In his later years, Ouyang Xiu called himself "June 1st Resident", according to his words: 10,000 volumes of books, 1,000 volumes of Jinshi testaments, 1 piano, a game of chess, a pot of wine, plus a drunkard. Because of its high moral and beautiful, the Ming people Mao Kun is known as the "June 1st Wind God". Together with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and Su Shi, he is known as the "Four Great Masters of ancient articles". Later generations praised it: His literary talent is the world's sect, his historical talent is rewarded by the world, and his officials are admired by the world.
Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), the character Yongshu, the number drunk, the late name "Liuyi resident". His ancestral home was Yongfeng County, Jizhou (present-day Yongfeng County, Jiangxi Province), because Jizhou originally belonged to Luling County, and he regarded himself as "Luling Ouyang Xiu". His courtesy name was Wen Zhong ,Ouyang Wen Zhonggong(Ouyang Wen Zhonggong). Northern Song Dynasty politician, writer and historian, together with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Wang Anshi, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Rui, and Zeng Gong, was collectively known as the "Eight Greats of the Tang and Song Dynasties".
In the fourth year of the Northern Song Dynasty (1007), Ouyang Xiu was born in Mianzhou (present-day Mianyang), and his father died when he was 3 years old. Ouyang Xiu and his mother went to Suizhou in Hubei Province to join their uncle. Due to the family's poverty, her mother had to use the hagi stalk to teach Ouyang Xiu to read and write on the sand, and borrowed books to copy. Because of his talent, he often can recite the book before he has finished copying it.
At the age of 16, Ouyang Xiu took the imperial examination for the first time and failed to pass; three years later, he took the examination again and still did not rank on the list.
In 1028, the 21-year-old Ouyang Xiu used his newly written "Shangxu Scholar Yan Qi" as a gift to meet the prefect Xu Yan. After Xu Yan read this article, he greatly appreciated it. He said, "The Son shall be famous in the world." And took Ouyang as a disciple.
1029 was of great significance to Ouyang Xiu, and in the spring of that year, the 22-year-old Ouyang Xiu, by Xu Yanbaoju, went to the Beijing Division to participate in the Guozijian Examination, ranked first, and became a jianyuan; in the autumn of the same year, he participated in the Guoxue Examination and still ranked first and became Xie Yuan; in the following year, he participated in the Libu Provincial Examination presided over by Yan Shu, and ranked first and became a provincial yuan. It can be counted as "three yuan in the middle of the line". Subsequently, Ouyang Xiu participated in the temple examination, won the 14th place, became a jinshi, and thus officially embarked on the career path. At the same time as the title of the gold list, he also ushered in the cave house flower candle, and his wife was the daughter of Xu Yan.
During his tenure in Luoyang, Ouyang Xiu, while serving as an official, traveled with Mei Yaochen, Yin Su and others to enjoy the mountains and rivers and exchange poetry. Later, when he was demoted, he also wrote affectionately: "Once a guest of Luoyang flowers, Although Yefang did not have to be late." (Although I am now relegated to a remote area and cannot see flowers in the spring, I once enjoyed such a brilliant youth in Luoyang, what else can I not bear in this life?) ）”
At the age of 28, Ouyang Xiu returned to Beijing to serve as a surveyor of the Pavilion and participated in the compilation of the Chongwen General Catalogue. In Beijing, he continued to take "the seat is always full, and the wine in the bottle is not empty" as a motto. However, at this time, Ouyang Xiu, after all, was no longer the teenager who enjoyed his youth, and he began to assume social responsibility.
In 1036, Fan Zhongyan offended Lü Yijian by criticizing the improper employment policy of the chancellor Lü Yijian, and once asked about the successor of Song Renzong, who had no heirs, was grabbed by Lü Yijian and counterattacked, Fan Zhongyan was demoted to Rao Prefecture Zhizhou, and later almost demoted to Lingnan. Ouyang Xiu was demoted to Yiling (present-day Yichang) County Because he was upset with Fan Zhong, he was regarded as a member of his party.
In 1040, the 33-year-old Ouyang Xiu was recalled to Beijing, and the official was reinstated to his post. In 1043, when Fan Zhongyan implemented the "Qingli New Deal", Ouyang Xiu participated in the reform and became a cadre of the reform faction, after the failure of the New Deal, Fan Zhongyan and others were degraded, and Ouyang Xiu wrote a letter to argue and was demoted to Chuzhou Taishou. Here, Ouyang Xiu wrote the immortal famous article "The Record of drunken Pavilion".
Later, Ouyang Xiu became the Taishou of Yingzhou (颍州, in modern Fuyang, Anhui). In Yingzhou, he still sent love poems and wine, thinking that his life was no worse than in Luoyang. Later, when he was about to bid farewell to Yingzhou, he was afraid that the officials who were sending him farewell would be too sad, so he wrote a poem to comfort them, saying: "I am only drunk as usual, and I will not teach the strings to make a sound." "Still does not change the optimist nature of the poet and the drunkard.
In 1049, the 42-year-old Ouyang Xiu returned to Beijing again, and successively served as a Hanlin scholar and a historian. 5 years later, he was framed and degraded. As soon as the order was issued, Emperor Renzong regretted it, and when Ouyang Xiu resigned from the court, the emperor personally said, "Don't go to Tongzhou, stay and repair the Book of Tang." In this way, Ouyang Xiu continued to be a Hanlin bachelor and began to revise history books. He studied the New Book of Tang with Song Qi and the Five Dynasties History by himself.
At the age of 50, Ouyang Xiu became the chief examiner of the Ceremonial Department, presided over the entrance examination as a Hanlin scholar, advocated a plain literary style, and admitted Su Shi, Su Rui, Zeng Gong and others, which had a great influence on the change of the literary style of the Northern Song Dynasty. When the list was released, those arrogant candidates who wrote "too academic" found that they had not been selected, and they made trouble, and some even said that they wanted to go to the street to intercept Ouyang Xiu and beat him. But the emperor fully trusted Ouyang Xiu's character and judgment and gave him great support. History has also finally proved Ouyang Xiu's correctness, and the Northern Song Dynasty literary style has since been revived. Even Liu Ji, the leader of the "Taixue Body", was rehabilitated, changed his name to Liu Hui, retook the exam, and obtained a meritorious name.
In 1058, Ouyang Xiu was a scholar of Hanlin and a scholar of Longtuge. In 1060, the 53-year-old Ouyang Xiu paid homage to the Privy Councillor. In the following year, he was appointed Governor of the People's Republic of China. Later, he successively served as shangshu of the punishment department and shangshu of the bingbu department.
At the age of 58, Ouyang Xiu went to the table to request an external appointment, but was not allowed. In the following two or three years, because he was slandered by Jiang Zhiqi and others, he resigned many times, but he was not allowed.
In the second year of Emperor Xining of Song (1069), Wang Anshi implemented a new law. Ouyang Xiu was critical of the Green Shoots Method. The following year, it was renamed "June 1st Resident".
In 1071, he resigned as a young master of the crown prince.
He died in 1072 and was given the title of Crown Prince Taishi at the age of 66.