan Haofan took Shaanxi as a direct scholar of Longtuge and Xia Song. His orders were strict and the Xia people did not dare to violate them. The Qiang people called him Longtu Laozi, and the Xia people called him Xiaofan Laozi. In 1043 (the third year of Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty), Fan Zhongyan was extremely distressed by the shortcomings of the government at that time, and proposed the "Ten Matters", advocating the establishment of a strict official system, paying attention to farming and mulberry crops, rectifying military equipment, promoting the legal system, and reducing servitude. Song Renzong adopted his suggestions and implemented them one after another, which is known as the "Qingli New Deal" in history. Unfortunately, it could not be realized soon due to the opposition of conservatives, so he was demoted to the Fourth Propaganda Envoy of Shaanxi Province. Later, he died of illness on the way to Yingzhou. There is "Fan Wenzhenggong Collection" handed down.
Fan Zhongyan liked to play the piano. However, he only played one piece of Lu Shuang on weekdays, so people at that time called him Fan Lu Shuang. He specializes in poetry and prose, and his articles are rich in political content, beautiful in diction, and open-minded. The two sentences in his article "Yueyang Tower", "Be worried about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness" are the best sentences throughout the ages. It is also a portrayal of his lifelong patriotism.
He was not only a famous politician and commander-in-chief in the Northern Song Dynasty, but also an outstanding writer and educator. The Qingli Reform Movement he led became the prelude to Wang Anshi's "Xifeng Reform" later; his improvements to certain military systems and strategic measures stabilized the western frontier defense for a long period of time; a large number of scholars recommended by him contributed to the The Song Dynasty laid the foundation for the academic peak; the thought of worrying first and rejoicing later and the moral integrity of people with lofty ideals that he advocated are shining spiritual wealth in the history of Chinese civilization: Zhu Xi called him "the first-class figure in the history of heaven and earth"! For thousands of years, Fan Zhongyan's remains have always been protected and commemorated by people in various places.
Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower" is particularly famous. "Be worried when the world is worried first, and be happy when the world is happy later" is a famous saying through the ages.
[Edit this paragraph] Life
1. He studied hard and was lonely and poor since childhood
On the second day of August in the second year of Duangong (989), Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan was born in Xuzhou. His father, Fan Yong, was the secretary of the Ningwu Army Jieduzhang at that time, the secretary to the military commander of Xuzhou. Fan Yong first married the Chen family and then the Xie family. Zhong Yan is his third son. The second year after Fan Zhongyan was born. The father then died of illness. Xie was so poor that she had no choice but to hold her infant Zhong Yan in her arms. She remarried into a family named Zhu in Changshan County, Zizhou City, Shandong Province (near today's Zouping County, Shandong Province). Fan Zhongyan also changed his surname to Zhu Shuo and grew up in Zhu's family.
Fan Zhongyan has been studying very hard since he was a child. The Zhu family is a wealthy family in Changshan, but for inspiration, he often goes to the nearby Liquan Temple in Changbai Mountain to stay and study, morning and evening. Then read and recite. His unremitting spirit in reading pieces left a deep impression on the monks: at that time, his life was extremely difficult. He only cooked one pot of thick porridge every day. After cooking, make half a cup of vinegar sauce and continue reading after eating. Later generations had the reputation of cutting off the harrow and painting porridge, but he didn't mind this kind of poor life, and spent all his energy looking for his own pleasure in books.
After almost three years of this, the books in Changbai Mountain Township could no longer meet his needs. An accidental incident exposed the secret of Fan Zhongyan's family background. He was shocked to discover that he was originally the son of the Fan family in Suzhou. Over the years, he had been relying on the care of his stepfather. This incident deeply stimulated and shocked Fan Zhongyan. Feeling guilty and angry, he decided to leave the Zhu family and establish his own family. After he established a successful career in the future, he would take his mother back to raise him. So he hurriedly packed a few simple clothes, put on his piano and sword, and despite the obstruction of the Zhu family and his mother, he shed tears and resolutely bid farewell to his mother, left Changshan, and went to study on foot.
In the fourth year of Zhenzong’s Dazhong Xiangfu reign (1011), 23-year-old Fan Zhongyan came to Suiyang Yingtianfu Academy (now Suiyang District, Henan). Yingtianfu Academy is one of the four famous academies in the Song Dynasty. It has 150 school buildings and a collection of thousands of volumes. What's more important is that there are many teachers and students with great ambitions and talents gathered here. To study in such a college, you can have famous teachers to consult with, many classmates to learn from each other, and a large number of books to read. Moreover, the college is free to study, which is what Fan Zhongyan, who is financially strapped, can only dream of. Yingtianfu was later renamed Nanjing, and Yingtianfu Academy was also called Nandu Academy.
Fan Zhongyan cherished the new learning environment and studied day and night. One of Fan Zhongyan's classmates and the son of Nanjing Liushou (the highest official in Nanjing) saw that Fan Zhongyan was eating porridge all year round, so he gave him some delicious food. He didn't even taste it and allowed the food to get moldy. It wasn't until people began to blame him that he bowed his head and thanked him and said: "I have settled down to a life of eating porridge. Once I enjoy a good meal, I am afraid that I will not be able to eat bitterly in the future." Fan Zhongyan's difficult life is a bit like Confucius's wise disciple Yan Hui; a bowl of With rice and a ladle of water, in a back alley, others complained endlessly, but Yan Hui did not change his joy.
Fan Zhongyan studied hard for years, from spring to summer, through autumn and winter; he danced with his sword in the early morning and slept with his clothes on in the middle of the night.
Others look at flowers and the moon, but he only seeks pleasure in the Six Classics. Occasionally, he also recited poems to express his feelings; "The white clouds are not far away from the emperor's hometown. Who is playing the cave Xiao in the Han Garden? The wind bird has not answered the song despite the adversity, but the poor talent can still sing the song of the wren. I still feel happy thinking about the face in my heart, and I meet the piano If you understand your hatred, it will be gone. But if Si Wentian is not dead, why should Jiansong blame the mountain seedlings?" A few years later, Fan Zhongyan reviewed Confucian classics such as "The Book of Songs", "The Book of Changes", "The Book of Changes", and "The Three Rites". The main themes of books such as "The Book of Music" and "Spring and Autumn" can be said to be universal: reciting poems and writing compositions, and generously taking the world as one's own responsibility.
In the seventh year of Dazhong Xiangfu (AD 1014), Song Zhenzong, who was superstitious about Taoism, led hundreds of officials to Bozhou (now Bo County, Anhui) to worship the Taiqing Palace. A great number of carriages and horses passed through Nanjing (today's Shangqiu, Henan Province, the same below). The whole city was in a sensation. People rushed to see the emperor, but there was only one student who stayed behind closed doors and was still immersed in studying. A good classmate came to persuade him: "Go and see, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, don't miss it!" But the student just said casually: "It's not too late to see you in the future," and didn't even look up. and continued reading his book. Sure enough, the next year he won the imperial examination and met the emperor. This student was Fan Zhongyan, the future great reform thinker of the Northern Song Dynasty.
In the autumn of the seventh year (1014) and the spring of the eighth year (1015) of Dazhong Xiangfu, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. When attending the imperial examination in Chongzheng Hall, he saw Emperor Zhenzong, who was nearly fifty years old, for the first time. Later, he was honored to attend the banquet given by the emperor. In February, Bianjing (now Kaifeng City) was filled with spring flowers. Scholars rode on horses and paraded through the streets amidst the sound of drums: "Changbai and Hanru were famous for more than two years." He chanted such verses, thinking that he was already twenty-seven years old. Compared with Teng Zongliang and others next to him, he looked much older.
Soon, he was appointed as the manager of the Guangde Army (Guangde Army is located in today's Guangde County, Anhui Province. The manager is an official in charge of litigation prisons and hearing cases, from the ninth grade). Then, he was transferred to the Jieditui official of the Jiqing Army (the jurisdiction of the Jiqing Army is in the area of ??Bozhou, Anhui today, and the Jieditui official is an official in the bureau, from the eighth rank). He brought his mother to support him, and officially restored the surname Fan, changing her name to Zhongyan and her courtesy name Xiwen. This began a nearly forty-year political career.
2. He coached enthusiastically in managing weirs for the people
In the fifth year of Tianxi (1021), Fan Zhongyan was transferred to Xixi Town, Hailing, Taizhou (near today's Dongtai County, Jiangsu Province) to make salt. Warehouse supervisor - responsible for supervising the storage, transportation and marketing of Huai salt. Xixi Town is close to the coast of the Yellow Sea. Although you can occasionally see peonies in the town, its remote scene is different from that in the mainland. At first hearing the roar of the wind and waves and the cry of wild cranes, Fan Zhongyan couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. Since the warehouse official was idle, he temporarily laughed at himself by being lazy and enjoying the banquet: "I have never supported my chair, but I dare to talk about the long journey of ambition! Mengsou should be equal to black and white, why should I blame the Jianghu... When I was drunk... How can the people of Xi believe that he is so lazy and lazy?"
However, he soon discovered that there were many things that needed to be done here. The local seawall, which has been in disrepair for many years, has collapsed. Not only have the saltworks and pavilions lost their barrier, but the vast farmland and residential buildings have also been repeatedly threatened by sea waves. When encountering sea tides, water even flooded the city walls of Taizhou, displacing thousands of victims. The government's salt production and rents all suffered losses. For this reason, he wrote to Zhang Lun of Jianghuai Water Transport, expounding the pros and cons of the sea dike, and suggested that a strong sea dike be rebuilt along the coasts of Tongzhou, Taizhou, Chuzhou, and Haizhou (today's Lianyungang to the north bank of the Yangtze Estuary).
For this huge project, Zhang Lun enthusiastically agreed and informed the imperial court to transfer Fan Zhongyan to be the magistrate of Xinghua County (today's Xinghua City, Jiangsu Province), with overall responsibility for the management of the weir.
In the autumn of the second year of Tiansheng (1024), Fan Zhongyan, the magistrate of Xinghua County, led tens of thousands of people from four states to the seaside. However, not long after the weir control project started, there was a storm with snow, and then there was a sea tide, which swallowed up more than a hundred migrant workers. Some officials believed that this was God's will and that the embankment could not be completed. They advocated canceling the original proposal and suspending work completely. When the matter was reported to the capital, the courtiers were hesitant. Fan Zhongyan, on the other hand, was not afraid of danger and insisted on guarding the weir.
The strong wind rolled up the waves and rushed into his lap. The soldiers and civilians fled in panic, and the officials were panicked. However, Fan Zhongyan did not move. He deliberately looked at his friend Teng Zongliang of the same age beside him. Zongliang was calmly walking. Commenting on a section of standing embankment. Everyone found that the two of them were calm and calm. Thanks to the efforts and perseverance of Fan Zhongyan and others, the work of defending the sea and regulating the weirs was fully resumed. Soon, the long embankment stretching for hundreds of miles stood at the head of Huangtan Beach. The production of salt fields and farmland has been guaranteed since then. Countless households that were displaced by disasters in previous years have returned to their homes with the help of the elderly and the young. People were grateful for Fan Zhongyan, the magistrate of Xinghua County, and called the Haiyan "Fangong Dike". Many disaster victims in Xinghua County took his surname Fan. To this day, there are still ruins of Fan Gong Temple in Xinghua, which are remembered by the elders.
"There are guests who are crazy and honest, and young people love fame." This is a poem written by Fan Zhongyan when he was thirty-six years old. He didn't get married until he was about thirty-four or five years old. This year he had a son and was transferred back to the capital to become the Prime Minister of Dali Temple. From then on, he entered the ranks of Beijing officials.
In the fourth year of Renzong's reign (1026), Xie died of illness. Fan Zhongyan mourned in tears and returned to Nanjing to live. At that time, Yan Shu, an official left in Nanjing, had already heard that Zhong Yan was proficient in Confucian classics, especially the Book of Changes. He invited Zhong Yan to assist Qi in presiding over the academic affairs of Yingtianfu School. Zhong Yan readily accepted the order and recommended another young friend, Fu Bi, to Yan Shu.
In order to facilitate work, Fan Zhongyan moved to the school.
He formulated a work and rest schedule and taught students to study on time. At night, he often went deep into the dormitory to check and punish those who took time off to sleep. Whenever he writes essays on life questions, he must write an essay first to grasp the difficulty of the questions and the key points of writing, so that students can quickly improve their writing skills.
The academic style of Yingtianfu Academy soon took on a new look. People from all over the world come to study and seek professional advice from Fan Zhongyan. Fan Zhongyan warmly received these scholars who came from afar and tirelessly taught them books. Sometimes, he used his meager salary to entertain them, causing his family to be in dire straits. Once, Sun Xiucai, who was traveling to study and beg, came to pay homage to Duke Fan. Fan Zhongyan immediately gave him a thousand pence. A year later, Sun Xiucai came to visit Mr. Fan again. While giving him money, Fan Zhongyan asked him why he was rushing to ask for money instead of sitting down and studying quietly. Sun Xiucai said sadly, "I have an old mother at home and it is difficult to support me. If I have a fixed income of one hundred yuan a day, it will be enough."
Fan Zhongyan said to him: "Listen to your tone, you don't sound like a beggar. . I will help you find a job in this school, and you will be able to earn 3,000 yuan a month to support the elderly. In this way, can you study with peace of mind?" Sun Xiucai was overjoyed, and from then on, he studied "Spring and Autumn" with Fan Zhongyan. 》. The next year, Fan Zhongyan left Nanjing, and Sun Xiucai also resigned from his post.
Ten years later, it was said that a highly respected scholar gathered students in Mount Tai and taught "Spring and Autumn". His surname was Sun Mingfu. Even the famous Mr. Shi Jie from Shandong Province also studied under him. This scholar was the Sun Xiucai back then. Fan Zhongyan said with emotion: "Poverty is really a terrible disaster. If Sun Fu had been begging until he was old, wouldn't this outstanding talent have been lost?"
In addition to Sun Fu, Fan Zhongyan also contacted and helped Many famous scholars. Such as Hu Ai, Li Gou, Zhang Zai, Shi Jie, etc. Either invite them to take charge of academic affairs in their own administrative circles, or recommend them to serve as academic officials in the imperial court, or guide them on the path of academic study. From Hailing to Gaoyou, from Suzhou to Fenzhou (today's Binxian County, Shaanxi Province), wherever Fan Zhongyan went, he always first set up schools and hired teachers and cared about education. Later, when he became prime minister, he ordered all prefectures and counties to run schools. Many people who have been taught and influenced by him have often achieved success.
3. Several ups and downs but perseverance
In the sixth year of Tiansheng (1028), Fan Zhongyan’s mourning ended. After Yan Shu's recommendation, he was promoted to the Collector of the Secret Pavilion - responsible for the collation and arrangement of royal books and classics. The secret pavilion is located in the Chongwen Hall of the Capital Palace. The position of director of the secret pavilion actually belonged to the emperor's literary attendant. Here, not only can you often see the emperor, but you can also hear many court secrets. To ordinary Song Dynasty bureaucrats, this was a rare shortcut to success.
Once Fan Zhongyan learned some of the inside stories of the imperial court, he boldly intervened in the dangerous political struggle. He discovered that Emperor Renzong was already twenty years old, but all major military and political affairs in the court were handled by the sixty-year-old Empress Dowager Liu. Moreover, he heard that on the winter solstice this year, the Empress Dowager wanted Renzong to go to the front with hundreds of officials. The palace kowtowed to her to celebrate her birthday. Fan Zhongyan believed that family rites and national rites should not be confused, and things that harmed the dignity of the monarch should be stopped. He wrote a chapter to criticize this plan.
Fan Zhongyan's memorial made Yan Shu panic. He hurriedly called Fan Zhongyan and blamed him for being so frivolous. Aren't he afraid of injuring the leader? Fan Zhongyan always respected Yan Shu, but this time he refused to give in and protested with a stern face: "Just because I received your recommendation, I was often afraid that I would not be able to fulfill my duties and make you embarrass me. Unexpectedly, today I was punished for my honest comments. You." After saying this, Yan Shu was speechless. After returning home, Fan Zhongyan wrote another letter to Yan Shu, pleading in detail, and simply added another chapter, simply asking Empress Dowager Liu to withdraw from power and return power to Renzong.
The imperial court did not respond silently, but issued an edict, demoting Fan Zhongyan to live in Beijing, and transferred him to Hezhong Prefecture (today's Yongji County in southwest Shanxi Province) as deputy governor - Tongpan. His colleagues in the Secret Pavilion sent him to the outside of the city. They all toasted him with wine and said, "Fan Jun's trip is extremely glorious!" Three years later, Empress Dowager Liu died. Renzong recalled Fan Zhongbi to the capital and appointed You Si Jian, an official specializing in commenting on court affairs. With his status as an official, he felt even more fearless when writing letters and speaking out.
In the second year of Ming Dynasty (1033), there was a severe drought in Jingdong and Jianghuai areas, and there was a locust plague. In order to calm the people, Fan Zhongyan asked Renzong to send people to rescue the disaster immediately. Renzong ignored it, and he asked Renzong: "What should your majesty do if there is no food for half a day in the palace?" Renzong was shocked and realized, and asked Fan Zhongyan to go and deal with the disaster. When he returned, he also brought back a few handfuls of weeds used by the victims to satisfy their hunger, and gave them to Renzong and Houyuan Palace.
The prime minister at this time, Lu Yitong, initially made his fortune by currying favor with Empress Dowager Liu. As soon as the Queen Mother died, he hurriedly said bad things about the Queen Mother. This cunning behavior was once exposed by Empress Guo of Renzong, and she was dismissed from the position of prime minister. However, the causal relationship between the Yi bamboo slips in the court is still deep-rooted. Soon, he returned to the throne through his chamberlain Yan Wenying and others, and colluded with Yan Wenying, hoping to use Renzong's household disputes to depose Empress Guo. The young emperor, who fell in love with Yang Meiren and Shangmei, finally decided to abolish the imperial edict, and based on Lu Yijian's premeditation, he explicitly prohibited all officials from participating in the matter.
Fan Zhongyan understood that behind these palace household disputes, there was a profound and complex political struggle hidden. He and Kong Daofu, the imperial censor in charge of the inspection, went to Chui Gong Hall and asked to see Renzong for an interview. They appealed to the pavilion for a long time, but no one paid attention: the gate officer slammed the palace door shut again.
Fan Zhongyan and others held copper rings in their hands, knocked on the golden door, and shouted through the door: "The queen has been deposed, why didn't you listen to the advice from the stage!" Seeing that it was to no avail, everyone decided on a plan by the steel tiger, preparing to go to court tomorrow morning. He left all the officials behind and debated with Prime Minister Lu in public.
In the early morning of the next day, his wife Li held Fan Zhongyan's clothes and repeatedly warned him not to cause trouble. But he went out without looking back. As soon as he arrived at Dailu Courtyard and waited to go to court, he suddenly heard the imperial edict and demoted him to go far away from the Yangtze River to become the magistrate of Muzhou (near today's Tonglu County, Zhejiang Province). Then, the imperial court sent people to his home again, urging him to escort him out of Beijing immediately. Kong Daofu and others were either demoted or punished, and no one was spared.
Not many people went to see him off in the suburbs this time, but there were still people who raised their glasses and praised him, saying: "Fan Jun is becoming more and more glorious during this trip!" On the way to Zhejiang after leaving his post as an admonisher, Fan Zhongyan felt uneasy in his heart. No regrets, just a slight sense of injustice: "If you respect your father, you must respect your mother. If you respect your father, you must respect your mother. To rectify the country, you must rectify the family. If you change your mind with one heart, your ten mouths will go to the end of the world!" Some people laughed at him like the unfortunate Qu Yuan, but he thought that he was more like Meng Ke: "Five points." "When he went outside the river, people smiled like a poet" and "Ke's ideas were profound and broad, and he was leisurely and light"!
A few years later, he moved from Muzhou to Suzhou. Because of his achievements in flood control, he was transferred back to Suzhou. The capital, and obtained the honorary title of Tianzhang Pavilion, and became the prefect of Kaifeng. Kong Daofu and others who had been demoted together also returned to the court. Fan Zhongyan vigorously reorganized the bureaucracy in the capital, eliminated bad governance, and arranged work in an orderly manner. In just a few months, the Kaifeng Mansion, known as a complex drama, was "awe-inspiring".
Fan Zhongyan saw that Prime Minister Lu Yijian had opened the back door, abused his private life, and made the government extremely corrupt. Based on the investigation, Fan Zhongyan drew a "map of hundreds of officials" and presented it to Renzong in the third year of Jingyou (1036). He pointed to the promotions of officials listed in the picture and made sharp criticism of the prime minister's employment system. Not to be outdone, Lu Yijian ridiculed Fan Zhongyan for being pedantic. Fan Zhongyan wrote four chapters in a row, criticizing the cunning of Lu Yijian. Lv Yijian even falsely accused Fan Zhongyan of colluding with cronies and alienating the emperor and his ministers.
Many people can clearly see the merits of the dispute between Fan and Lu. However, Lu Yijian was scheming and good at taking advantage of the monarch's power and finally won. Renzong was twenty-seven years old and had no heirs. It is said that Fan Zhongyan was once concerned about the issue of Renzong's successor, and perhaps talked about establishing some kind of emperor's younger brother or nephew. Although this incident was out of the sincerity and loyalty of the prosperous Song Dynasty, it inevitably damaged Renzong's self-esteem. In addition to Lu Yijian's slander, Fan Zhongyan was deprived of his official title and demoted to Raozhou magistrate. Later, he was almost demoted to Lingnan.
In order to cater to the prime minister's wishes, Taiwanese official Han Du asked Fan Zhongyan to write a list of names of his comrades and hang them in the court. Yu Jing, Yin Zhu, Ouyang Xiu and others were also exiled to remote places because they complained on behalf of Fan Zhongyan. From then on, the upright ministers in the DPRK lost their power and the upright men were speechless.
This time, only a few relatives and friends went to see Fan Zhongyan off outside the capital. But the upright Wang Zhi took care of his illness and came with wine, and praised "Fan Jun's trip is particularly glorious!" Fan Zhongyan, who had been ups and downs, laughed and said: "Zhongyan has been three times before and after. I will send you again next time." I, please prepare a whole sheep as a sacrifice!" The next day, someone warned Wang Zhi that every word and action he sent to Fan Zhongyan yesterday were recorded by the monitors, and he would be examined as a Fan Party member. When Wang Zhi heard this, he showed no fear and was proud of it.
Raozhou is located on the bank of Duyang Lake. To get here by water from Kaifeng, you have to pass through at least a dozen states. Except for Yangzhou, no one went out to receive Fan Zhongyan along the way, and Fan Zhongyan didn't mind this. He was used to being demoted from the capital to a local official. He twirled his gray mustache and recited a poem in the official residence of Raozhou: "Three times I left Qingcheng, my temples were as silky, and I passed the master of Shanting in the studio." ”
Fan Zhongyan has been sickly since childhood, and has suffered from lung disease in recent years. Soon, his wife Li also died of illness in Raozhou. Mei Yaochen, a poet friend who was a county magistrate nearby, sent him a poem "Lingwu Fu" and told him that his many outspoken remarks in court were regarded as ominous crows. In the past, he was expected to be chained. Tighten your tongue, lock your lips, and besides eating and drinking, just soar high. Fan Zhongyan immediately replied with a poem "Lingwu Fu", and said, no matter how much people hate the dumb sound of crows, I would rather die than live in silence!
Around the age of fifty, Fan Zhongyan was transferred to Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) and Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) as magistrates. At this time, a major event shocked the country and changed his destiny.
4. The Western Border Guards and the Military Merits of the Border Commander
The Dangxiang people who originally lived in Ganzhou and Liangzhou (now Zhangye and Wuwei, Gansu) originally belonged to the Song Dynasty. Starting from the first year of Baoyuan (1038), Yuan Hao, the leader of the Dangxiang tribe, suddenly established the Xixia Kingdom, claiming to be emperor, and mobilized 100,000 troops and horses to invade Yanzhou (near today's Yan'an, Shaanxi) and other places in the Song Dynasty. Faced with Xixia's sudden provocation, the Song Dynasty was caught off guard. Some in the court were engaged in attack and some in charge of defense, and there was a quarrel. Song Renzong was also indecisive and couldn't decide what to do.
The situation on the border is even more embarrassing. Due to more than thirty years of no war, the Song Dynasty’s border defenses were not repaired, and the soldiers were not in battle formations. In addition, Song general Fan Yong was incompetent. Most of the hundreds of miles of border villages in northern Yanzhou were They were looted or taken away by the Xixia army. Renzong discussed with Lu Yijian and sent Xia Song to be the commander-in-chief of the Shaanxi front line. He also adopted the advice of Han Qi, the deputy commander-in-chief at the time, and transferred Fan Zhongyan to be another deputy commander-the deputy envoy of Shaanxi Economic Strategy to appease and recruit. Later, Yin Zhu was also transferred to the Western Front.
Fifty-two-year-old Fan Zhongyan was first restored to the title of waiting for Tianzhang Pavilion, and in the blink of an eye, he was awarded the title of direct bachelor of Longtuge.
After entering Beijing to bid farewell to Renzong, Fan Zhongyan took command and rushed to Yanzhou. The hardships and delays in his official career had already stained his hair, but his enthusiasm for serving the country loyally remained unchanged. Fan Zhongyan personally inspected the front line. He found that the Song Dynasty's military officers and soldiers, battle formations, logistics and defense fortifications had many shortcomings in all aspects. Without reforming the military formation system and adopting strict strategic defense, it would be difficult to reverse the war situation. Han Qi had a different view; he underestimated the superiority of the Xixia army, and was aroused by the indignation of being repeatedly invaded. He advocated concentrating all forces and launching a massive counterattack.
In order to ask Renzong to approve the counterattack plan, Xia Song sent Han Qi and Yin Zhu back to Beijing at the same time. After receiving Renzong's edict, Yin Zhu was ordered to see Fan Zhongyan and ask him to send troops at the same time as Han Shuai. Although Fan Zhongyan was close friends with Han and Yin, he believed that the time for counterattack was not yet ripe and refused to comply. Yin Zhu sighed with emotion: "Han Gong once said, 'A soldier must disregard victory or defeat.' You are just too cautious today. It seems that you are not as good as Han Gong!" Fan Zhongyan said: "When the army is launched, all lives are at stake. If you don't care about it, I don’t know where the concept is!”
In the first month of the first year of Qingli (1041), Han Qi received a battle report that the Xixia army invaded Weizhou (today’s Pingliang area of ??Gansu Province). He immediately sent General Ren Fu to lead his army to attack. The Xixia army was frustrated and retreated, and Ren Fu issued an urgent order. They pursued them straight to the foothills of Liupan Mountain in the Western Xia Kingdom, but were ambushed and surrounded at the mouth of Haoshui River. Ren Fu and other sixteen generals died heroically, and more than 10,000 soldiers died tragically. Han Qi returned in defeat and met thousands of family members of the deceased along the way. They cried out the names of their loved ones and prayed that the souls of the dead would return with Han Shuai. Han Qi stood on his horse and hid his tears, full of regret. score. He was once transferred back to the imperial court to serve as deputy envoy to the privy council and counselor of political affairs. However, under attack and exclusion from conservative forces, he was forced to leave the imperial court in the fifth year of Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty. When he wrote "The Story of Yueyang Tower", he was serving as the magistrate of Dengzhou.
"The Story of Yueyang Tower" is famous, first of all, because of its lofty ideological realm. Another famous writer at the same time, Ouyang Xiu, said in an inscription written for him that he had been determined to be world-famous since he was a child, and often recited to himself: "A scholar should worry about the world's worries first, and rejoice after the world's happiness. "It can be seen that what is said at the end of "Yueyang Tower", "Be worried about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness" is the criterion for Fan Zhongyan's life behavior. Mencius said: "If you are powerful, you can benefit the world; if you are poor, you can only benefit yourself." This has become the creed of many scholar-officials in the feudal era. When Fan Zhongyan wrote this article, he was demoted from an official position and was "far away from the world." He could have adopted a solitary attitude and ended up in leisure and happiness. However, he refused to do this and still took the world as his own responsibility. He encouraged himself and his friends with the two sentences "worry about the world's worries first, and rejoice after the world's happiness." This is commendable.
Third, the language of this article is also very distinctive. Although it is a prose, it is interspersed with many four-character couplets, such as "The sun and stars are hidden, and the mountains are invisible." "Sand gulls gather together, and the golden scales swim." , Silent shadow sinks into the jade." These parallel sentences add color to the article. The author has also made great efforts in refining the words and sentences. For example, the words "title" and "swallow" in the two sentences "Near the distant mountains and swallow the Yangtze River" accurately express the vast momentum of Dongting Lake. "Don't be happy with things, don't be sad with yourself." These eight concise words are as enlightening as a motto. "Be worried about the worries of the world first, and be happy after the joys of the world" melts rich meaning into two short sentences, and each word has a huge power.
Teng Zijing said in the letter asking Fan Zhongyan to write "The Story of Yueyang Tower": "Unless there are towers to view the landscape, it will not be outstanding for those who visit it, and unless there are words to refer to the tower, it will not be long." This is indeed the case. , Yueyang Tower has become a scenic spot that people yearn for because of this wonderful account; "Yueyang Tower", like the landscape of Dongting, will always give people beautiful memories.
Fu Bi sent poems from Qingzhou, which made him deeply moved. However, Fan Zhongyan spoke highly of him and advised him not to be tired of being humble and to work hard: "The Privy Council praised Xiang every day, but he was a pillar in the bright hall;" "A straight path does not seek peace and wealth, but purity and sincerity can only rely on the help of Qingguang!" "My old friend Teng Zongliang sent someone a picture of the Yueyang Tower and told him that he had renovated the building and engraved the poems and poems about the building from past dynasties on the stone. He hoped that Fan Zhongyan would write a story about the Yueyang Tower.
On the night of September 14th, the sixth year of Qingli year (1046), the autumn breeze blew coolly and the moonlight was bright. Fan Zhongyan hung up the Yueyang Tower map and began to concentrate on his ideas. In his early years, he studied with his stepfather in Anxiang, Lizhou (now Anxiang County, Hunan Province), and once visited the Yueyang area. Now that I think about it, the wonderful scenery of Yueyang lies in the endless Dongting Lake. You can see that it holds green mountains in the distance and swallows the Yangtze River nearby. It is full of brilliance in the morning and mist in the evening. If you go up to the tower and look far away on a gloomy and gloomy day, people will often feel nostalgic for their country, and feel worried, slandered, and afraid of ridicule. It is really full moon and infinitely sad. If you climb the Yueyang Tower on a sunny day in spring, you will feel relaxed and happy, forget all honor and disgrace, hold your wine in the wind, and be beaming with joy. These are the grand views of the Yueyang Tower.
However, Zhong Yan did not want to express his emotions in general, but wanted to put forward some profound philosophical insights after outlining the beauty of Dongting and the sentiments of his predecessors, and create a lofty ideological realm to inspire him. He and his deposed friends also inspired and educated future generations. So, he took advantage of his excitement and wrote "Yueyang Tower" which has been passed down through the ages: The difference between ancient people with lofty ideals and common people is that their emotions do not easily change with the scenery. When they are promoted and prosperous, they will not be complacent; when they encounter misfortunes and poverty, they will not be depressed. If they are in high positions, they can relieve the people's worries; once they are homeless, they will still worry about sharing the worries of the monarch. It is simply that you are worried when you are in office and you are worried when you leave.
If someone wants to ask: How can we be happy when we have no worries every day? Then, the answer he will get will be these two sentences: "Be worried about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness!"
"Yueyang Tower" was sent to Yuezhou, and the ancestors were greatly forgiven. move. He immediately ordered people to carve the stone. The two maxims in the book - "Be good first when the world is worried, and be happy after the world is happy" spread like wildfire, and were recited like the wind. When Renzong heard this, he couldn't help but praise him. The full text is as follows: Yueyang Tower Story by Fan Zhongyan In the spring of the fourth year of Qingli, Teng Zijing was relegated to guard Baling County. In the next year, when the government was harmonious and all kinds of wastes were restored, the Yueyang Tower was rebuilt, its old structure was added, and poems and poems by Tang Xian and modern people were engraved on it, and I wrote a composition to record it. /I watched my husband Baling's victory in a lake in Dongting. It holds the distant mountains and swallows the Yangtze River, and the vastness of the water extends endlessly; the sunrise and sunset, and the weather are endless. This is the grand view of Yueyang Tower, which has been described by predecessors. However, it is connected to Wu Gorge in the north and Xiaoxiang in the South Pole. Migrant poets and poets often meet here, and the feeling of looking at the things is the same? / If the rain is falling, the moon is not open; the wind is howling, the turbid waves are emptying; the sun and stars are shining, the mountains are invisible; business travel is not possible, the rafts are toppled and destroyed; the dusk is dark, the tigers are roaring and the apes are crying; when you climb the tower, you will There are those who are nostalgic for their country, worried about slander and fear of ridicule, their eyes are full of desolation, and they feel extremely sad. / When spring comes and the scenery is bright, the waves are calm, the sky above and below is a vast expanse of blue; sand gulls gather in the sky, golden scales swim, and the shore is covered with orchids, lush and green. Or when the long smoke disappears, the bright moon shines thousands of miles away, the floating light leaps into the gold, the silent shadow sinks into the jade, and the fishermen answer each other's songs, how wonderful is this joy! When you climb the tower, you will feel relaxed and happy, forgetting all the favors and disgrace, and drinking wine in the wind, and you will be overjoyed. /Sigh! I try to seek the benevolent heart of the ancients, or do it differently from the two, why? Don't be happy with things, don't be sad with yourself. If you live high in the temple, you will worry about the people; if you live far away from the rivers and lakes, you will worry about the king. It is also worrying to advance, and to be worried when retreating; but when will there be joy? He must say: Worry first when the world is worried, then rejoice when the world is happy! Alas! Micro man, who I go! / It was September 15th, six years ago.
The two sentences "Be concerned about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness" summarize the principles of conduct that Fan Zhongyan pursued throughout his life, and are a high-level summary of his thoughts of caring about the country and the people. Since his youth, Fan Zhongyan has determined to be a person who is beneficial to the world. After serving as an official for decades, he was not afraid of being punished for committing crimes against Yan Zhijian in the court. He launched the Qingli New Deal, a political reform that touched all aspects of the political, economic, and military systems of the Northern Song Dynasty. Although the reform failed due to opposition from conservative forces, the New Deal presided over by Fan Zhongyan created a new era for the scholar-bureaucrats to discuss politics in the Northern Song Dynasty. The atmosphere spread the reform ideas and became the prelude to Wang Anshi and Xining's reforms.
Everywhere he went, he built water conservancy projects, cultivated talents, protected the land and the people, and achieved outstanding political achievements. He truly served as an official for one term and benefited the country. In life, he was strict and frugal in his family management. He did not eat any meat dishes at home, and his wife and children only had enough food and clothing. Until his later years, he did not build a decent house. However, he liked to give away his money to He was kind and kind to others, and willing to help others. Many wise men at that time grew up under his guidance and recommendation. Even ordinary people in the countryside and streets can call his name. When he left office, the people often blocked the way of the envoys and asked the court to let Fan Zhongyan continue to serve.
In the third year of Huangyou's reign (1051), Fan Zhongyan moved to Qingzhou. The cold winter here aggravated his illness. The next year (1052), he was transferred to Yingzhou and took up the post insisting on providing medical treatment. But he only made it to Xuzhou and died suddenly. He died at the age of sixty-four. In December of that year, he was buried in Wan'an Mountain southeast of Luoyang, Henan. He was given the posthumous title Wenzheng and was granted the title of Duke of Chu and Duke of Wei. There is "Fan Wenzhenggong Collection" handed down to the world. At this time, Fan Zhongyan's savings were exhausted. The family was poor and sick, so they only took shelter in the official house for a little shelter from the wind and rain. The news of Fan Zhong's drowning spread, and the government and the public were in mourning. People from various ethnic groups, including Xixia Gan, Liang and other places, gathered in hundreds to mourn and fast for days. Wherever he served in politics, people built ancestral halls and portraits for him. Hundreds of tribesmen came to the ancestral hall, weeping and mourning like their dead father. According to his last wish, his body was not transported back to his hometown of Suzhou, but was buried where his mother rested. Next to that piece of land - at the foot of Wan'an Mountain in the southern suburbs of Luoyang. Fan Zhongyan's actions and thoughts won the admiration of generations before and after his death. People with lofty ideals in the past dynasties also took Fan Zhongyan, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty, as a model to learn and imitate.
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