#Chinese Culture Reciter # Wang Anshi (1021 - 1086), Zi Jiefu, No. 1 Banshan, Jiangxi Linchuan people (that is, the current Jiangxi Fuzhou, but I prefer the name Of Linchuan), he was a generation of great literary heroes during the Northern Song Dynasty, but also a generation of political success, his poetry skills, power position, are called a monument in the history of Jiangxi's three thousand years of civilization, can be said to be a great existence of no ancient people before and after.
Portrait of Wang Anshi. (This article was originally written by headline author Bo Dong)
Why should I elevate him to such a high level? In fact, I am not talking nonsense, and allow me to speak slowly.
First, the great reformers of ancient times who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Shang Martin and Zhang Juzheng
In the more than two thousand years of China's feudal era, there were many, many reforms, but there were only three reforms that could really impress people, namely the Shang Martingale Transformation Law, the Zhang Juzheng Reform, and the Wang Anshi Transformation Law we want to talk about today.
Compared with the first two, Wang Anshi's transformation method has more valuable and unique features.
Before the Shang martingale changed the law, the State of Qin had been forced by the State of Wei to the desperate situation of cutting off land and paying reparations, and the rulers of the State of Qin were not so much actively seeking change as they were passive changes; before Zhang Juzheng's reform, the Ming Dynasty had fallen into the brink of internal and external troubles, and social contradictions emerged in an endless stream, so Zhang Juzheng's reform was also relatively passive. At that time, the Song Dynasty was still at the peak of classical Chinese civilization, although there were some hidden worries, but Wang Anshi and their reading people were still very good in ascending channels, and Tokyo Fenliang City was one of the few large cities in the world with a population of one million, and the commercial culture was also very developed, so Wang Anshi's transformation method was a change of law that was keenly aware of the troubles of the Northern Song Dynasty under the premise of the prosperous song, and then the hero broke his wrist and took the initiative to change.
These quotes of his still make people's blood boil when they read them today. (This article was originally written by headline author Bo Dong)
To put it this way, although they are all reforms, Wang Anshi's change of law is an active act, he has already discovered the problems of the country in the beauty of Song Renzong's "co-rule with scholars", and bravely advised Renzong, but Song Renzong did not pay attention to him.
The only regret is that the reform of Shang Martin and Zhang Juzheng was still successful, while Wang Anshi's reform of the law failed, but this still does not prevent us descendants from listing him as the greatest reformer of ancient China, because his reform measures and his ruling philosophy still have strong vitality and reference significance to this day. If nothing else, the Green Shoots Act, which provides low-interest loans from the state to farmers for a famine year, is actually the source of the financial leverage of the modern state, which makes you have to admire his foresight.
Second, a Dynasty Zaifu who does not want to be an official
Wang Anshi was one of the most famous prime ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty, and it is reasonable to say that this should be an achievement that only a person who strives to improve his career can achieve, but strangely, Wang Anshi is not a reader who is intoxicated with the officialdom, on the contrary, he has resigned his official position repeatedly.
After Emperor Renzong failed to write a letter to change the law, he may have been a little disappointed in the imperial court, and Wang Anshi, known as "Xianggong Xianggong", no longer wanted to stay in the official field, so he resigned his official position and went home to study. Emperor Renzong thought about using him several times, and who knew that he directly refused the expropriation of the imperial court.
Fuzhou, Jiangxi, Wang Anshi Memorial Hall. (This article was originally written by headline author Bo Dong)
Once, the imperial court sent Wang Anshi a letter of appointment, asking him to go to an important department to take up his post, who knew that Wang Anshi did not see anyone who came to deliver the letter of appointment, and the person who came could not, so he had to kneel down and beg him to become this official, but Wang Anshi preferred to hide in the toilet rather than accept this appointment. Later, the person who sent the letter of appointment really had no way, so he left the letter of appointment in Wang Anshi's reception room, got up and left on his own. When Wang Anshi saw the situation, he grabbed the letter of appointment as soon as he grabbed it, hurriedly chased it up, and insisted on returning the letter to the sender.
Many people have worked hard to become officials, but Wang Anshi seems to be a special case, he is famous because he does not want to be an official, and finally let the emperor and the civil and military officials be proud to see Wang Anshi. It was precisely because of this prominent reputation that when the young new emperor Song Shenzong asked his confidential secretary Han Wei about the issue of government affairs, the confidential secretary naturally said the source of his ideological ideas- "Wang Anshi" who was the "Duke of Xianggong".
Soon, the spring that belonged to Wang Anshi came, and the spirited and young Emperor Shenzong and Mr. Linchuan, who was in his prime and enterprising, met by chance, and after a short period of serving as a local official, Wang Anshi was quickly recalled to the court to serve as the governor of the Great Song Dynasty and led the reform of the law.
If zhao yan, who was determined to forge ahead, died prematurely, wouldn't the situation in the Northern Song Dynasty be better? (This article was originally written by headline author Bo Dong)
In fact, Wang Anshi did not want to be an official, he just did not want to be a mediocre official who did nothing, he wanted the imperial court to provide him with a stage to display his talents and serve the country, this stage Song Renzong could not provide, so he did not want to come out as an official at that time; and Song Shenzong could give him this opportunity, so he gladly accepted.
Third, first-class literati may have a hard time becoming successful politicians
Wang Anshi was a generation of great literary heroes of the Northern Song Dynasty, in fact, he and Su Shi's literary cai were to some extent not to mention more. His poems are excellent, prolific and high-quality, and there are nearly 2,000 poems of Wang Anshi that have been handed down to this day. For example, his "Mei", "Berthing Guazhou", "Yuan Ri", "GuiZhixiang. Jinling Huaigu" and so on, are rare recitations of the past.
At the same time, he was also the most exalted prime minister in the history of Jiangxi. Jiangxi has produced several prime ministers before and after, such as Zhong Shaojing of the Tang Dynasty, Zeng Bu, Zhou Bida, and Wen Tianxiang of the two Song Dynasties, Xie Jin, Zhao Ruyu, Chen Xun, Yang Shiqi, Xia Yan, Yan Song, and so on of the Ming Dynasty (the Ming Dynasty was really a period of jiangxi's unique style), but Wang Anshi was undoubtedly one of the leaders, whether from the literary style or political ability, there are capable people among these people, but they can keep pace with Wang Anshi, I personally think there is none.
From the beginning of Wang Bo's "Preface to the Pavilion of King Teng" to the Ming Dynasty, Jiangxi began hundreds of years of his magnificent history. (This article was originally written by headline author Bo Dong)
However, the reform movement led by Wang Anshi still failed, why? I think the root cause may be that it is difficult for first-class literati to become successful politicians.
The truly first-class literati is not only a cultural concept, it is also a moral concept, and the depth of the culture makes the true literati have a moral insistence that is almost stubborn in their hearts. Wang Anshi's being called "Awkward Xianggong" by the people of the time explains the problem in itself, and his later practices also prove this.
After the "Wutai Poetry Case", Su Shi, who was fiercely opposed to Wang Anshi, was demoted from Beijing by the reformists, and some people wanted to do something from it, and Wang Anshi, as the head of the reform faction, personally wrote to the emperor to intercede for Su Shi, and although Su Shi still suffered some hardships, he was finally free and leisurely. This phenomenon is unimaginable in any other dynasty, and the Niu-Li party struggle in the Tang Dynasty and the major factional struggles in the last years of the Ming Dynasty are much more brutal and cold-blooded than the factional struggles in the Northern Song Dynasty. This naturally has the background of the Northern Song Dynasty's emphasis on the literati, but it is also related to Wang Anshi's personal moral adherence.
In the years when Wang Anshi was in power, he did not kill a single person because of different political views, and he has always adhered to the Confucian principle of "gentlemen are harmonious and different", "If you do not approve of my change, then you will go", and I will never threaten your personal safety. This was true for Su Shi, it was true for Sima Guang, and it was true for all the readers of the Great Song Dynasty.
The allusion that Wang Anshi and Su Shi have different political views and affirm each other can be called ancient and beautiful talks. (This article was originally written by headline author Bo Dong)
Therefore, even if he did not succeed in changing the law, he retired before he could accomplish his deeds, and after his death, he was still highly respected by all the readers in the world, and he himself enjoyed the reputation of the single word "Wen" (which was the only one among all the Wenchen titles after the Tang Dynasty). Su Shi, who had been persecuted by the reformists, wrote a letter for him and praised him: "The literature of Zhenwei is enough to decorate all things; the extraordinary deeds are enough to move the four directions." Political enemy Sima Guang also rejected his former suspicions, saying of Wang Anshi: "Jiefu articles are righteous, quite a few people (places)." ”
However, in the face of the care of personal feathers and the success of the transformation, which is more important? Wang Anshi obviously chose the former, he adhered to the inner standards, protected his own people and even political enemies, but objectively led to the failure of the change of law, this kind of pros and cons are for us to think about later generations, here I will not make too much evaluation.
Throughout history, very few pure literati have been able to ascend to the peak of power, and Wang Mang, who usurped the Western Han regime, counted one, but he soon failed, so throughout the ages, there have been many literati who can be assistants and good subjects, but to say that they really hold power and achieve success, perhaps the literati still have almost the strength of perseverance, moral indoctrination is important, but if these are compared with the national plan, is there still a trade-off between the pros and cons?
The shame of Jingkang is the sorrow of the last millennium. (This article was originally written by headline author Bo Dong)
In 1127, after the failure of Wang Anshi's transformation, the Jin army broke through the city of Bieliang, and the Northern Song Dynasty collapsed. I have to say that this may be Wang Anshi's only regret.
IV. Concluding Remarks
If I were to choose a province that represents the history of civilization in southern China, I would have and only have one answer, and that would be the province where the "old watch" lived, Jiangxi.
From the Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, there are countless literati and inkers and court giants who have come out of this hot land and walked in from the outside, and then constantly opened up the depth and breadth of Chinese civilization, and almost assumed those extremely important responsibilities in the history of Chinese civilization. Tang and Song Dynasties, here are the only three, even if not huang Tingjian among the eight people, is enough to illuminate the ancient and modern; there is a Ming generation, here should be regarded as the core of China that can influence the entire political situation, Tang Xianzu, Song Yingxing and other cultural, scientific and technological experts have highlighted the unique style of Jiangxi Province. In modern times, Jinggangshan in Jiangxi, ruijin soviet revolutionary base area, and so on, have become the places of prosperity for the reconstruction of China.
Behind all this brilliant brilliance, Wang Anshi, the "Duke of Xianggong" in Linchuan, may be the first person who has descended for a thousand years and opened up the world.
The unique Jiangxi cultural phenomenon is a large area that cannot be bypassed in the history of Chinese civilization. (This article was originally written by headline author Bo Dong)