First, a strange and interesting phenomenon
As a historical figure, Bao Gong is actually not the so-called "three immortal" figures in China's feudal society who can mediate through heaven and earth. However, as an iron-faced and selfless, law enforcement-like, upright, honest and honest image of a clean official, it has indeed become a rare superstar on the stage of Chinese novel music and drama for hundreds of years. This is not only a spectacle in the history of Chinese novels and operas, but also a peculiar social phenomenon. The author thinks that what is even more peculiar is that in the artistic image of Bao Gong, there is also the image of the great and outstanding historical figure Fan Zhongyan, which is even more strange.
This strange and interesting phenomenon was first concentrated on the name of the stage Bao Gong. As we all know, Bao Gong, a native of Hefei, Luzhou, with the surname Bao's name Ishiren, nicknamed Xiaosu. And the Bao Gong on the stage, from the Song and Yuan Southern Operas, the Yuanming Miscellaneous Dramas to the Various Local Dramas of the Qing Dynasty, Bao Gong almost always called it "Bao Ming Zheng Xiwen" when he reported his home, or the character (number) Wenzheng, and some dramas even simply called themselves "Bao Wenzheng". This kind of title, the more it becomes more consistent later, and it is almost stereotyped. We also know that it was Fan Zhongyan, a famous northern Song dynasty minister who was almost the same era as Bao Gong and also served as the prefect of Kaifeng, with the epithet Xiwen and his posthumous title being Wenzheng. "Wenzheng" is an extremely lofty beauty, and there are very few people who can get this beauty in the Song Dynasty.
Second, look at his family origins. Judging from the relevant historical data, Fan Bao's second duke was born into a middle- and lower-level bureaucratic landlord family. In particular, Bao Gong has lived in a relatively well-off family since childhood. When Bao Gong was twenty-nine years old, he did not serve as an official, and he lived at home for ten years, until his parents died and did not come out to become an official, during which he did not suffer hardships and sufferings outside since childhood. Fan Gong died before he was two years old, his mother was poor and had nothing to rely on and remarried to zhu, Fan Gong took the name Zhu and said that he had suffered a lot of suffering and humiliation in exile, and after he became a soldier at the age of twenty-seven and won the official, he welcomed his mother to provide for him and recognized his ancestors and returned to the Fan family. However, the origin of Bao Gong introduced on the opera stage is: he was abandoned after birth, fortunately his sister-in-law secretly adopted, herded cattle from an early age, suffered hardships, and returned to the Bao family when he grew up. From this point of view, the birth experience of the stage Bao Gong is closer to the historical Fan Gong than to introduce the historical Bao Gong.
Third, from the perspective of the official positions of the stage public. In the early Song and Yuan novels, Bao Gongquan's official position during the Period of Knowing Kaifeng Province was generally called "Bao Waiting System". In fact, Bao Gong's official position at that time was LongtuGe Zhi Bachelor, not to be controlled; it was Fan Zhongyan who knew Kaifeng Province as the tianzhangge to be made, and at that time, "Fan Waiting System" was also the common name for Fan Gong. Fan Gong served as a Scholar of the Longtou Pavilion, a Privy Counsellor, a Privy Counsellor, a Senior Minister, and the highest official was the Suffragan, equivalent to the Vice-Chancellor. In the later novels and operas, with the continuous processing of folk artists, Bao Gong's power became greater and greater, and his official position became higher and higher. As for the Bao Gong operas that descended from the Ming and Qing dynasties, they were basically positioned as "Longtuge University Scholars", "Bao Gongtu" and "Bao Xiangye". In fact, "Fan Long Tu" and "Long Tu Lao Zi" were also the general names for Fan Gong at that time. It can be seen that the official position held by the stage Bao Gong is actually closer to fan gong.
Fourth, from some plot points of view of Bao Gong's story. Of course, the Bao Gong stories in the novels and operas are basically out of fiction, and they should not and cannot all go to the historical facts to pursue the archetypes of life. However, this does not exclude that a small number of Bao Gong stories do have the shadow of certain historical events, such as a series of Bao Gong stories arranged around the "Tanuki Cat for Prince". There is a fact in the history of the Song Dynasty that Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen, was originally born to Concubine Li Chen, but after giving birth, he was adopted by Empress Liu and pretended to be his own, and Concubine Li was relegated to another palace and was abused. This is a secret matter of the palace, and outsiders rarely know about it. It was not until Empress Liu's death that Emperor Renzong learned the truth. At this time, some people in the DPRK and China were talking about slandering Empress Liu one after another, and even tried to play a role in the theme. In the course of the several-year evolution of this series of events, Fan Zhongyan's performance can be said to be the most outstanding; when Empress Liu was regent, there was a winter celebration one year, and the court asked Renzong to lead hundreds of officials to the north to be Empress Dowager Heshou, which was resolutely opposed by Fan Zhongyun's righteousness; and as Emperor Renzong grew older, Zhongyun wrote to Empress Liu to ask her to return to Renzong, which angered Empress Liu and she was demoted from Beijing; before Empress Liu died, she left a will to make Empress Yang empress dowager, and this matter was even more severely opposed by Fan Zhongyan's righteousness After Empress Liu's death, in the face of Manchu criticism of Empress Liu, he wrote to Emperor Renzong and said more about the empress dowager's nurturing grace, hoping that Emperor Renzong would take care of the whole body, "It is advisable to hide the small and therefore take full of houde." Emperor Renzong was deeply moved, and ordered that neither The Empress Dowager should discuss current affairs at home and abroad. In the process of handling this series of complicated events, Fan Gong's attitude can be described as bright and upright, brilliant, and the ministerial demeanor and political ability of great benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and courage that he displayed won the admiration and admiration of future generations. The consort for Empress Dowager Heshou occurred in the seventh year of Tiansheng (1029), when Bao Gongzhong had only been a jinshi for two years and had not yet come out as an official; Empress Liu died in the second year of the Ming Dynasty (1033), and Bao Gong did not know Tianchang County until the fourth year of Jingyou (1037). It can be seen from this that for these storms in the DPRK, Bao Gong did not have the opportunity and qualifications to participate. However, in a series of stories about "Tanuki for Prince" perfunctory in later generations, Bao Gong instead became the protagonist of the matter. It can also be seen that the influence of Fan Gong's image on the image of stage Bao Gong is deep.
Second, the historical Fan Gong and Bao Gong
Fan Gong was born in the second year of Emperor Taizong of Song (989) and died in the fourth year of Emperor Renzong of Song (1052) at the age of 64. Bao Gongsheng 's year (the second year of Emperor Zhenzong xianping of Song) was 10 years later than Fan Gong's, and he died at the age of 64. The political career of the Second Duke was mainly during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. At this time, the country has been in peace for a long time, and the surface is prosperous. The scholar Shao Yong's statement that "after two days of peace, I saw the heyday of the Four Dynasties" refers to roughly this period of time. However, this was also an important turning point in the Decline of the Northern Song Dynasty. Under the cover of singing and dancing, the absurd pleasures of the ruling class and the dark and corrupt politics are getting worse and worse, and the hardships of the people's lives and the accumulation of various social contradictions are also deepening day by day. In the face of the grim situation of internal and external troubles and crises, some sober-minded people of insight are very much hoping to eliminate the accumulated shortcomings and "revitalize the imperial program"; ordinary people naturally hope to return to the kind of clean and peaceful rule of the early Song Dynasty. As the capital city of the first good district at the foot of Tianzi, its chief executive is not only a "close to the people" official, but also the closest to the imperial court, and its special status and status, its honesty and honesty, or its personal qualities of adultery and greed, often make them easy to become the focus of various social contradictions and the center of people's attention.
According to the stone inscription of the "Nomination record of Kaifeng Province", Fan Gongquan knew that Kaifeng Province was in October of the second year (1035) of Emperor Renzong Jingyou, which lasted about half a year; Bao Gongquan knew that Kaifeng Province was in March of the second year (1057) of Renzong Jiayou, which lasted for about a year. To say that in a year and a half, it is possible to make a large number of earth-moving political achievements, which is actually just a deceptive myth. However, as the prefect of The Capital, as the attention of the people, as long as it has a heart of worrying about the country and the people, and can do something beneficial to the people, it is enough to win the widespread love and praise of the people. According to historical records, some of the commendable deeds of the Second Duke during his tenure as prefect of Kaifeng are roughly as follows:
1. The Two Dukes advocate reform. Until then. Fan Gong has written many times. Demand that the accumulated defects be eliminated. He put forward a series of ideas to refresh politics; after taking office, he was still in the palace and concerned about the imperial court. On the "Four Theories" and the "Hundred Officials Diagram", he denounced the prime minister Lü Yijian for unfairly employing people, and was expelled from Beijing for this reason. Before this, Bao Gong had also made many suggestions on the promotion of advantages and disadvantages; after taking office, he abolished the old system of transferring complaints from officials and opened the door to let the complainants go to the front of the hall to chen Quzhi, thus reducing the opportunity for subordinates to cheat from them.
2. Law enforcement does not avoid the powerful and dares to confront the tough. It is difficult for The Kyoshi to govern, and the difficulty lies in the fact that some of the imperial relatives and dignitaries and their sons rely on their power to run amok. Fan Gong prefect, there is a "giant" (eunuch leader) to exert power, pouring out Chinese and foreign forces, Fan Gong made up his mind to die, explained the aftermath to his family, and then went to the impeachment, and finally removed a harm to the capital, Fu Bi wrote in the "Epitaph" made for Fan Gong: "The moon of the public office is as powerful as a god, and the officials shrink their hands and do not dare to insult him, and the beijing master solemnly ruled." Bao Gong knew that Kaifeng, "everyone who hears it is afraid." Flood control of the Huimin River crossing the capital requires the removal of water barriers. Some wealthy gentry and nobles encroached on the garden pavilions built on the river embankment, and Bao Gong ordered them to be demolished. A big man came up with a forged land title to fight with it, and Bao Gong verified the authenticity and handled it without mercy.
3. Not a magnate, a maverick. The power traitor Lü Yijian hated Zhongdrown for not attaching himself, and he loved to find forks, so he asked him to go to Kaifeng Province, one trapped him in annoying things, and there was no time to talk about it, and the other was convenient to find faults and exclude dissidents. In his spare time, Fan Gong still paid attention to the major affairs of the DPRK and China, adhered to principles, and debated endlessly. After the death of his parents, Bao Gong went to Beijing to wait for an errand and stayed in an inn near Lü Yijian's official residence, at that time Lü had heard of Bao Gong's name, and thought that he would come to the door to ask for recommendations, and he would also show off his personal feelings to envelop him. After receiving the appointment of Zhitianchang County, Bao Gong thanked the imperial court according to the regulations and left Beijing to take up his post, never climbing the gate of the Lü clan (see Song Zhao Shanxuan's "Self-Police Compilation", vol. 5)
4. Outstanding political voice and word of mouth. The Song Shi Ben biography praised Fan Gong for "pan-love and kindness, and many people go out of his door, although everyone in the alley can say his name... For the government is loyal, so there is grace. Ouyang Xiuwei praised Fan Gong for his "Shinto Tablets": "His deeds have come to an end, from the gentlemen of the gentry, the people of the field of Lilu, and the people of the field of Lilu, and the outside of Yi Dimo do not know his name, and there are many people who are happy to do it." Fu Bi's Epitaph praised him for "commanding the officials with strictness, so that they could not be deceived, and the people were blessed by him." The Northern Song Dynasty Zhang Tangying's "Biography of WenZheng" praised him for knowing kaifeng province as "Ming Min Tongzhao, deciding things like gods, jingshi rumors: 'The imperial court has no worries about Fan Jun, and jingshi has nothing to do with Xiwen'. Bao Gongzhi praised him in the Song Shi biography of Kaifeng Province: "The establishment of the dynasty is resolute, the eunuchs of noble relatives are afraid of it, and everyone who hears it is afraid, and people laugh at Bao Zheng than 'Yellow River Qing'." The childish women also know its name and call it 'package to be made'. Kyoshi said: 'The joints are not there, there is Yan Luo Bao Lao'. Wu Kui's "Epitaph" praised Bao Gong for "awe-inspiring and inalienable festivals" and "his voice and fierceness exploded in the eyes and ears of the world, although the foreign Yi also obeyed his heavy name." The imperial court scholars, who were caught in distant scholars, did not call them official titles, and called them 'gong'." In the Northern Song Dynasty Xu Du's "Compilation of How to Sweep", it is stated: "This dynasty said that the rule of heaven was based on filial piety. Lin Zhi, a southern Song Dynasty man, said in the record of rebuilding the tombstone of Hefei Bao Cemetery: "As far as its advent is in power, it is clear that it must not be deceived, it is not just to be scratched, and the public must not be selfish, and for more than a hundred years, the people in the area have heard of his style and are still afraid of it." ”
Fan Bao'er's public authority knew that Kaifeng Province had a similar time and background, and his standing and deeds were also similar, so their heroic names and political achievements were also compared with people for a long time. YuanRen Wang Yun has a poem "Su Kaifeng Fu Hou Bureau": "Wipe the remnants of the stele To see Dehui, the millennium Bao Fan see the inscription; the shock is surrounded by the atrium cypress, and the frost is afraid of the frost and does not dare to perch." This shows the reverence of future generations for the Second Duke. In view of this, in the long-term word of mouth of the masses, it is inevitable that the political achievements and even the official positions of the second duke will be mixed with each other. Wu Kuiming, a contemporary of Bao Gong, said that at that time, people did not call themselves "Bao Gong" without official titles, but when it came to the Song Shi Ben Biography revised by the Yuan people, it was said that childish women were called "Bao Waiting System", which just proved that the future generations mixed the two dukes deeply.
Third, history chose Fan Gong stage and chose Bao Gong
If it is said that Confucius's expansion after his death and his becoming a saint in China were mainly held up by the feudal rulers; then Bao Gong's becoming a world-respected Qing official after his death was mainly the result of the beautification and deification of the oppressed and enslaved working people in accordance with their own wishes and ideals; as for Fan Gong's more widespread admiration after his death, it was because he was more widely recognized by the Chinese nation.
It is true that Fan Bao'ergong was a figure who was influenced by traditional Chinese Confucianism. Loyalty and love for the people embody a sincere unity in them. Some of their deeds can not only obtain a certain degree of praise and support from the supreme ruler, but also receive heartfelt gratitude and praise from the masses of the people. This is what the two dukes have in common. However, there are also obvious differences in ergong's ideological personality, the way in which he stands in the world, and his attitude. It is precisely this "difference" that makes history choose Fan Gong and the stage choose Bao Gong.
1. History chose Fan Gong. History says that Zhongyun "pan-tong six classics, longer than the Yi", deeply understood the great righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period, and once taught the scholar Sun Fu and the military general Di Qing. Since childhood, Zhongyan has taken the world as his own responsibility, and has determined to "be a good doctor if he is not a good person"; after entering the army, "every time he is grateful for the affairs of the world, he strives to ignore his own body, and for a while the scholar and doctor are vigorous and upright, and he advocates from Zhongyan". However, after middle age, Zhongyun kept the "Middle Way" for people to live in the world, until his deathbed, and his last advice to Emperor Renzong was still "to rule before chaos, and to accept the people in Dazhong". Throughout his life, Zhongyun tried his best to act according to Confucian moral standards, and his praiseworthy virtues were multifaceted and even all-round, becoming a generation of sages rare in Chinese history. Fu Bi, who was slightly younger than him, admired him so much that he was called a saint at that time. Southern Song Dynasty scholars Zhu Xi and Lü Zhong praised Zhongyan as "the first figure in this dynasty", and Jin Renyuan haoqing praised him even more: "Wenzheng Fangong was a famous soldier in cloth, a capable official in prefectures and counties, and a famous general on the border. In the imperial court, confucius also called the minister, who asked for thousands of years to cover up one or two, not only for a generation of courtiers. On the day of the death of "Zhong drowning", all the hearers in all directions sighed. ...... The people of the two prefectures of YingQing and the Qiang all painted portraits of the Lisheng Shrine; and their pawns, hundreds of Qiang chieftains wept like fathers, and fasted for three days. "As far as Zhongyan's footprints are concerned, there are many monuments left, such as Fan Highway, Fangong Causeway, Fangong Bridge, Fan Gongjing, Fan Gongquan, Fan Gong pavilion, Fan Gong Ancestral Hall, Huai Fan Pavilion, Jing Fan Lou, etc., which are still spread throughout many provinces and regions across the country. Fan Gong's lofty image and his famous saying of "worry before pleasure" have become models and guidelines for inspiring generations of Chinese intellectuals to follow and study. Fan Gong has actually become one of the most outstanding figures in Chinese history, the embodiment of a noble and glorious image, and a great historical figure that the Chinese nation will always be proud of.
2. The stage chose Bao Gong. In terms of his personality characteristics and attitude of acting on his own, Compared with Fan Gong, Bao Gong also has its own brilliance and valuable points. Song Shiben concluded for Bao Gong: "The temperament is steep and straight, and the evil officials are harsh. Although he was jealous, he did not hesitate to be loyal and forgive. Not in harmony with people, not for the sake of pleasing words, living in a selfless book, the old people are pro-party. Although expensive, clothes utensils are used when eating and drinking such as cloth clothes. Here, in addition to the noble and frugal and Fan Gong have common virtues, the personality characteristics of Fan Gong's "outer and inner rigidity" and multi-observance of the "middle way" are very different. Sima Guang praised Bao Gong in volume 10 of the "Shushui Chronicle", saying: "Being a man of strictness, not doing anything selfish... for the sake of the chief officials and the staff, he has a good face and insults people, but if what he says is reasonable, he also obeys it." Just and not ashamed, this person is also difficult. In its volume nine: "Bao Xiren zhilu prefecture." Luzhou is also a township, and the pro-old people take advantage of the situation to disturb the official palace. There are uncles who break the law, Xi Ren tarts, and his uncle is more breathless. "In a feudal society where officials and officials protect each other and intercede for the common practice, Bao Gong not only insists that the law is not noble, but also can do so without selfishness." This upright character and iron-faced and selfless work style will undoubtedly be more supported and praised by the masses of the people. Yuan Ren carefully recorded in his "Miscellaneous Knowledge of Decoction": "Nominated by Kaifeng Province, du Bao Xiaosu's name is referred to by people, and the finger marks are very deep. "Suffice it to say. The masses of the people living in feudal society, despite the depths of the waters, could not find the ideal way out. In addition to taking risks, they are more focused on their ideals and aspirations on a small number of Ming Junxian and "Qing officials". As Marx said: "They cannot represent themselves, they must be represented by others." Their representatives must at the same time be their masters, the authorities who stand high above them. What the masses of the people look forward to is the kind of "clean official" who can eliminate harm for the people, ask for the people's lives, and be the masters of the people. Officials like Bao Gong, who are not afraid of power or favoritism, are of course their most ideal candidates. As a result, this selfless Bao Gong, who was born with a straight and straight face, reflected the Chinese drama stage with an artistic image of a unique and ancient life.
Fourth, the image of Fan Gong was integrated into the image of the stage Bao Gong
Intentionally or unintentionally using other people's deeds materials to shape and enrich the character image can be said to be a universal law in the creation of popular literature (including novels, music arts, plays, etc.), especially the popular literature creation of historical materials, which is more common. For example, in all kinds of popular literature featuring Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao, Wu Zetian, Di Renjie, Xie Jin, Hai Rui, Liu Yong, Ji Yun, Zheng Banqiao, and other characters, in addition to the fictional components of the storyline, they have more or less used the deeds of other characters, especially the characters of the same generation. Of course, there are some things that are originally historical misrepresentation, misrememberment or unclear, but this does not preclude the intentional use of it as a creative technique. As for the fusion and mixing of the artistic images of Fan Bao'ergong, the situation seems to be even more special: it is not the Zhang Guan Li Dai of the storyline, which is simply used to pull it, but the two historical greats of the same type of the same era are integrated from the aspects of name, brand name, official position, origin, etc., and are integrated. This situation, whether as a literary phenomenon or as a social phenomenon, is extremely rare.
A few years ago, the author visited Yichuan (Fan Gong's burial place) in Henan Province, and consulted Mr. Fan Zhang, a descendant of fan clan and a retired cadre, on the question of "why the image of Fan Gong rarely appears on the stage". According to him, when he was young, he participated in the activities of worshipping ancestors many times in the spring and autumn of each year, and each time he had to read out the ancestral instructions, one of which was that Before his death, Wen Zhenggong instructed his descendants not to compile their deeds into dramas. Although the author has not found relevant corroboration for this statement, he still believes it. Because in the nearly thousand years since the Fall of the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, many of Zhongyun's descendants have produced high-ranking officials and heard about it, if there is no ancestral testament, how can there be no opera with Fan Gong as the protagonist? At least, the protagonist of a story such as "Tanuki For a Prince" is likely to be replaced by Fan Gong. Of course, even if there is this testament, it can only be a secondary reason, and its main reason has to be sought out in the actual life of society at that time.
The broad masses of working people in China's feudal society strongly hoped that there would be a Qing official who would be relieved of the people hanging upside down, but they could not find it in reality, so they pinned their ideals and aspirations on the Qing officials of the previous dynasty, built temples, ancestral halls, and monuments for them, and invited them to the opera stage and praised them greatly. The ideal character needs to be typical, and it needs to be summarized and enriched by the stories of other characters. As an outstanding historical figure of the same era as Bao Gong, the same type, and the same as the prefect of Kaifeng, Fan Zhongyun will naturally become the preferred object of intake. Of course, the plot of the story relies on fiction, and borrowing his name and official position can be used to pin people's nostalgia for Fan Gong. As a result, the "Qingguan" snowball with bao gong's image as the condensation core rolled bigger and bigger, and Fan Gong's image was also integrated into Bao Gong's image in a very special form.
In short, although the stage chose Bao Gong, and the image of the stage Bao Gong represents Fan Gong after all, the image of Fan Gong has been deeply embedded in the image of the stage Bao Gong.
Note: The historical materials of Fan Bao'ergong cited in this article, in addition to those who have given the provenance in the text, are mainly quoted from the biography of the Song Dynasty and the chronological data.
(Author Affilications:Standing Committee of Bengbu Municipal People's Congress, Anhui)
Note: This article was published in the first issue of Beijing Social Science Magazine in 1998.