Diligent Yushi Liu Zongyuan

Liu Zongyuan (773–819 CE) was an outstanding politician, writer, thinker, and philosopher of the Middle and Tang dynasties.

Liu Zongyuan (柳宗元), courtesy name Hou,was born in Hedong Commandery (present-day Yongji, Shanxi), and was an outstanding politician, writer, thinker, and philosopher of the Middle and Tang Dynasties. At the age of 31, Liu Zongyuan was appointed as the inspector of Yushi Lixing, and his main duties were in charge of hundreds of officials and violated discipline, which was equivalent to the duties of the current discipline inspection and supervision cadres.

Honest and self-sustaining, two sleeves of fresh air. Liu Zongyuan believes that to be an official, you must understand shame, which is the bottom line and the starting point. Liu Zongyuan described himself as an official who was "honest and self-sustaining, and loyalty is a battle" and strictly abided by the rules. Liu Zongyuan wrote a "Biography of The Cockroach", saying that there is a small insect called fù bǎn, which has a habit of especially liking to carry things, seeing what it carries, and the things on its back are getting heavier and heavier, although tired, but it is unwilling to stop, and eventually the scorpion is pressed down to get up. This little worm likes to climb high until it falls to the ground with all its strength. Writing this, Liu Zongyuan sighed, there are also such insatiable people in the world, and when they see money, they just have to take it... Thinking about getting rich all the time, and becoming more and more corrupt, one day, their fate will be like that little worm. Liu Zongyuan uses things to entertain people, uses literature to warn the world, and warns people with the story of cockroaches that greed is the source of self-destruction.

Abide by the right path and carry forward healthy trends. Liu Zongyuan lived in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, and after the Anshi Rebellion, a situation of feudalism and eunuch dictatorship was formed. In the first year of Emperor Shunzong's reign (805), a clique of bureaucratic scholars led by Wang Ling and Wang Shuwen carried out innovations with the support of Emperor Shunzong, of which Liu Zongyuan was a member. They advocated strengthening the centralization of power, opposing the division of feudal towns, and cracking down on the dictatorship of eunuchs, but in the end due to insufficient political power, the reform ended in failure. After the failure of the reform, Liu Zongyuan, Together with Liu Yuxi and eight others, was demoted to Sima and Liu Zongyuan was appointed Sima of Yongzhou. During his derogation of Yongzhou, Liu Zongyuan composed a five-sentence poem "Jiang Xue", which expressed the tragic and magnificent integrity of a politician who did not submit to the criminal and evil forces, did not collude with the criminal and evil forces, and was determined to stand up to his own ideals.

Diligence for the people, for the benefit of the people. As a politician, Liu Zongyuan always had the people in his heart, and did many good things to benefit the country and the people during his demotion to the history of Liuzhou. Among them, the most respected by historians is the release of slaves. Liu Zongyuan "reformed the law of his hometown" so that those who became slaves could pay for their lives, and they could also redeem themselves by serving their creditors. For the poorest slaves, Liu Zongyuan ransomed it himself and sent it back to his parents. During his stay in Liuzhou, Liu Zongyuan also established education, and students came thousands of miles to learn from him and ask for advice. Under the auspices of Liu Zongyuan, the people of Liuzhou rushed to learn The Chinese dialect first, loved in the outside world, and were filial to the family at home, and the people's customs were pure. People have lived in new houses, new boats, clean and sweet water, dilapidated streets and alleys have been renovated, temples have been renovated, ponds and gardens have been cleaned and tidy, people who have fled and wandered have returned, and the lives of the people have undergone great changes. The people of Liuzhou said happily, "Although our place is far from the capital, we are also the people of the Son of Heaven, and now that the heavens have sent benevolent Liu Hou, what reason is there not to obey the indoctrination?" In the third year of Changqing (823) after Liu Zongyuan's death, Han Yu, as a servant of the bureaucracy, was invited by the officials and people of LiuZhou to gladly write an epitaph for Liu Zongyuan, praising Liu Zongyuan for "being able to zeze his people".

Liu Zongyuan's idea of diligent administration and benefiting the people still shines brightly when looking back today. The broad masses of party members and cadres must bear firmly in mind Liu Zongyuan's advice that "officials are servants of the people," maintain a public heart, patience, and conscience, do their best, assume responsibility, perform their duties in a clean and honest manner, do practical and good things for the masses, strive to become good public servants praised by the people, and live up to the expectations of the party and the people.

Reporter Nanliao sorted out

【Source: Yuncheng Daily】

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author, if there is an error in the source or infringement of your legitimate rights and interests, you can contact us through the mailbox, we will deal with it in a timely manner. Email address: [email protected]