We have all deeply studied Fan Zhongyan's popular essay "The Story of Yueyang Tower", in which the sentence "The worries of the world first, and the joy of the world after the world" can be described as an excellent interpretation of his feelings of worrying about the country and the people. Fan Zhongyan's career was full of twists and turns, he was belittled three times, but each setback did not defeat him, but inspired him to be more positive, optimistic, free and uninhibited, which is really what future generations should learn from him. Fan Zhongyan always has the people in his heart, no matter how high or low the official position is, he is committed to benefiting the people, so he has no fear of derogation.
1. [First derogation]
The seventh year of the Heavenly Saint (1029
At that time, the power of the court was in the hands of the Empress Dowager Liu E, and she insisted that Emperor Renzong lead a hundred officials to celebrate her birthday in the Huiqing Palace. However, in Fan Zhongyan's view, this move obviously violated the etiquette law, so he resolutely went to Song Renzong, bluntly saying that this move would damage the majesty of the emperor, and advised Renzong to give up worship. After Renzong did not adopt his opinion, he went to the Empress Dowager and begged her to delegate power and let Renzong govern himself.
After Yan Shu, who had been kind to Fan Zhongyan, learned of this, he criticized him for acting hastily and without careful consideration, for fear of ruining his own future and even affecting others. However, Fan Zhongyan responded with a "Letter to the Senior Minister", in which he generously stated that as a courtier, he would never flatter and flatter, and as long as it was beneficial to the court and society, he would be outspoken, even at the cost of his life.
The following year, he took the initiative to request to be transferred out of the capital. Friends sent him outside the gate of the capital, and they all praised: "Fan Jun's trip is extremely glorious." ”
2. [Degraded again]
In the second year of Ming Dao (1033), due to the failure of Empress Guo to give birth, the prime minister Lü Yi Jian went to Shurenzong and suggested that the queen be abolished. This proposal caused an uproar in the government and the opposition, and Fan Zhongyan even led his ministers to admonish him, trying to stop Renzong's decision. However, he was demoted from the capital on the same day.
Despite the debasement, the officials did not shy away from suspicion and went out of the city to pay tribute to him, and they praised: "Fan Jun's trip is even more glorious!"
3. [Third Degree of Exile]
In the third year of Jing Yu (1036), Fan Zhongyan was once again degraded, and this time the culprit was still his nemesis Lü Yijian. At that time, Lu Yijian, as the first and auxiliary minister, was nepotistic, formed a party for personal gain, and had monstrous power.
According to his own investigation, Fan Zhongyan drew a "Hundred Officials Map" and presented it to the emperor, and publicly reprimanded Lü Yijian for his selfishness at the court meeting. As a result, the contradiction between the two has intensified even more, and the situation is like fire and water.
Later, because of the establishment of the capital, Fan Zhongyan angered the magnates and was demoted to Raozhou. This time, more people came to see him off, and his relatives, friends, and colleagues from the DPRK and China rushed outside the city one after another, raised a glass to his farewell, and praised: "Fan Jun's trip is particularly glorious!"
In these three derogations, Fan Zhongyan behaved calmly and unhurriedly, without the slightest melancholy. Instead, he humorously dismissed his relatives and friends, saying that if he was belittled again, he would ask them to prepare roasted mutton to see him off. This kind of reckless and free mentality is probably only possessed by Fan Zhongyan.
In the days of debasement, Fan Zhongyan's life was miserable, his wife died of illness in Raozhou, and he was also sick on the bed. The poet Mei Yaochen once wrote a "Lingwu Fu" to persuade him to remain silent in order to seek stability, but Fan Zhongyan replied with a "Lingwu Fu" of the same name, saying that he "would rather die in silence than live in silence". This sentence has been passed down for centuries with "The Story of Yueyang Tower" and has become a spiritual symbol of Fan Zhongyan's noble atmosphere.
Fan Zhongyan's colleague Han Qi, who later became the prime minister, once praised him for "the great loyalty and great festival, filling the universe and shining the sun and the moon." The former is worthy of the ancients, and the latter can be learned from the comers".
He is not only a grandmaster, but also a model of Chinese cultural inheritance. Everyone who shoulders the responsibility of inheriting Chinese culture has been familiar with his words when he was young, and his spirit has long been integrated into the blood of the Chinese people with the faint fragrance of ink, and it is full of vitality.