Nowadays, the reference to blatant idiom basically contains a pejorative meaning, mainly referring to someone doing something that is not allowed by laws and regulations and is not accepted by public order and good customs, openly and without scruples. There are similarities to the idiom "unscrupulous". But, like many idioms, blatant early on was originally a positive word, but as time went on, people became more and more accustomed to its "novelty" and no longer considered its original meaning.
As early as the Tang Dynasty, there was a well-known minister Wei Siqian who was just outspoken, who served as the inspector of imperial history during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, and in the wu zetian period, he was even more of an official and prime minister. This person dared to speak out in righteousness, and even if the emperor was at fault, he also dared to advise, and it was difficult for such a person not to offend anyone. As a result, because after impeaching the magnate once, he caused trouble for himself and was demoted by Emperor Gaozong of Tang. When relatives and friends went to visit him and persuade him to pay attention to his temper, Lord Wei left behind an iron-boned saying: As an upright person, you can't tolerate unreasonable things, how can you take care of personal gains and losses? The eldest husband must be brazen and serve the country, how can he be mediocre and only care about protecting his own safety and the safety of the family?
Compared with Wei Siqian, Liu Anshi during the Song Zhezong period was more legendary, he was also a tough man with a rectum, as a disciple of Sima Guang, and a good friend of such a great literary hero as Su Shi and Su Rui, he naturally did not have the contention of the readers, and he was deeply influenced by the stubbornness of the teacher. Therefore, when Song Zhezong served as a righteous doctor in the first dynasty, he made a will - he must be blatant and take responsibility by example.
Such a person, of course, is just and selfless, and the Song Dynasty has always been kind to the literati doctors, so he directly advises the emperor and impeaches the ministers, almost without scruples. Emperor Zhezong of Song's Manchu Dynasty was quite afraid of him for a while, and even called him "the tiger on the temple", which shows his influence. However, such a loyal minister, in that era, it was inevitable to offend people, so after Zhang Huan took power, Liu Anshi's life was not so good, and he was repeatedly degraded and far away from the capital.
However, a person like Zhang Huan could not be strong for a while, because his sentence "Duan Wang was frivolous", so that after this Duan Wang became Emperor Huizong of Song, he naturally ended Zhang Huan's flying and stumbling. As soon as Zhang Huan fell, those who were excluded by him were quickly pardoned, and Liu Anshi was among them. But how could a person like Liu Anshi be accommodated by the core circle of power headed by Cai Jing and others during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song? At that time, he was old and frail, and he did not have more time and energy to serve the country. A few years later, Liu Anshi died and was buried in Xiangfu County, and after another two years, the Jin state attacked and occupied Xiangfu, and Jin Bing inevitably went to various places to dig graves and search for benefits. However, when he opened Liu Anshi's coffin, he was shocked, because after so long, Liu Anshi's appearance was still alive. The surprised golden man shouted, this is a strange man! You can only close the coffin and leave in a hurry.
Although such a story is inevitably exaggerated, it is even more inconsistent with our usual cognition. However, as a generation of famous courtiers and upright gentlemen, Liu Anshi's last wish was to go to see sima Guang under the Nine Springs with a perfect image. Therefore, we hope that such a story is true and more worthy of the lifelong wish of this sage - to always be blatant.