First-rate scholar, third-rate politician
After fifteen years, 67-year-old Sima Guang returned to Kaifeng. On the day he entered Beijing, the alleys were empty, and the scene was comparable to a concert of first-line stars.
When the palace guards saw him, they raised their foreheads one by one, expressing their happiness and saying, "This is Sima Xianggong!" ”
In order to see Sima Guang's demeanor, the people of the capital climbed to high places, and the tiles on the roof were trampled and the branches were broken, but no matter how they reprimanded, they were unwilling to come down.
Some ordinary people blocked the road to the palace, surrounded Sima Guang, and said, "Xianggong don't go, stay and assist the new emperor, and give us those who are suffering a way to live!" ”
▲Kaifeng City in the snow. Source: Photogram
This was March of the eighth year of Yuan Feng (1085), and Song Shenzong, who was practicing reform, died of illness, and a vigorous change of law once again reached a stalemate, leaving a lot of chicken feathers.
Sima Guang went to Beijing to mourn, but he was overwhelmed by the large-scale "star chasing" scene in front of him. Just as the imperial court exempted officials entering Beijing from the etiquette of entering the palace to resign, he hurriedly returned to Luoyang, where he had been idle for fifteen years.
After this farce passed, Sima Guang, with the support of Empress Dowager Gao Taotao, returned to the court and launched a counterattack against Wang Anshi's change of law, almost all of the new law was abolished. He had always opposed changing the law, but in the last year of his life, he fulfilled his long-cherished wish.
From the historical records, it can be seen that Sima Guang was a well-known and prestigious official during his lifetime.
Unexpectedly, less than ten years after Sima Guang's death, he was almost killed in a coffin. The "Zizhi Tongjian" that he painstakingly compiled for many years was almost destroyed, the monument given by the imperial court was smashed, and the inscription was also worn away.
After that, his reputation "jumped repeatedly" among loyalists and traitors, and for a time he was listed among the Yuanyu party, and was accused of being a traitor, but later restored his reputation, gaining the same status as the previous sages from the Temple of Confucius, and the portrait was hung in the palace.
The colors of history are not just black and white.
Sima Guang does not support changing the law, but it is not as pedantic as some film and television dramas say. On the contrary, he is also a reformer with a heart for the world, but the Great Song crisis he sees in his eyes is different from Wang Anshi.
▲Portrait of Sima Guang
Young reformers
Sima Guang became famous in the Renzong Dynasty and was a young and preco-wise talent.
The allusion to Sima Guang's smashing of the cylinder is well-known and true, and it was first recorded in the notes of the Song people such as "Cold Zhai Night Talk" written by the Northern Song monk Hui Hong, and also included in the official history such as "History of Song".
The young Sima Guang did not panic when he was in trouble, smashed the water tank to rescue his trapped playmate, so he became famous in Jingluo, and he was also a "little fresh meat" in the department field when he was admitted to junior high school, only 20 years old.
Different from the old ways diehard in many people's impressions, Sima Guang was a well-known direct minister when he was young, especially when he was an adviser, he went to the N-Daoza and constantly proposed reforms to Song Renzong.
▲ Young Sima Guang. Source: Film and television stills
Sima Guang had already seen the financial difficulties of the Great Song Dynasty, and he wrote to Emperor Renzong of Song that "the fear of the country's future is not him, but in the exhaustion of financial resources." ”
This was an important reason why Song Shenzong supported Wang Anshi in changing the law in the future, and Sima Guang had already discovered this crisis.
But in Sima Guang's view, the imperial court's fault was in the improper use of personnel, and there was no problem with the system of the Great Song Dynasty. In his 10,000-word book to Song Renzong, he said that the key to reform "lies in choosing people, not legislating."
This is the biggest difference between him and Wang Anshi.
Sima Guang had his own plan for economic reform, and he believed that the two ways to solve the financial problem were to save money and accumulate wealth for the people.
In order to solve the problem of empty treasury, Sima Guang made three suggestions to Song Renzong: first, stop the abuse; the second is to advocate the style of simplicity; Third, it is necessary to reduce redundant officers and soldiers and eliminate corrupt officials.
The harm caused by redundant officials and redundant soldiers is that the social atmosphere is becoming more and more extravagant, officials are full of corruption, and petty officials increase extortion, resulting in "every time there is a construction trade purchase, the amount of money spent is ten times that of the previous one, and the utilitarian benefits received have been different." "As a result, the people are exploited more than before, and the state funds are still not enough to spend.
During this period, Sima Guang wrote a series of recitals on financial issues, he opposed the transfer of officials for no reason, opposed the emperor Shangyuan Youxing, opposed excessive banquets and drinks in the palace, opposed the increase in palace views, and wrote to the emperor almost every day, which was a complete thorn.
▲Sima Guang dared to speak out. Source: Film and television stills
The tolerant and generous Emperor Renzong of Song accepted Sima Guang's criticism, and in the last years of his reign, another event allowed Sima Guang to gain a lot of prestige in the dynasty.
Song Renzong was old and childless, and once became seriously ill and did not go to court for several months, which frightened the ministers to write to propose that the official family should be established.
Prime Minister Han Qi was particularly concerned about the establishment of the reserve. Song Renzong always smiled and told Han Qi that there was a concubine in the harem who was pregnant and would soon go into labor. But after so many years, Song Renzong's health was declining, and the ministers did not wait for a prince who could inherit the throne.
At this time, Sima Guang acted as the vanguard of guiding public opinion, and he connected several recitals, and said in front of Renzong: "There must be a villain telling His Majesty that you are prosperous in spring and autumn, don't consider this ominous thing." The villains have no foresight, and they also want to take advantage of the opportunity to support people who are beneficial to themselves. You see, since Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty, the emperors have been supported by close subjects, and even the titles of 'Dingze Guo Lao' and 'Protégé Tianzi' among the monarchs and courtiers, these scourges are endless. ”
Sima Guang's words moved Emperor Renzong of Song, and the emperor immediately sent the instructions of the crown prince to the government hall of the prime minister's office. Sima Guang sent a message to Han Qi and other prime ministers, saying that if the princes did not discuss this matter with the emperor now, they might not have a chance in the future.
Han Qi repeatedly agreed: "Well, how dare you not do your best!" ”
At the request of Han Qi and others, Emperor Renzong of Song finally identified his nephew Zhao Zong as his heir, later Zhao Shu of Song Yingzong.
It was precisely because Sima Guang played a key role in the establishment of the crown prince that Ouyang Xiu later recommended him to Song Shenzong and commented that he was "not shallow in the state, and can be described as a minister of social justice".
After Song Yingzong took the throne, Sima Guang still did not change his indignation.
When Emperor Yingzong of Song wanted to make Empress Dowager Cao's younger brother Cao Bai [yì] (i.e., the folklore uncle of Cao Guo) prime minister, Sima Guang openly objected, pointing out that foreign Qi were not allowed to interfere in government. Emperor Yingzong of Song wanted to give the eunuch Ren Shouzhong a promotion and a raise, and Sima Guang scolded him even more ruthlessly, saying that Ren Shouzhong was "a great thief of the country, a giant beetle of the people, and beggars in the city", and with the support of Han Qi and other prime ministers, Ren Shouzhong was deposed.
Sima Guang's early experience did not at all resemble that of an old-fashioned diehard official, but instead showed his true temperament of forging ahead and not afraid of imperial power, but he did not become the first candidate for reform by Song Shenzong.
Why not Sima Guang?
In the fourth year of Zhiping (1067), Emperor Yingzong of Song's eldest son, the 20-year-old Zhao Yan, ascended the throne.
This young emperor, who was "temperamental and easy to change", used Wang Anshi to change the predicament of the Song Dynasty and implemented a new law, but the temple number was designated as Shenzong after his death. According to the law, the people cannot speak of God, that is, the meaning of "unable to evaluate", and after so many years, the great Song monarchs did not know how to cover his coffin.
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, the financial crisis of the imperial court was already exposed. On the third day of the new monarch's accession to the throne, the third envoy in charge of state finances handed over a report to Shenzong, on which eight words were written: "A hundred years of accumulation, but empty books." ”
This means that the country really has no money and cannot bear it. In this case, of course, reform is necessary.
Song Shenzong stood at an inflection point in history, he looked around blankly, looking for a minister to rely on in the Manchu dynasty, and glanced at Sima Guang more in the crowd.
After deposing Han Qi, an old minister of the Three Dynasties, Emperor Shenzong of Song asked Sima Guang to temporarily take over the post of Imperial Emperor Zhongcheng, making him a candidate for prime minister, and discussed reforms with him, including personnel issues.
At that time, the imperial court was in need of financial masters, and Song Shenzong took a fancy to a minister named Xue Xiang, but Sima Guang did not agree.
In the view of traditional scholars, those who are good at managing money are often villains, which is also reflected in the criticism of Wang Anshi's change of law. Sima Guang labeled Xue Xiang a "traitor" and asked the emperor to be cautious.
At this time, Song Shenzong was not very happy.
Song Shenzong then said to Sima Guang that every time there was an appointment, the government and the public were talking about it, which was probably not a good thing.
Sima Guang said bluntly again: "This is a good thing! Even Yao Shun is difficult to know how to do a good job, His Majesty has just taken the throne, in case he appoints a treacherous evil, but the Tai Zhan does not say a word for Mingzhe to save his life, wouldn't it be a bad thing. ”
The second round of conversation also collapsed.
Song Shenzong mentioned another minister and said, "Is Wu Kuia attached to the prime minister?" ”
Sima Guang answered truthfully, I don't know.
Song Shenzong asked an intriguing question: "Which one is better to meet the prime minister or cater to the emperor?" ”
Sima Guang said: "It's not good. Of course, the former was the work of a traitor, but blindly speculating about the divine will and seeing the wind make the rudder is not the work of a righteous gentleman. ”
This sentence poked the emperor's pain point, what is called seeing the wind and rudder, can you not listen to the words of Xuan? Sima Guang did not flatter in exchange for the emperor's trust, this was his principle.
Therefore, it didn't take long for Song Shenzong to relieve Sima Guang of his post as a Imperial History Zhongcheng and make him a Hanlin bachelor. This is a high-ranking official position.
Sima Guang apparently sensed the emperor's distrust and initially refused to accept the appointment.
Song Shenzong came to him for questioning and said, "Ancient gentleman, either there is learning but no literary brilliance, or there is literary brilliance without learning, Ai Qing has both, why should he resign from the position of Hanlin bachelor?" ”
Sima Guang had to say that the minister could not write four or six texts and could not draft the edict.
Song Shenzong said that it is enough to follow the old system of the two Han Dynasties.
Sima Guang also said that there was no such practice in this dynasty.
Song Shenzong knew that he was deliberately pushing back, so he said, "Ai Qing Jin Shi and Di, how can he not write four or six Lu texts?" ”
Sima Guang still insisted on resignation, and after saying goodbye to the emperor, he pulled out his legs and ran. The emperor had to send eunuchs to catch up, and forced the edict into his arms, making sure that he would be this Hanlin bachelor. Sima Guang had to resign.
Later, Emperor Shenzong of Song summoned another minister who advocated reform, Sima Guang's old friend Wang Anshi, and got the answer he wanted.
Also discussing reform, Song Shenzong asked Wang Anshi: "If you govern, what will you do?" ”
Wang Anshi replied firmly, changing customs and legislating degrees.
As soon as these words came out, he was deafening, and Elder Song Shenzong was excited.
▲Portrait of Song Shenzong.
Gentlemen's Battle
Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were friends, and together with Lü Gongshu and Han Wei, they were known as the "Four Friends of Jiayou", and when they were young, they were officials in Beijing and often got together to play.
Wang Anshi was slender and had lice on his body, and Sima Guang also wrote a poem "Baking Lice with Wang Jiefu" to ridicule his bad habits, saying: "But Si strives to clean himself, and all the lice should be broadcast from afar." "Friends talking so badly, it's definitely true love.
During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, Bao Zheng was the third envoy, and Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were his subordinates at the time.
One year, in the late spring, the peony flowers of the Sansi Yamen were in bloom, and Bao Zheng invited these two little brothers to drink and enjoy the flowers.
Bao Zheng raised a glass to persuade the wine, Sima Guang was not able to drink, hindered the leader's face, or followed him to drink a few glasses, indicating concession, but Wang Anshi did not drip wine, no matter how Bao Zheng persuaded, he insisted on not drinking, not giving face at all.
In this banquet, Sima Guang and Wang Anshi showed completely different personalities, and their attitude towards the reform of the hot-blooded young Song Shenzong was also completely different.
From the reform measures proposed by Wen Sima Guang during his reign in Renzong, it can be seen that he believes that the key to solving the fiscal crisis lies in "throttling".
In contrast, Wang Anshi proposed that the solution to the financial crisis was "open source".
The difference between the two is that Wang Anshi believes that the national economy is a variable, and in order to increase national treasury revenue, it is necessary to develop the economy, make the cake bigger, and realize the so-called "sparing the country without endowment"; However, in Sima Guang's view, the national economy is a constant, the so-called "all kinds of goods and goods produced by heaven and earth, only this amount, not in the people, but in the public household", the state can only continue to take financial resources from the people, that is, to compete with the people.
In order to prevent the implementation of the new law, Sima Guangyi wrote three letters to Wang Anshi in a row, thousands of words long, he could not let go of more than ten years of friendship, still believed that Wang Anshi was a wise minister, but "dominated the world for more than 30 years", but the shortcomings were that he was stubborn in temperament, could not listen to criticism, and "too much intention, too strong self-confidence", which attracted criticism from the world.
Wang Anshi wrote several letters to Sima Guang, including the famous "Letter of Reply to Sima Guang's Proposal", refuting Sima Guang's charges of "encroaching on officials, making trouble, collecting profits, refusing advice, and resentment."
The two debated the new law.
Wang Anshi said that to solve financial difficulties, it is necessary to find people who are good at managing money.
Sima Guang retorted, you just said it nicely, the so-called financial management of successive dynasties is to set up a clever name, to conquer and violently, and the people will eventually be exploited and can only be displaced, is this a blessing for the country?
▲Portrait of Wang Anshi.
Among Wang Anshi's measures to change the law, the more representative is the Young Seedlings Law.
In ancient times, the saddest time of the year for farmers was spring, when the autumn grain had been eaten and the summer grain had not yet been harvested, and it was when the green and yellow were not connected, and the common people could only watch the green seedlings in the field hungry, but this was also their biggest source of wealth in the future.
At this time, some wealthy families will lend money to farmers and demand that the summer and autumn grain be ripe and then repay it at a higher interest rate, which is actually a kind of usury.
The Young Seedlings Law means that the state lends grain to farmers on behalf of rich households, and the interest rate is lower than that of the private sector, which is equivalent to the national bank issuing loans at interest rates lower than those of the private sector.
In Wang Anshi's conception, after the implementation of the Young Seedlings Law, the government could lend surplus grain to solve the urgent needs of the people, and the interest recovery after the autumn could also increase the revenue of the national treasury, which was a measure that benefited the country and the people. However, this move carries great risks, as farmers will not be able to repay their seedlings if there is no harvest in the event of a disaster.
Sima Guang was keenly aware that if the Young Seedlings Law was not properly implemented, it was likely to become a harsh government for local governments to exploit the people.
In the face of the persistent Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, who was in the middle of the dynasty, was unwilling to compromise, and with the introduction of the law of exemption from military service and the art of generals, the relationship between them deteriorated even more, "like ice and charcoal, if cold and summer cannot be combined."
Sima Guang had to resign and ask himself to leave the capital and become a local official.
This year was the third year of Xining (1070), and for the next fifteen years, Sima Guang stayed away from the temple and became a marginal person in the imperial officialdom.
Song Shenzong thought about keeping Sima Guang. He said, can't Ai Qing stay in the capital? You and Lao Wang are friends, why do you have to make trouble like this?
Sima Guangwan refused the emperor's kindness, saying that the ministers did not dare to stay, and His Majesty would know by looking at what happened to Duke Lü.
Lü Gongshu, along with Sima Guang and Wang Anshi, was the "Four Friends of Jiayou", and in the same year that Sima Guang resigned, he was impeached by Wang Anshi and demoted to Yingzhou Zhizhou for opposing Lü Huiqing's post of the Law Reformers.
Song Shenzong also said: "The Young Seedlings Method has achieved remarkable results. ”
Sima Guang said: "The whole world knows the disadvantages of this matter, and only Wang Anshi and his party think they are right. ”
However, he may also want to see with his own eyes whether his friend's change is right.
▲Sima Guang. Source: Film and television stills
Fifteen years in Xijing
Sima Guang did not go directly to Luoyang to live in semi-retirement, and after he left the capital, he initially went to Shaanxi to serve as a bachelor of Duanmingdian to learn about the Yongxing Army (zhijing zhaofu, present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi).
After taking office, Sima Guang discovered that the shortcomings of the actual implementation of the new law were more serious than he had heard in the capital. He felt extremely depressed in such a depressive environment, and wrote the poem "Climbing Chang'an See the Mountain Tower":
On the 10th day of the official arrival, he was entangled for a while.
At the end of the year, Xiyunhe climbed the building and did not see the mountain.
Sima Guang had only served in the Yongxing Army for a few months, coinciding with famine and thieves in Guanzhong.
But even so, Shaanxi Tiju Changpingsi still aggravated the exploitation of peasants through the young seedling method, so that peasants borrowed a bucket of aged rice, and when due, they had to pay eight liters of wheat or three buckets of millet, and the interest charged exceeded that of wealthy private households.
Sima Guang believed that local officials forced ordinary people to borrow money from the government and arbitrarily raised interest rates, which would force farmers to suffer from hunger and cold in both good and disaster years, and that the Young Seedlings Law would endanger people's livelihood. What's more, there are magistrates who extort additional money in pursuit of political achievements.
Therefore, Sima Guang wrote to the imperial court, requesting that peasants below the fourth class be allowed to borrow money from young seedlings without interest, or only pay one bucket and two liters. At the same time, he also requested that the areas that had been hit twice in a row temporarily exempt from the money owed by the seedlings, and instructed his subordinate officials not to execute imperial court documents and not to urge farmers to pay the seedlings money.
However, all this was vetoed by the imperial court, and the people of Guanzhong who suffered due to improper operation of the law change lived in hardship, and the ten rooms were empty.
Sima Guang was discouraged, he resigned again and decided to take up an idle post in Luoyang, and Song Shenzong once again retained, hoping that he would continue to do some practical things in the local area, and after more than 70 days of stalemate, he agreed to go to Xijing to stay in Taiwan to retire.
When he left for Luoyang, Sima Guang's only concern was his father and fellow villagers in Guanzhong, and he was ashamed that he had failed to bring the local government of benefiting the people when he was in office, and wrote in "The Purpose of Removing Officials in the Next Year of Arrival":
Like a dream, divide the bamboo and guard Chang'an.
Go to the sun ice is still strong, return to the time is not yet flowered.
The scenery is few, benefiting the people and suffering.
It's a pity that the end is south, and I look carefully before leaving.
The fifteen years in Luoyang after that were Sima Guang's frustrated years and the most creative period in his life. With the assistance of Liu Gu, Liu Shu, Fan Zuyu and others, he concentrated on compiling the Zizhi Tongjian, and completed this 294-volume magnum opus, for which he survived until the year of Huajia.
He silently performed his duties by repairing books, fulfilling the mission of a literati, and in the "Table of Entry into the Governance of Capital", Sima Guang said to Song Shenzong: "Although you are outside, the heart of the district, sleep day and night, why not be at the influence of Your Majesty." ”
▲Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian" manuscript fragment.
In Luoyang, Sima Guang stayed away from the turmoil of political affairs, but his mood was very complicated.
On the one hand, he felt that he had never been more comfortable as an official for many years.
Sima Guang set up a wooden frame in a small garden east of the Liutai Office in Xijing and planted morning glory, roses, lentils and other plants, called "Huaan". In his spare time, he took a break in the flower temple and wrote poems to the flowers and plants full of gardens.
On the other hand, he still could not get rid of politics, and opponents of Wang Anshi's change of law used Sima Guang as a banner.
In the fourth year of Xining (1071), Sima Guang's like-minded friend Yushi Zhongcheng Lü Xu was dismissed for opposing the change of law, and died of depression soon after.
When Sima Guang was still in the dynasty, Lü Zhi often publicly contradicted Wang Anshi and impeached Wang. The two friends fight, Sima Guang did not take sides, but just said to Lu Zhi, Wang Anshi is now expected by everyone, why are you impeaching him?
Lü Zhi said in surprise: "Is this also the view of Junshi (Sima Guangzi)? Although Wang Anshi is famous, he is stubborn and likes to listen to the praise of villains, if such a person becomes Zaifu, the world will definitely be in chaos. ”
Sima Guang said, what you said may be true, but there are no obvious signs at present, why not wait?
Lu Zhi thought that he was righteous and awe-inspiring, and said: "This year is rich and strong, and usually there are only two or three ministers who plan with him day and night, if you use people improperly, the future will be endless, this is a disease of the henchmen, and you can't wait any longer." With that, he entered the palace again.
Sima Guang was silent.
Of course, Lü Zhi could not fight Wang Anshi, and he eventually fell seriously ill and retired home early. When Lu Zhi was dying of serious illness, he said to Sima Guang, who came to visit: "Junshi, you have to work hard, you can't give up!" ”
Sima Guang remembered this sentence.
The final "revenge"
After the death of Song Shenzong, the new monarch Zhao Xu (Song Zhezong) was only 9 years old and was obeyed by Empress Dowager Gao, the mother of Song Shenzong.
The empress dowager, known as the "female lieutenant Yao Shun," readjusted the central leadership and invited the elderly and ailing Sima Guang back to the central government, at a time when the reformer Wang Anshi, who had suffered numerous blows over the years, had been deposed.
Empress Dowager Gao hated the new law, and she supported Sima Guang in completely overthrowing Wang Anshi's change of law. Some people worry that this will violate the Confucian ethic of "not changing the way of the father for three years", but Sima Guang said, this is the Empress Dowager is in charge, and the mother changes the son's government, what is there to be afraid of?
A belated revenge began.
At first, Sima Guang understood that rejecting the new law was first and foremost a matter of opening up the way, and when Emperor Shenzong introduced the new law, "defamation" was strictly prohibited in order to suppress dissenting opinions, resulting in the shortcomings of the actual implementation of the new law not being reported. Sima Guang handed over the "Begging to Speak the Road" and asked Empress Dowager Gao to issue an edict to open up public opinion, and as a result, the edict was written, "thousands of people who are inconvenient for the new law of the people of the four directions."
Sima Guang's original proposal was that "those who choose the new law to facilitate the people and benefit the country will survive, and those who are sick and hurt the country will go", which means that the useful ones in the new law are left behind, and the evil laws are abolished.
But when he really took power, Sima Guang made a mistake. At that time, he accused Wang Anshi of his crime, which became a flag for himself.
Fan Zhongyan's son, Fan Chunren, was appointed to assist Sima Guang in implementing reforms. He persuaded Sima Guang to think twice and that even the repeal of the new law should be gradual. Sima Guang did not listen.
Fan Chunren couldn't help but sigh, this is another Wang Anshi.
Power, let Sima Guang get lost in unwarranted resentment.
Xing Shu, who was also from the old party, persuaded Sima Guang: "Although it is the Empress Dowager's idea to abolish the new law today, it is a decree for the son to change his father, what will the emperor think when he is an adult, and will Xianggong not consider it for the future?" ”
Sima Guang replied, "How can I not know about his day?" I'm thinking about Zhao, and that's how it should be. ”
Xing Shu was still worried about his boss and said, "Zhao's An, isn't the Sima clan dangerous?" ”
Sima Guang resolutely said, for the sake of the Zhao family, Sima Shi He Zu Dao!
During his sixteen months of returning to the court, Sima Guang wrote more than 100 essays, successively abolished new laws such as the Law on Protecting Armor, the Law on Exemption from Military Service, and deposed the new party ministers left by Emperor Shenzong of Song and Wang Anshi.
This political campaign continued until the death of Empress Dowager Gao, known in history as "Yuanyou Change".
In March of the first year of Yuan Yu (1086), the news that the exemption law had been abolished reached Jiangning, where Wang Anshi was located, and he couldn't help but cry when he was ill. He sighed, this new law was studied by me and the emperor for two whole years before it was implemented, why should it also be abolished?
In the same year, Wang Anshi died in grief and indignation. Sima Guang said in his letter to Duke Lü: "There are many articles and righteousness in Jiefu (Wang Anshi characters), but sex is unknown... Light means that the imperial court is special and generous gift. ”
Sima Guang probably never hated Wang Anshi, and all he wanted to overthrow was the new law, because he had seen with his own eyes that the people suffered because of the new law.
Both of them thought that they occupied the moral high ground, perhaps, Wang Anshi only cared about the good of the new law, while Sima Guang only saw the evil of the new law, and their respective insistence on reform, all for the sake of the Great Song.
At that time, Wang Anshi would rather be enemies of his relatives and friends than implement the new law, and Sima Guang almost desperately overturned the new law in his last years as a prime minister, claiming that "there is no day in the peach and plum capital, and Wutong is half dead", and he is already a dying man.
Six days before Sima Guang's last reign, he forcibly abolished the Qingmiao Law, which he deeply hated.
Sima Guang was hesitant in this regard, although he saw that the people were suffering greatly from it, but he also suspected that this policy had just gone wrong in its implementation.
But when he heard Fan Chunren's request to continue to issue the Qingmiao loan, Sima Guang was so angry that he climbed up from the hospital bed and ran to the palace to ask Empress Dowager Gao, which traitor was tricking His Majesty into giving out the Qingmiao money? The young reformers were completely reduced to the crazy old guards.
Five months after Wang Anshi's death, the 68-year-old Sima Guang also died.
Sima Guang worked until the last moment, he was poor all his life, he did not dare to eat meat often, and he did not dare to have pure clothes. When the family sorted out their belongings, they found the bed empty, except for one volume of the Book of Service, and eight pages of manuscripts that did not have time to play. After the news of his death spread, tens of thousands of people in the capital went on strike to pay their respects, and tens of thousands of people escorted his funeral car back to their hometowns along the way.
At that time, the struggle between the new party and the old party over changing the law was far from over, and gradually turned into a rivalry between each other.
In the first year of Shaosheng (1094), after the re-emergence of the Law Changers, Sima Guang was stripped of his honor and almost exposed by the coffin. After Emperor Huizong of Song came to the throne, the traitor Cai Jing banned the party, strictly imprisoned his thoughts, and listed Sima Guang in the Yuanyou party membership monument.
▲ "Yuanyou Party Membership Monument" (Tuoben).
Cai Jing erected monuments to the Yuanyou Party throughout the country. A stonemason named Chang Anmin in Chang'an received an order from the government, but he was reluctant to engrave the monument, saying: "I am not a reader, I don't understand the meaning of the imperial court monument, but everyone in the world thinks that Lord Sima Guang is upright, but today he is said to be a treacherous person, and I can't bear to engrave it." ”
When the government heard about it, it wanted to cure the stonemason. He said: "I dare not shirk it again, but please don't engrave the word 'Anmin' on the monument, I don't want to be blamed by future generations." ”
From the current point of view, Sima Guang's approach may not be entirely correct, but an official's position in the hearts of the people is the best medal of his official career, which cannot be easily tampered with.
Sima Guang's reform and conservatism were never for himself.
Bibliography:
[Song] Sima Guang: Heirloom Collection, Jilin Publishing Group, 2005
[Song] Su Shi: The Collected Works of Su Shi, Zhonghua Bookstore, 1986
[Yuan] Detachment: A History of Song, Zhonghua Bookstore, 1999
[Song] Li Tao: "Continuing the Zhi Tong Jian Chang Ed.", 1995
Li Changxian: Sima Guang's Commentary, Nanjing University Press, 1998
Gu Hongyi et al., eds., Diary Series of the Song Dynasty, Shanghai Bookstore Press, 2013