Work believable and vivid

Biography of Wang Anshi: by Cui Ming; published by Tianjin People's Publishing House.

2021 coincides with the 1,000th anniversary of Wang Anshi's birth, and the publishing industry has seized this opportunity to launch a series of research works related to Wang Anshi. Among them, "The Biography of Wang Anshi", published by the Tianjin People's Publishing House, is a reading material based on an academic stance and suitable for public readers. The whole book is divided into two volumes, more than 500,000 words, which can be described as a big thought.

The development of traditional Chinese culture to the Song Dynasty reached a new qualitative change point of prosperity and maturity, and it showed characteristics of the era that were different from those of the previous unified dynasty in social, political, economic and cultural aspects. At the beginning of the establishment of the Song Dynasty, with the goal of revitalizing culture and education and declaring cultural relics, it attached importance to the construction of cultural undertakings and the absorption and integration of traditional culture, which had a far-reaching impact on the social atmosphere. By the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, talents had sprung up, and Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang, Wang Anshi, and Su Shi were outstanding representatives, and could be said to be "encyclopedic" figures.

As a cultural figure with a magnificent pattern, Wang Anshi is even more special. Looking at the history of Wang Anshi's research in the past thousand years, whether it is political evaluation, ideological consideration, or literary analysis, it is influenced by different evaluations of the change of law, which affects the scientific and objective nature of the research, not only is it difficult to correctly evaluate Wang Anshi's reform ideas and reform practice, but also it is difficult to correctly understand the position of "Jinggong New Learning" and his poetry and literary creation in the history of literature. From the Yuan and Ming dynasties to the middle of the Qing Dynasty, inheriting the tone since the Southern Song Dynasty, the distorted image of Wang Anshi penetrated deep into the folk through popular literary and artistic forms such as opera and script. It was not until the middle of the Qing Dynasty that there were calls for a correct evaluation of Wang Anshi, and Cai Shangxiang's "Examination of the Genealogy of wang Jinggong" and Liang Qichao's "Wang Jinggong" were two of the masterpieces. Since the reform and opening up, Wang Anshi's research has gradually embarked on a rational and objective academic track, resulting in a large number of rigorous, solid and credible research papers, and the positive evaluation of Wang Anshi has occupied the mainstream. Although there are also different opinions, they are all normal academic discussions, which help us to scientifically understand and evaluate the actual face and historical status of this historical figure, and reveal his significance and value in the current society.

This book describes and describes in detail the important deeds and mental processes of Wang Anshi at various stages of his life, paying attention to his political achievements, academic achievements, and literary creations, as well as the details of his daily life, presenting the historical appearance with detailed descriptions, and revealing the deep structure of the characters' hearts. The author's writing attitude is serious and serious, and all the events of Wang Anshi, including some details, are based on literature, and they are never made up out of thin air, so that "no 'thing' has no origin", and readers can rest assured that "they believe it to be true". However, "no 'thing' has no origin" does not mean "no one' word 'no source', on the basis of the pursuit of narrative authenticity, the author also combined with the specific situation to carry out limited, restrained imagination and deduction, in order to express personal understanding of these events, but also make this book vivid and readable. As for whether the combination of credibility and readability is appropriate, it is up to the reader to evaluate.

In addition, this book pays great attention to the introduction of Wang Anshi's own poetry and literary works, and the portrayal of Wang Anshi's mental journey, mostly based on his works, stringing together life with works, and interpreting them in a similar way of "translating instead of annotating". Friends who read this book, while understanding Wang Anshi's life experience, can also appreciate Wang Anshi's literary masterpieces full of artistic charm, and obtain a practical aesthetic enjoyment, so as to deeply understand Wang Anshi's thoughts, personality and the era in which he lives.

People's Daily ( 2022-01-11 20th edition)