The ideological connotation of Ouyang Xiu's "Fengle Pavilion"

Tang Xiaomin

After Ouyang Xiu arrived in Chuzhou, he wrote the "Record of drunken Pavilion" and "Record of Fengle Pavilion", of which "Drunken Pavilion" is more well-known, but there are people in ancient and modern times who have made higher evaluations of "Fengle Pavilion". For example, Chu Xin of the Qing Dynasty said that this article "is dwarfed by the Chu of the Five Dynasties and the Chu of today, and the most affectionate, and its purpose is attributed to Xuan Shang Ende, and He Zhengye." Publicly remember this as the first. Chen Yan also said: "Yong Shuwen is the longest in the preface to the Miscellaneous Records, and the Miscellaneous Records are especially perfect in the Fengle Pavilion. ”

The content of the "Fengle Pavilion Record", according to the analysis of predecessors, praises the merits of the Song Dynasty and does not forget the chaos. Of course, the meaning of "chaos" is very clear, and this is the case of the five generations. What about "cure"? Judging from Ouyang Xiu's article, the society of "governance" is not how rich the society is, how brilliant the buildings are, how wide the streets are, and how much wealth the people have accumulated. In Ouyang Xiu's view, a society that "governs" is a society that makes the people feel happy. His rule over Chuzhou is described as follows: "Between the Present Chujie River and Huaihuai, the boat and car merchants and the guests of the four sides do not come to the place, and the people's livelihood does not see foreign affairs, but is content with the mu of clothing and food, and sends death with happiness, and the merit of knowing the above, resting and recuperating, and the depth of the hundred years." This merit of the Song Dynasty is mainly to enable the people to "recuperate", that is, not to toss and turn, not to gather the wealth of the people to the imperial court. Such an era is the "time when there is nothing" mentioned in the article, and this "nothing" is not only "nothing" different from the five generations of war, but also refers to the "no trouble" in the era of peace, that is, no tossing.

What Ouyang Xiu sang was the Renzong Dynasty. When shen deqian, a Qing dynasty man, analyzed this article, he said: "In the middle of a period of recuperation, see the nourishment of Emperor Renzong, cultivate the wind and rain, and the descendants do not need to be more open, and hide their words." That is, it can be seen that this article is an endorsement and praise of the Renzong Dynasty. Shen Deqian also keenly saw that Ouyang Xiu wrote this article, which contained the unspoken meaning of "descendants do not need to be more open". However, soon after Ouyang Xiu's article came out, the imperial court "changed its tone": after Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, he and Wang Anshi launched the "Xining Transformation Law". Since then, the Great Song Dynasty has no more "no time to do nothing".