Fan Zhongyan likes playing the piano, but he only plays one song on weekdays, so people call him Fan Lvshuang. He is engaged in poetry creation, which is rich in political content, beautiful in language and open-minded. There are two sentences in his "Yueyang Tower", "Worry about the world first, and enjoy it later", which is an eternal famous saying. It is also a portrayal of his patriotism all his life.
He was not only a famous politician and commander in chief in the Northern Song Dynasty, but also an outstanding writer and educator. The Li Qing Reform led by him became the prelude of Wang Anshi's Xifeng Reform. He improved some military systems and strategic measures to make the western border defense stable for a long time; A large number of scholars he recommended laid the foundation for the academic prosperity of the Song Dynasty. His thought of worrying about the world first and the moral integrity of people with lofty ideals are brilliant spiritual wealth in the history of Chinese civilization; Zhu called him "the first-rate figure in the history of heaven and earth"! Today, the remains of Fan Zhongyan in various places have been protected and commemorated by people.
Fan Zhongyan studied hard since he was a child. Zhujiajian Island is a rich man in Changshan, but for inspiration, he often goes to the nearby Liquan Temple in Changbai Mountain for boarding study and reads satirical recitations in the morning and evening. His persistent spirit of reading films left a deep impression on monks: at that time, his life was extremely difficult. He only cooks a pot of thick porridge every day, cools it, cuts it into four pieces, eats two pieces in the morning and evening, mixes a few pickles and half a jar of vinegar juice, and continues to study after eating. Later generations have the reputation of painting porridge, but he doesn't mind this poor life at all, and spends all his energy in books to find his own fun.
In the fourth year (10 1 1), 23-year-old Fan Zhongyan came to Yingtianfu Academy in Suiyang (now Suiyang District, Henan Province). Yingtianfu Academy is one of the four famous academies in Song Dynasty, with 0/50 school buildings and thousands of books. What's more, there are many ambitious and intelligent teachers and students here. Studying in such a college, there are not only famous teachers to consult, but also many students to learn from each other and many books to read. Moreover, the college is free, which is especially popular for Fan Zhongyan, who is financially strapped. Yingtianfu was later renamed Nanjing, and Yingtianfu Academy was also called Du Nan Academy.
Fan Zhongyan's years of hard study also began in Zhixia in spring and ended in winter in autumn. Dance sword in the morning and get dressed and sleep in the middle of the night. Others look at flowers and enjoy the moon, but he only finds pleasure in the Six Classics. "Baiyun is nowhere to be found. Who plays Dong Xiao in Hanyuan? It's hard not to sing a song, but a thin person can still give an emu. Think about your face, you will be happy in your heart, and you will sell it when you understand your hatred. But if you don't lose your gentleness, why blame Shanmiao? " A few years later, Fan Zhongyan's classic Confucian themes, such as The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Yijing, Li San, Jing Yue and Chunqiu, have become a generation of masters: he also generously takes the world as his responsibility.
Soon, he was appointed as the manager of Guangdejun to join the army (Guangdejun is located in Guangde County, Anhui Province, and the manager joined the army as an official in charge of litigation and trial, from Jiupin). Then, he was transferred to Qing Ji Army as our ambassador (Qing Ji Army is located in Bozhou, Anhui Province, and our ambassador is a curtain officer from Bapin). He took his mother to support him, officially restored Fan, and changed his name to Zhong Yan and the word Xi. From then on, he began his political career for nearly forty years.
Great "there are guests who are crazy and refined, and teenagers love fame", "Thirty-six years of dust, not a million people". 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 got a son and was transferred back to Beijing to be the manager of Dali Temple. Since then, he has entered the ranks of Beijing officials.
Renzong Tiansheng four years (1026), thank you. Fan Zhongyan mourned with tears and returned to Nanjing to live. Yan Shu, a left-behind official in Nanjing at that time, was well versed in Confucian classics by Wen Zhong, especially the Book of Changes. He invited Zhong You to assist Qi in hosting the educational affairs of Yingtianfu School. Zhong You was granted permission to recommend another young friend, Fu Bi, to Yan Shu.
In order to facilitate his work, Fan Zhongyan moved to school. He made a timetable to guide students to read on time. In the evening, I often go deep into the dormitory to check and punish those who are sleepy. Whenever he gives homework to a life topic, he should write one first, so as to grasp the difficulty of the topic and the focus of writing, and let students improve their writing level quickly.
Besides Sun Fu, Fan Zhongyan also contacted and helped many famous scholars. Such as Ai Hu, Li Gou, Zhang Zai and Shijie. Or invite them to take charge of academic affairs in their own administrative circles, or recommend them as academic officials of the imperial court, or guide them on the road of academic research. From Hailing to Gaoyou, from Suzhou to Fenzhou (now Binxian County, Shaanxi Province), wherever Fan Zhongyan went, he always started to study and hire teachers first and cared about education. Later, he became a prime minister and even ordered all counties to run schools. Many people who have been taught and influenced by him often have their own achievements.
Many people can see clearly the dispute between Fan and Lu. Happened to Lv Yijian wily, good at using the power of the monarch, finally won. Injong is 27 years old and has no children. It is said that Fan Zhongyan once cared about the heir of Injong, and perhaps even talked about setting up a nephew. Although this incident originated from the sincerity and loyalty of the prosperous Song Dynasty, it inevitably hurt Renzong's self-esteem. After being slandered by Lv Yijian, Fan Zhongyan was deprived of his due title and demoted to the magistrate of Raozhou. Later, I almost died in Lingnan.
In order to cater to the will of the Prime Minister, Taiwanese official Han Du asked Fan Zhongyan's colleagues to write a list and hang it on the court. Yu Jin, Athena Chu, Ouyang Xiu and others were exiled to remote places because of their grievances against Fan Zhongyan. Since then, officials in the DPRK and China have held their breath, which is staggering.
Few relatives and friends saw Fan Zhongyan off outside Beijing this time. However, the honest Wang Zhi came here to help the sick and raise wine, and praised "Fan Jun's trip is particularly glorious!" Fan Zhongyan, who has experienced many ups and downs, said with a smile: "It is the three lights before and after Zhongyan. If you send me another one, please prepare a whole sheep as a sacrifice! " The next day, Wang Zhi was warned that everything he said and did to send Fan Zhongyan yesterday was recorded on the monitor, and he would be censored as a fan party. Hearing this, the king was not afraid of color, but was proud.
Raozhou is near Duyang Lake. It takes at least a dozen States to get here by water from Kaifeng. Fan Zhongyan didn't mind that no one went out to receive him except Yangzhou along the way. He is used to being demoted from the capital to a local official. He twisted his gray mustache and sang a poem in Raozhou's official residence. "Three out of Qingcheng Mountain, the temples are like silk, and the sweepers are scattered in the lent." "There is no need to be proud of your lips in the world, just get stuck in the old man!"
Fan Zhongyan has been ill since childhood and has suffered from lung disease in recent years. Soon, his wife Li also died in Raozhou. Mei, a poet friend who served as a county magistrate nearby, gave him a poem "Lingwu Fu" and told him that his many outspoken remarks in North Korea were regarded as ominous crows. I wish him nothing but eating and drinking in the past, just flying high. Fan Zhongyan immediately replied a poem "Lingwu Fu". He replied that no matter how much people hate the crow's dumb voice, I died in Ningming and was born silently!
Around the age of 50, Fan Zhongyan was transferred to Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province) and Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province) as the prefect. At this time, a great event shook the whole country and changed his fate.
4. Xiqiao defends the soil and is handsome in the army.
The Tangut people who lived in Ganzhou and Liangzhou (now Zhangye and Wuwei in Gansu) originally belonged to the Song Dynasty. From the first year of Baoyuan (1038), Yuan Hao, the leader of the Tangut, suddenly established the Xixia Kingdom, claiming to be the emperor, and mobilized 100,000 riders to invade Yanzhou (now near Yan 'an, Shaanxi) and other places in the Song Dynasty. Facing the sudden provocation of Xixia, the Song Dynasty was caught off guard. Some of the main attacks of the imperial court and some of the main defenses were in a mess, and Song Renzong hesitated.
The border is even more embarrassing. Because there has been no war for more than 30 years, the frontier defense in the Song Dynasty has not been repaired, the foot soldiers have not fought, and Fan Yong, the general of the Song Dynasty, is incompetent. Most of the hundreds of villages in northern Yanzhou were looted or taken away by Xixia army. Injong consulted with Lv Yijian and appointed Xia Song as the front commander of Shaanxi. He also adopted the opinion of Han Qi, the deputy commander at that time, and transferred Fan Zhongyan to another deputy commander, Shaanxi, to appease and recruit envoys. Later, Athena Chu was also transferred to the western front.
Fifty-two-year-old Fan Zhongyan was first restored to the post of Tianzhangge, and in a blink of an eye, he was awarded the post of straight bachelor in Longtuge. After Fan Zhongyan resigned from Beijing Renzong, he rushed to Yanzhou. The hardships of his official career made him dye his temples, but his passion for serving the country remained unchanged. Fan Zhongyan personally inspected the front line, and he found that Song Jun's officers and men, war, logistics and fortifications had many shortcomings in all aspects. If we do not reform the military array system and adopt strict strategic defense, it will be difficult to reverse the war. Han Qi's view is different; He underestimated the advantages of the Xixia army and was encouraged by the indignation of repeated harassment. He advocated concentrating all forces and launching a large-scale counterattack.
Xia Song sent Han Qi and Athena Chu to Beijing, requesting Injong to approve the counterattack plan. With the approval of Injong, Athena Chu was ordered to meet Fan Zhongyan and asked him to send his troops at the same time as Han Shuai. Although Fan Zhongyan is close friends with Han and Yin, he believes that the time for counterattack is not yet ripe and insists on counterattack. Athena Chu lamented: "The Han Palace said,' Scholars should put victory and defeat aside'. You are too cautious today. It seems that you are really not as good as Han Palace! " Fan Zhongyan said: "I don't know what's so high about the idea that once the army is launched, everyone's life is in danger."
In the first month of the first year of Li Qing (104 1), Han Qi received the battle report that Xixia army invaded Weizhou (now Pingliang, Gansu). He immediately sent the general Ren Fu to lead the army to attack. The Xixia army was frustrated and retreated, and Ren Fu ordered it to be expedited. Chased to the foot of Liupan Mountain in Xixia, but was ambushed in Haoshui Kawaguchi. Ren Fu and other 16 generals died heroically and more than 10,000 soldiers died tragically. Han Qi was defeated, and met thousands of families of the deceased on the way. They shouted the names of their relatives and prayed that the deceased would come back with Han Shuai. Han Qi wept bitterly in front of Ma Yan.
Fan Zhongyan's strategic defense is not a simple or passive defense measure. When he first arrived in Yanzhou, he comprehensively reviewed the army and made serious downsizing and reorganization. He promoted a number of fierce generals from soldiers and junior officers, and selected many militia from local residents; Strict military training was also carried out. He also banned the mechanical system of going out in the order of ranks, and instead chose the contingency tactics of war generals according to the enemy's situation. In terms of fortifications, he adopted Zhong's suggestion and built a city in Yanbei first. Later, in the war zone between Song and Xia, a fortress was built. For border ethnic minority residents, we will sincerely unite, give generous concessions, and establish strict conventions on rewards and punishments. In this way, a solid barrier gradually stands on the roadside defense lines such as roadside, celebration and Jingyuan.
One day in March in the second year of Li Qing (1042), Fan Zhongyan secretly ordered his eldest son Chunyou and a general, Zhao Ming, to attack the Xixia army and recapture Mapuzhai in the northwest of Gyeongju. He went out in person and set out with a great army. None of the generals knew the purpose of the operation. When the troops were about to go deep into the defense line of Xixia army, he suddenly gave an order: start work on the spot and build the city. Building tools have been prepared in advance, and it took only ten days to build a new city. This is the famous isolated city-Dashun City, which entered the boundary between Song and Xia Dynasties. Unwilling to fail, Xixia sent troops to attack, only to find that Song Jun, with Dashuncheng as the center, had formed a solid strategic system echoing the fortress.
On the way back to Gyeongju from Dashuncheng, Fan Zhongyan was relieved. In the first year, Zhong Shiheng was sent to Yanzhou to build Qingjian City, and the northeast border defense was stable. The private message of the Xixia army also reached his ears. They said, "Yanzhou cannot be easily captured. Now Lao Tzu Fan has tens of thousands of armour soldiers in his chest, which is not as easy as Lao Tzu Fan. " Now the border defense in the north of Gyeongju is generally close to consolidation. Only his own body, but feel very tired. It's late spring, and the wildflowers on the hillside have just opened. If it were in Jiangnan, it would have been full of flowers. He recited four poems casually: "On March 27th, flowers began to appear in Qiangshan; The general went to the border, but Chun Lao did not return. "
Summer has arrived in a blink of an eye. Fan Zhongyan had to go to Dashuncheng to defend himself. He is over 54 years old this year, with gray hair and swaying in the north wind. He looked at the geese flying south in the sky, with endless regrets in his heart. Insomnia in the middle of the night, he lit a lamp to fill in the words; A series of "Fisherman's Passion" all started from the same four words: Qiu Lai has different scenery, Hengyang geese go unnoticed, and they sound in all directions, thousands of miles away, and the city is closed for a long time. A glass of turbid wine belongs to Wan Li's family, Ran Yan has not returned, and Qiang Guan is full of frost: people don't sleep, but generals have white hair and tears.
Fan Zhongyan also took some measures to improve the combat effectiveness of the army. The imperial edict of the Song Dynasty stipulated the number of troops commanded by generals at all levels. If the enemy invades, the junior officers will take the troops out to resist first. Fan Zhongyan said: "War generals don't choose the right people, but only take the rank as the standard of fighting. This is a self-defeating way. " Therefore, he carefully examined Yanzhou's army, eliminated a group of weak and incompetent distribution schools, and selected a group of war-tested talents to replace them. He also eliminated the old and weak, selected18,000 qualified soldiers, divided them into six units, and let each general command 3,000 people to train separately, which changed the situation that soldiers did not know each other in the past. In the face of war, according to the number of enemy troops, he sent them to take turns to resist the battle.
Fan Zhongyan also actively recruited soldiers, because most of the original imperial guards were corrupt imperial guards transferred from the mainland. These people have no resistance to hard work, and their morale is not high because they are homesick for a long time. They recruited soldiers from the local people, were familiar with the mountains and rivers, were brave and good at fighting, and had strong morale because they defended their hometown. Refine soldiers and improve the combat effectiveness of the army. In addition, Fan Zhongyan can set an example. A soldier never says he is thirsty without drinking water, and he never says he is hungry without eating. The gold and silk given to him by the court were distributed to the soldiers. Fan Zhongyan's rewards and punishments are clear, rewarding soldiers who bravely killed the enemy, promoting and reusing generals who made meritorious deeds, and mercilessly beheading corrupt elements who deducted their salaries in public. In this way, under the leadership of Fan Zhongyan, many generals with both wisdom and courage like Di Qing and Zhong emerged in the Northwest Army, and also trained a group of brave soldiers. Until the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, this army was still a strong force in the Song Dynasty.
With the efforts of Fan, Han and others, the border situation has been greatly improved. At this time, there were various crises in Xixia, and there were also many contradictions among the generals of Xixia army. Two years after Li Qing, the number of people who defected from Xixia to Song Dynasty kept increasing. People in Song and Xia Dynasties hoped to stop military operations as soon as possible. The envoys of the two sides also began to secretly travel back and forth between Xingqing House (now Yinchuan City) and the capital of song dynasty. In the fourth year of Li Qing (1044), the two sides formally reached a peace agreement. Peace was restored in Song and Xia Dynasties, and the situation in the northwest turned to safety.
5. The reform of the Qingli New Deal is strong.
Since Yuan Hao rose up against the Song Dynasty, Song Jun's frontier defense expenditure has suddenly expanded. In order to increase income, the government has to increase the burden on the people. As a result, riots and riots against the imperial court broke out in various places, including near the capital.
During the three or four years in Li Qing (1043-1044), Emperor Injong, who was eager to stabilize the political situation, was particularly cheerful and enterprising. Xia La, Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan, the three generals of the Western Front, were transferred back to Beijing and appointed as the chief and deputy chief of the highest military organ respectively. He also expanded the establishment of the official, and personally appointed four remonstrating officials, namely Ouyang Xiu, Yu Jing, Wang Su and Cai Xiang, which were later called "Four remonstrating".
"Four remonstrations" were made, and Xia Song, who had no military merit, was dismissed, and Du Yan and Fu Bi were replaced as military commanders. The official of the "four remonstrances" made another speech, completely removing Lv Yijian's military and political power. When the "four remonstrances" were stated for the third time, Vice Premier Wang was dismissed and Fan Zhongyan took over. Facing this unprecedented excellent team, Shi Jie was overjoyed. He wrote a poem praising and saying, "Lift Liang Jun and sweep the charm!" ! Preaching sages is like pulling weeds, and a large number of people rise up to exorcise evil spirits, just like cutting chicken feet, which will never last long.
In September of the third year of Li Qing (1043), Renzong urged Fan Zhongyan and others to take measures to change the situation. Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi and Han Qi drafted the reform plan overnight. Fan Zhongyan, in particular, seriously summed up the reform ideas brewed in politics for 28 years, and soon put forward the famous New Deal program "Ten Things to Answer Your Hands" and put forward ten reform suggestions. Its main contents are as follows:
(a) Ming, that is, a strict system of official promotion and demotion. At that time, the promotion officials did not ask how to rest and relax, nor did they look at the quality of their political achievements, but only their qualifications. Therefore, officials do not seek merit, but seek nothing, so they follow the trend and do nothing. Fan Zhongyan proposed to assess political achievements, promote people who have made significant contributions and obvious political achievements, and replace guilty and incompetent officials.
(2) Restrain fluky psychology, that is, limit the way to be an official and promote by fluky psychology. At that time, senior officials recommended their children to be officials in Beijing every year. Twenty years later, 20 people from a brother and grandson's family served as Beijing officials. Entering the imperial court one after another in this way not only increased the state expenditure, but also these dude boys did not do their proper work, only knew how to cover up each other, form gangs and seek personal gain. For the sake of national political clarity and reducing financial expenditure, the privileges of senior officials should be restricted and their children should not be allowed to hold important positions in hotels.
(3) Fine tribute, that is, strict tribute system. In order to cultivate people with real talent and practical learning, we must first reform the contents of the imperial examination, change the original Jinshi branch from focusing only on poetry and fu to focusing on strategy, and change the Mingjing branch from only requiring words and phrases to stating the significance and truth of Confucian classics. Only in this way can students be truly talented and practical, and they can truly seek truth.
(4) Selection of the Chief Executive. In view of the fact that incompetent officials at the state and county levels were nine times out of ten at that time, Fan Zhongyan suggested that the court send competent people to various places (supervision and finance departments at or above the Northern Song Dynasty) to check local political achievements, reward competent personnel and recall incompetent personnel; The selection of local officials should be carefully recommended and reviewed to prevent redundancy.
(5) All public areas. Public land, that is, professional land, is one of the fixed incomes of local officials in the Northern Song Dynasty, but its distribution is often uneven. Fan Zhongyan believes that the supply is uneven, how to ask officials to do their duty? He suggested that the court balance their professional income; What is not given in the professional field is given according to the results, so that they can earn enough to support themselves. Then, you can blame them for being honest; People who break the law may also be punished or fired.
(six) thick agriculture and mulberry, that is, attach importance to agriculture and mulberry and other production undertakings. Fan Zhongyan suggested that the imperial court issue imperial edicts, requiring governments and people at all levels to talk about the interests of poor farmland, build water conservancy projects, promote agriculture and benefit farmers, and formulate a long-term system of rewarding people and evaluating officials.
(7) Armament training means armament improvement. Fan Zhongyan suggested that strong men should be recruited near Beijing to serve as guards in Gyeonggi to assist the regular army. These guards spend about three quarters of their time on farming and one quarter on training and fighting every year. The implementation of this system can save the cost of consumables. If this system in the capital is successful, it will be followed by other places.
(eight) to promote the good faith, that is, to widely implement the government's loyalty to the people. If the competent department delays or violates the execution of the Amnesty order, it shall be dealt with severely according to law. In addition, envoys should be sent to all walks of life to check whether various preferential policies that should be implemented are implemented. In this way, the emperor's favor is everywhere.
(nine) heavy order, that is, to seriously and carefully issue court orders. Fan Zhongyan believes that the written law was originally intended to show trust in the people, but it was changed soon after it was promulgated. Therefore, the imperial court must discuss which regulations can be implemented for a long time, delete complex and redundant clauses, stipulate them as emperor's orders and state decrees, and promulgate them for implementation. In this way, the court's orders will not change frequently.
(10) reduce corvee. Fan Zhongyan believes that the number of hukou has decreased, but the people's supply to the government is heavier. Counties with a small number of registered permanent residence are reduced to townships, and embassies and state hospitals of various states are merged into one hospital; The handyman sent by the official department can be assigned to some state soldiers to undertake, and those who should not undertake public office will be returned to the countryside. In this way, people will no longer worry about heavy troubles.
The case was raging and rumors were everywhere; Later, it even implicated Fan Zhongyan's sincerity in reform and even had the intention of expanding relative power. Although Song Renzong didn't believe all this, he began to waver when he saw that the force against innovation was so strong. At this time, the Song and Xia Dynasties had formally made peace: the political crisis was basically eliminated. Injong's interest in reform has gradually faded. In order to avoid suspicion, Fu Bi asked to go to the border. Fan Zhongyan also knew that he was boring and took a job to inspect Hedong and Shaanxi.
Premier Zhang Dexiang and Vice Premier Jia Changchao once echoed Fan Zhongyan's New Deal. But in practice, they are obedient and disobedient. When the New Deal was frustrated and the reformers were falsely accused, they immediately defected. After Fan and Fu left Beijing, they simply joined forces with conservative forces to throw stones at Fan Zhongyan and others. And through Taiwan Province officials to create new unjust cases, to eliminate Beijing's innovative figures.
At the beginning of the fifth year of Li Qing (1045), Song Renzong, who had been impassioned and wanted to make great achievements, finally completely retreated. He wrote to give up all reform measures, and Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi were removed from important military and political posts. All kinds of new policies that have been implemented for just over a year have also been banned. The dignitaries and their children inside and outside the capital are still singing and dancing. Fan Zhongyan's painstaking efforts to get rid of graft were wasted in an instant. He was transferred to that state (now Binxian County, Shaanxi Province) to be a magistrate, ready to do something good for the birthplace of Fan Zu.
6, for the country and the people, worry about the world first, and then enjoy the world.
This winter, Fan Zhongyan is nearly 58 years old. The cold of the frontier fortress threatened his health, so he was allowed to move to a warmer place, Dengzhou (now dengzhou city), to be the prefect. At this time, Fu Bi has been demoted to Qingzhou (now Yidu, Shandong Province), Ouyang Xiu to Chuzhou (now Chuxian, Anhui Province), Teng Zongliang to Yuezhou (now Yueyang, Hunan Province), and Athena Chu to Yunzhou (now near Gao 'an, Jiangxi Province), and suffered humiliation. Fan Zhongyan applied. Athena Chu was taken to Dengzhou for illness. Athena Chu is dying and extremely poor. He told Fan Zhongyan with a smile: "It is a normal law to be born and die. There are neither ghosts nor fears. "
Yueyang Tower
The origin of Yueyang Tower. After the failure of Qingli New Deal, Fan Zhongyan was exiled to Dengzhou, where he was in poor health. My old friend Teng wrote to him from Hunan, asking him to write down the rebuilt Yueyang Tower and attach a picture of Dongting in late autumn. Fan Zhongyan agreed. In June of the sixth year (i.e.1June of 046), Li Qing wrote the famous Yueyang Tower in Huazhou College in Dengzhou. It shows that although the author is in the Jianghu, worried about the country and the people, and persecuted, he still does not give up his indomitable will. At the same time, it is also an encouragement and comfort to his demoted comrades.
Fan Zhongyan was a pioneer of the poetic innovation movement in the Northern Song Dynasty. He realized the harm of soft writing and clever customs in the early Song Dynasty, emphasized the inheritance of the progressive literary tradition in history, and recommended good works that could adhere to the tradition of appealing to both refined and popular tastes. His own poems also represent the progressive direction of literary creation. His essay aims to clarify the importance of people being the foundation of the country, which is very popular and has the potential to rob people. Yueyang Tower is his masterpiece. The article puts forward the principle that an upright scholar-bureaucrat should stand firm and be consistent, and thinks that personal honor and disgrace promotion should not be ignored, "don't be happy with things, don't be sad with yourself", but "worry about the worries of the world first, and be happy with the joy of the world later". Full-text narration, scenery description, lyricism and discussion are integrated, and the combination of static and dynamic, contrast between light and dark, concise words and harmonious syllables make it an innovation of miscellaneous notes to compare scenes with couplets.
Appreciation of Yueyang Tower (Yuan Xingpei)
Along the Xiangjiang River, through Changsha, and then forward, a piece of Wang Yang comes into view, that is, Dongting Lake, which is "full of water and sky, boundless romance". Meng Haoran, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Dui Dong Ting": "Clouds and smoke make Meng Gu sleepy in Yueyang." Vividly displayed the vast momentum of Dongting Lake, and became the swan song of the ages. Yueyang mentioned in the poem, with Dongting in the west and the Yangtze River in the north, has been the throat of north-south traffic since ancient times. Looking from Dongting Lake to Yueyang, the most striking thing is a three-story building standing by the lake, which is spectacular against the blue sky and white clouds. That is the famous Yueyang Tower.
Yueyang Tower was formerly the military parade platform of Lu Su, the governor of the State of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. In the fourth year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Shuling, secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, called Yueyang Tower, built a pavilion in the former site of the parade platform. Famous poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Zhang Xiaoxiang and Lu You. They all left their well-known poems here. In the spring of A.D. 1044, Teng was demoted to Baling County, Yuezhou as the magistrate, and the Yueyang Tower was rebuilt in the following spring. In June, he wrote a photo of Dongting in late autumn to Fan Zhongyan, a good friend of Dengzhou's demotion, and asked him to write an article about Dongting. In September of the sixth year of Li Qing, Fan Zhongyan wrote this famous "Yueyang Tower". The full text of Yueyang Tower is only 368 words, divided into five paragraphs.
Fan Zhongyan, the author of Yueyang Tower, was born in 989 and died in 1052. The word Wen Xi is from Wuxian, and Wuxian is Suzhou today. He was born in poverty and his father died when he was two years old. When I was young, I stayed in a temple to study. I often do not have enough to eat. I still insist on studying hard day and night, and I have never undressed and slept for five years. Later, China scholars wrote to the emperor many times and put forward many suggestions to get rid of the disadvantages, which were repeatedly relegated by conservative forces. Later, he was responsible for the northwest frontier defense and made great contributions in resisting the invasion of Xixia. He was once transferred back to the imperial court, served as the deputy envoy of the Tang Dynasty, and participated in the discussion of state affairs. However, under the attack and exclusion of conservative forces, he was forced to leave the Song Renzong court for five years. When I wrote Yueyang Tower, I was a magistrate in Dengzhou.
Yueyang Tower is famous first because of its lofty ideological realm. Ouyang Xiu, another famous contemporary writer, said in his inscription that he was interested in the world since he was a child. He often recited to himself: "A scholar worries about the world first, and then enjoys the world." It can be seen that Fan Zhongyan's life code of conduct is "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later" mentioned at the end of Yueyang Tower. Mencius said, "Being rich is good for the world, and being poor is good for the world." This has become the creed of many literati in feudal times. When Fan Zhongyan wrote this article, he was demoted to an official and "stayed away from the rivers and lakes". He could have taken an independent attitude and lived a leisurely and happy life. However, he refused to do so, and still took the world as his own responsibility, encouraging himself and his friends with the words "Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later", which is commendable.
Third, the language of this article is also very distinctive. Although it is prose, it is interspersed with many four-character antitheses, such as "the sun, the moon and the stars are hidden, and the mountains are hidden." "Swimming in Jinli, Ji Xiang, Sha Ou." "The long smoke is exhausted, and the moon is thousands of miles away; Glimpses, still shadows. " These compound sentence added color to the article. The author is also deeply honed in the use of words, such as the word "title" and "swallow" in two sentences, which just shows the vast momentum of Dongting Lake. "Don't be happy with things, don't be sad for yourself", and the concise eight words are as inspiring as the motto. "Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later", which has a rich meaning in just two sentences, and every word has vitality.
In a letter asking Fan Zhongyan to write "The Story of Yueyang Tower", Teng said: "Those who watch the landscape will not see the balcony, but journalists will not see the balcony for a long time." Indeed, Yueyang Tower has become a scenic spot that people yearn for because of this wonderful sketch. The story of Yueyang Tower, like the landscape of Dongting, will always give people good memories.
Fu Bi sent poems from Qingzhou, and he couldn't help feeling deeply. Fan Zhongyan's "Harmony Products" greatly praised him and advised him to be modest and eager to learn: "The official residence praises the item every day, but it is a pillar of heaven in the class; "I don't ask for wealth, I just ask for help!" Teng Zongliang, a former good friend, sent someone to send him a picture of Yueyang Tower, telling him that it had been renovated, and also engraved with poems of praise from previous dynasties, hoping that Fan Zhongyan would write a story about Yueyang Tower.
But Zhong You didn't want to generalize, but wanted to put forward some profound philosophical opinions after sketching out the beauty of Dongting and the human feelings of predecessors, so as to forge a lofty ideological realm, so as to inspire himself and his exiled friends, and also to inspire and educate future generations. So he wrote "The Story of Yueyang Tower", which was passed down through the ages. The difference between people with lofty ideals and ordinary people in ancient times is that their feelings will not easily move with the scene. On the day of promotion and wealth, they won't get carried away: when they are down and out, they won't frown. If you are in a high position, you can relieve the people's worries: once you are displaced, you are still worried about sharing your worries. Just worried about being on the job and leaving. If someone wants to ask: when is it fun to be so carefree? Then, the answer he will get will be two sentences like this; "Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later!"
Wherever he went, he built water conservancy projects, trained talents, protected land and people, and made great achievements, truly serving as an official and benefiting one party. In life, he is strict and frugal. He usually doesn't eat two kinds of meat and vegetables at home. His wife and children just want food and clothes. He didn't build a decent mansion until his later years. However, he likes to give his money to others, be kind and helpful. At that time, many wise men grew up under his guidance and recommendation Even ordinary people in the countryside and the streets can call his name. When he left office, the people often blocked the way of envoys and asked the court to let Fan Zhongyan stay in office.