Wang Zhezhong|Friendship that can stand the test of history - I feel when I read Han Yu's "Liu Zihou's Epitaph".

Written by Wang Zhezhong

Han Yu likes

In the history of ancient literature in the mainland, there is a saying that there are "eight masters of the Tang and Song dynasties". It refers to eight famous essayists in the Tang Dynasty, including Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan in the Tang Dynasty and Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Wang Anshi, and Zeng Gong in the Song Dynasty. They are all very famous masters of literature.

Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan were the corresponding leaders of the Tang Dynasty Guwen Movement. They advocated inheriting the tradition of prose in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, opposing the prose style that had paid attention to sound and rhythm and ignoring the content since the Six Dynasties, advocated prose, and advocated that the language of literature should "come out of the words themselves" and "only the affairs of the words", which played a certain role in promoting the revival of Confucianism and the development of prose.

Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan, as knowledgeable and talented poets, sang and supported each other in the ancient literature movement. Han Yu's "The Biography of Mao Ying" satirized the ruling minister at the time in the form of an allegory, and Liu Zongyuan warmly praised him; Han Yu's article "Shi Shuo" was not understood, and Liu Zongyuan had the courage to stand up and support his views and stands; Han Yu also praised Liu Zongyuan's poems and essays, and repeatedly admired Liu Zongyuan's articles and virtues. Liu Zongyuan died young, Han Yu was very sad, and successively wrote "Liu Zihou Epitaph" and "Liuzhou Luochi Temple Inscription", praising Liu Zongyuan's literary contributions and political achievements.

Here, let's take a look at how Han Yu described and evaluated Liu Zongyuan in "Liu Zihou's Epitaph".

This epitaph was written in the fifteenth year of Tang Xianzong's Yuanhe, that is, in 820 A.D. (Liu Zongyuan died in the fourteenth year of Tang Xianzong's Yuanhe, i.e., 819 A.D.). After a comprehensive account of Liu Zongyuan's family history, life, and political achievements, the article focuses on Liu Zongyuan's literary achievements, political talents, and high demeanor in life.

In this epitaph, the author breaks the traditional form of inscription and adopts the historical penmanship, fusing narrative, discussion and lyricism in one furnace, forming a special style charm of interspersed narrative, discussion, deep connotation, and sincere euphemism. "The son is thick and sensitive, all of them are accessible, when he caught his father, although he was a teenager, he was already an adult, he was able to enter the Shidi, and he was newly seen, and everyone said that the Liu family had a son. Later, he was awarded the orthography of the Xiandian with erudite macro words. Junjie is honest and tough, discussing the evidence of the present and ancient, in and out of the history of hundreds of sons, resolute, often bent to his seat, his reputation is great, and he admires it for a while. The dignitaries of the public are vying to get out of my door and recommend them. (This means that Liu Zongyuan was very shrewd and intelligent when he was a teenager, and there was nothing he didn't understand.) When his father was alive, although he was very young, he had already become a talent, and he was able to be admitted as a jinshi, showing his talent prominently, and everyone said that the Liu family had descendants who could make a name for themselves. Later, he passed the examination of the erudite macro vocabulary department and was awarded the official position of Jixian Palace. He is outstanding, upright and brave, can cite modern and ancient examples as the basis for his speeches, is proficient in the classics of scripture and history, and is talented and eloquent when he discusses them, often impressing the people present. As a result, his reputation became a sensation, and for a while people admired him and wanted to associate with him. Those ministers and nobles vied to make him their protégé, and they recommended and praised him in unison. Writing that Liu Zongyuan was demoted to Yongzhou Sima Nahui, "living idle, benefiting from hard work, keeping a record, for the words and chapters, flooding and storage, for the deep knowledge of the boundless, and self-indulgent in the mountains and rivers." (He was in a quiet place, and he studied harder, and devoted himself to reading, writing poetry, and writing with a sea of unbridled and condensed writing, as profound and broad as the boundless waters of the sea.) And he himself indulged in the mountains and rivers. ）　　

In the epitaph, Han Yu expressed deep sympathy for his friend Liu Zongyuan's experience of not flattering the powerful, being ostracized, being degraded for a long time, and being impoverished, but for Zongyuan's early participation in Wang Shuwen's group and his attempt to reform politics, the wording vaguely expressed his dissenting political views, and the suppression was not untrue. The full text is hearty, frustrating and depressed, full of emotion, natural and harmonious, and moving, which adds to the artistic appeal of the article. Especially the paragraph that describes "Yiliu Yibo": When Liu Zongyuan was recalled to Beijing and was sent out again to make a history of assassination, I heard that Liu Yuxi (the word Mengde) was also among the sent, and the place to be sent was Banzhou. Liu Zongyuan said with tears in his eyes: "Banzhou is not a place where ordinary people can live, and besides, I can't bear to see my mother in the hall, and I can't bear to see that Mengde is in an embarrassing situation, and there is no way to tell his mother about it, and there is no reason for mother and son to go together." He then asked the imperial court and prepared to present a concert, willing to exchange Liuzhou for Bozhou, saying that even if he was convicted again, he would have no regrets about dying. Someone told the emperor about Mengde's situation, and Mengde was reappointed as the assassin of Lianzhou. Woohoo! When the scholar reached a poor situation, he could see his integrity and righteousness! Some people, on weekdays, admired and flattered each other in their neighborhoods, and some of them frequented each other by eating, drinking, and having fun, talking exaggeratedly, forcing smiling faces, expressing to each other that they were willing to live under each other, shaking hands and making gestures of digging out their livers and lungs to show each other, pointing to the day and crying, and swearing that no one would turn their backs on their friends regardless of life or death, which was as credible as the real thing. When confronted with a small conflict of interests, as small as a hair, he turns his face and does not recognize anyone, and when a friend falls into a trap, he does not stretch out his hand to save him, but takes the opportunity to push him and throw stones down, and there are such people everywhere! This must be something that even those beasts and barbarians cannot bear to do, and those people think they have a plan. When they heard Zihou's noble demeanor, they should also feel a little ashamed! "Woohoo! Today's husband admires each other in the alley, drinks and food games chase each other, take down the strong laughter, shake hands and show the lungs and liver, cry every day, swear that life and death will not be burdened, if it is really credible. Once there is a small benefit, just like the hair ratio, if the opposite eye does not know each other, the trap is not a help, and the person who squeezes it and goes down to the stone is also. This should be unbearable for the beast Yidi, and his people think that they have a plan, and they can be ashamed of the wind when they smell the thick wind. This large section of discussion and emotion not only praised the noble character of his friend, but also expressed great indignation at the darkness of the society, the rampant magnates, and the injustice of the world at that time. It can be said that Han Yuzhi is the result of his sexuality, and the words are soaked with abundant emotions, full of infinite love and regret for friends.

In fact, those who are familiar with the history of Chinese feudal society and have studied the past of the Tang Dynasty literary world know that Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan are not like-minded friends with the same personality and morality. Although they are officials in the same dynasty and the standard-bearers of the ancient literature movement, they all have similar life experiences with bumpy careers, unpaid ambitions, and several depreciations. However, in terms of their background, age, temperament, religious beliefs and political opinions, they are not "comrades-in-arms in the same trench", they can be said to be two different types of people.

Han Yu (768-824 AD) was a native of Heyang, Henan Province (now Mengzhou City, Henan Province), and was 5 years older than Liu Zongyuan. When he lost his parents when he was young, he was raised by his brother and sister-in-law. The imperial examination and the road to becoming an official were very unsmooth, and at the age of 20, he failed the Chang'an examination three times in a row. At the age of 24, he ascended to the rank of Jinshi, and served two terms as a festival magistrate, and he was tired of supervising the imperial history. In the nineteenth year of Zhenyuan (803), he was demoted to Yangshan because of his arguments, and later served as an official in the capital, a scholar in the history museum, and a scholar in the middle of the book. In the twelfth year of Yuanhe (817), he served as the marching Sima of the prime minister Pei Du, participated in the pacification of the "Huaixi Rebellion", and was once reused. In the fourteenth year of Yuanhe (819), he was demoted to Chaozhou because of the admonition to welcome the Buddha's bones. In his later years, he was an official and a servant of the ministry. He died of illness at the age of 57, and was posthumously presented with the book of the Ministry of Gifts, nicknamed "Wen", so he was called "Han Wengong".

Liu Zongyuan (773-819 AD) ancestral home of Hedong County (now Yuncheng, Shanxi), born in the official eunuch family scholarly family, the first half of his life was smooth sailing, 19 years old was elected as a township tribute, 21 years old Jinshi and first, fame. At the age of 24, he was arranged to serve as a school secretary in the secretary province, at the age of 26, he participated in the erudite macro vocabulary examination, and was awarded the orthography of the Xiandian Academy, and at the age of 28, he was appointed as the captain of Lantian, and at the age of 30, he was transferred back to Chang'an to supervise the imperial history. Since then, he has traveled extensively with the upper echelons of officialdom, has a relatively in-depth understanding of the dark and corrupt of politics, and gradually germinates a desire for reform, and has become an important figure following Wang Shuwen's reformist faction. Later, he was promoted to a member of the Ministry of Rites, in charge of ceremonies, sacrifices and tributes. After the failure of the "Yongzhen Innovation", Liu Zongyuan was demoted to Yongzhou Sima because of his close relationship with Wang Shuwen's group. Later, it was relegated to Liuzhou Thorn History. He died in Liuzhou at the age of 47.

Liu Zongyuan is an upright person, not flattering the powerful, low-key, never casually talking about people's shortcomings and strengths, is a modest gentleman with a gentle temperament, even if he is trapped in a wild place all his life, he does not complain. And Han Yu regards himself as the inheritor of Taoism, arrogant and arrogant, straightforward, jealous and hateful, unscrupulous for seeking official positions, begging for mercy, and when he encounters a setback, he cries out for the sky and grabs the ground, and is full of complaints.

Han Liu's religious beliefs and political views are also different. Liu Zongyuan believed in Buddhism, while Han Yu held an anti-Buddha stance, and offended the emperor in order to welcome the Buddha's bones and was demoted to Chaozhou. Liu Zongyuan advocated the people-oriented ideology, "Li'an Yuanyuan is the business", but Han Yu regarded the people as "subordinates" who were at the mercy of officials and slaughtered. Liu Zongyuan actively participated in and supported the "Yongzhen Innovation" movement initiated by Wang Shuwen Group. Han Yu believes that Liu Zongyuan's participation in the "Yongzhen Innovation" is a failure to adhere to the principle of being a man, which led to a tragedy in his life. Han Yu said a lot of accusations against the Wang Shuwen group, and also wrote some poems insulting and criticizing the reformists, and he also suspected that it was Liu and Liu who told the Wang Shuwen group that caused him to be demoted to Yangshan. According to the current statement, Han Yu belongs to the conservative faction, and Liu Zongyuan belongs to the reform and innovation faction. However, this did not affect the friendship and common cause of the two. They are comrades-in-arms of the Guwen Movement, and they are also buddies who tolerate and care for each other in life. Even though the heavens were separated, the two often exchanged letters and exchanged ideas with each other. This is very commendable in the interaction of life in ancient times.

Reading "Liu Zihou's Epitaph" and exploring Han Liu's life footprints and friendship relationships is very enlightening and enlightening for us on how to behave and deal with friends, how to make friends and deal with the relationship between friends. "No one is perfect, no one is perfect", no one can be a "tall" perfect person. It is necessary not only to make like-minded and heart-to-heart friends, but also to get along with those "friends" who have different opinions and dare to criticize themselves, and to be good at discovering and appreciating the strengths of friends and tolerating the shortcomings of friends. Of course, don't make friends with those "two-faced people" who like to pat horses, flatter, say good things to their faces, and say right and wrong behind their backs. True friends must stand the test of time and practice, and withstand the tempering of ups and downs. Treat each other sincerely, respect each other, tolerate each other, be teachers and friends, learn from each other, start and finish well, and the tree of friendship will be evergreen.

Drafted in March 2002

Attached: The original text of "Liu Zihou's Epitaph":

Zihou Zongyuan (1). The seventh ancestor Qing, for Tuoba Wei Shizhong, Feng Ji Yin Gong. Zeng Bo Zu Zheng, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, offended the Empress Wu with Chu Suiliang and Han Ying, and died in the Gaozong Dynasty. Huang Kao Zhenzhen, with his mother abandoning Dr. Taichang, and seeking to be the county order Jiangnan. Later, he couldn't flatter the powerful and lost his history. When the powerful die, they return to serve the imperial history. The number is upright, and all the places and tours are celebrities in the world.

When he caught his father, although he was a young man, he was already an adult, and he was able to enter the Shidi, and he was newly seen, and it was said that the Liu family had a son (2). Later, he was awarded the orthography of the Xiandian with erudite macro words. Junjie is honest and fierce, discussing the evidence of the present and the ancient, in and out of the history of hundreds of sons, vigorous and vigorous, often bent to his seat, his reputation is great, and he admires it for a while (3). The dignitaries of the public are vying to get out of my door and recommend them.

In the nineteenth year of Zhenyuan, Lantian Weibai supervised the imperial history. Shunzong ascended the throne and worshiped the members of the Ministry of Worship. If the user is offended, the example is a history of assassination (4). Before he arrived, he degraded Yongzhou Sima again. Idleness, self-benefit, self-reliction, for words, overflowing and saving, for the deep and boundless, and self-indulgent among the mountains and rivers (5).

Yuan Hezhong, tried to summon the Beijing Division, and came out as a thorn in history, and the son was thick in Liuzhou. At the same time, he sighed and said: "Is it not enough to be a political evil!" Because of its local customs, in order to set up a religious ban, the people of the state obey (6). It is customary to hold money hostage to men and women, and to redeem them from time to time, and if the children are in harmony with each other, they are not slaves and maidservants (7). Zihou and the plan, all ordered to redeem (8). If he is especially poor and cannot do so, he will make his servant a servant, and he will be given a good quality (9). Observe the law under its law in other states, than a year old, free from the return and thousands. Those who are in the south of Hengxiang are all taught by Zihou, and those who speak finger painting as words through Chengzi Houkou have considerable laws.

He was summoned to Beijing and reverted to the assassin Shiye, and Zhongshan Liu Mengde Yuxi was also sent to Banzhou (10). Zi Hou wept and said: "Banzhou is not inhabited, and I dream of being in the hall, I can't bear to dream of being poor, and I have no excuse for it, and there is no mother and child." "Please Yu Chao, will worship Shu, willing to use willow to sow, although seriously offended, death does not hate. When encountering a person who dreams about things, the dream is changed to Lianzhou. Woohoo! Poor people see righteousness. Today's husband admires each other in the alley, drinks and food games chase each other, take down the strong laughter, shake hands and show the lungs and liver, cry every day, swear that life and death will not be burdened, if it is really credible. Once there is a small benefit, just like the hair ratio, if the opposite eye does not know each other, the trap is not a help, and the person who squeezes it and goes down to the stone is also. This should be unbearable for the beast Yidi, and his people think that they have a plan, and they can be ashamed of the wind when they smell the thick wind.

Zihou was a young man before that, he had the courage to be a person, and he did not take care of himself, and he said that his achievements could be made immediately, so he sat down and retired. Both retreated, and there was no one who knew each other and had the strength to get the position, so he died of poverty, and the material was not used by the world, and the road was not in time. When Zihou was in Taiwan Province, he held his own self, and he was already able to be like Sima and assassinate Shi, and he did not reject himself. There is manpower to lift it from time to time, and it will be reused endlessly. Ranzi was not long in reprimand, and he was extremely poor, although he was born of people, his literary diction must not be self-reliant, so that it will be passed on to the future, no doubt. Although the son is as thick as he wants, in order to meet for a while, he will exchange the other, and there will be those who can distinguish between the gains and the losses.

Zihou died on November 8, 14th year, at the age of 47. On July 10, 15 years, he was buried on the side of the tomb of his ancestors. Zihou has two sons and two men: the long is called Saturday, and he is four years old. Ji said that on the seventh day of the week, Zihou was born. The two women, both young. It had to be buried, and Fei was out to observe that Pei Jun in Hedong was established. There is a general line of conduct, a heavy promise, and Zihou befriended, and Zihou also did his best, relying on his strength. The one who buried the son is thicker than the tomb of 10,000 years, his uncle Lu Zun. Zun, Zhuoren, cautious, never tired of learning. Since his son was reprimanded, he obeyed his family's manners and couldn't catch him dead. In the past, the burial of the son was thick, and the brokerage of his family, there are a few always. Ming said:

It is the room of the only son, which is both solid and safe, so as to benefit his heirs.

The original text is from "Han Chang Li Ji"