Su Xun had the smallest number of essays among the eight masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, only 106, in contrast to his son Su Shi Su Rui with 4339 and 1220 articles respectively. Although su xun's prose is small, the ideological and artistic value of his works is immeasurable. In terms of content, he has a penetrating analysis of the governance of the country, which is a good recipe for the shortcomings of the northern Song Dynasty and a model for the study of governing the country in later generations; ideologically, he integrates the ideas of the hundred schools of thought; in terms of artistic value, his articles are longitudinal and transverse, quoting scriptures, and there is a style of eloquence and Confucianism.
In the first year of Jiayou (1065), Su Xun repeatedly wrote to the ruling and prominent figures of the dynasty, such as Xiang Wenyanbo and Fu Bi, the Privy Counsellor Han Qi, the Privy Councillor Tian Quan, the Hanlin scholar Ouyang Xiu, and the Three Divisions envoy Fang Zhengping, in order to be recommended and not promoted. In addition, he also wrote political treatises on the political situation in the Northern Song Dynasty, such as the Book of Power, the Theory of Balance, the Trial of the Situation, and the Trial of the Enemy, although the effect was not ideal, but under the praise of Ouyang Xiu and others, Su's literary name was all over the Beijing Division. Su Xun was a man of political ambitions, and his prose made a broad and comprehensive exposition of the political, economic, military, and employment aspects of the past, with a longitudinal and eloquent style. The main purpose of Su Xun's writing is to "speak the needs of the world" and to "give to the present".
<h1>1. The power of the Ming Dynasty to shi enwei</h1>
Su Xun's "Judging the Situation" contrasts the momentum of the Northern Song Dynasty with the power of the Zhou Dynasty and the Qin State, and tells the reasons for the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty and the Qin State through Shi Wei and Shi Hui. Su Xun believes that Shi Wei and Shi Hui are the power of the country to control the strength and weakness of the world, "taking advantage of the power of the strong to do favors, then benefiting; taking advantage of the benefits of the weak to cultivate the will, then the power will be unleashed and the world will be shocked." The Zhou Dynasty implemented a system of sub-feudalism, the princes gradually became stronger, and the land enjoyed by the large princes could reach five hundred miles, but the land within Wang Qi was less than a thousand miles, so the Zhou Dynasty was weak. The Qin Dynasty implemented a centralized county system, the local government did not hold the power, and all the power was concentrated in the central government, so the Qin Dynasty was strong. Neither of them is strong or weak, nor has they achieved long-term peace and stability, because they cannot take advantage of the favor of the government according to the situation.
When the Zhou Dynasty lost its morality in later generations, the princes went their own way and invaded each other, and the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty were obsessed with it, and still longed for the powerful princes to submit to the way of appeasement. Su Xun believed that the zhou dynasty's loss was that the weak government was weak, and the Zhou dynasty eventually perished in the weak. Since the Filial Duke of Xiaogong, the Qin Dynasty has gradually become stronger, and by the time his descendants have annexed the world, they still do not know the situation and are full-time legal to cut off the commoners. With a strong government and a strong government, the Qin Dynasty eventually went to extinction.
In contrast, the politics of the Northern Song Dynasty, like the Qin State, implemented the county system, the local centralization of power in the central government, and the Tianzi supported millions of soldiers, such a national situation, the Qin Dynasty became strong with it, but the Song Dynasty showed a weakening trend. Officials were wasted and lazy, and the punishment for those who corrupted officials was not more severe; a large number of atonements were allowed and pardons were frequently granted, but the guilty were questioned, and the criminal law could not prohibit them; the excessive soldiers were arrogant and rampant, and they used force to threaten rewards, but they did not dare to save frugally and save the grace used to appease the generals; the generals caused the whole army to be destroyed and did not return, but the responsibility for their defeated troops was not increased; the Western Xia and Khitans were strong and oppressed China, but they did not dare to be angry at their shame of demanding more gold and money. Such things are all manifestations of the weakness of the Northern Song Dynasty, and Su Xun believes that the weakness is due to the politics of the Northern Song Dynasty, not the situation.
To govern the country, we must first judge the hour and size up the situation, according to the strength of the situation to determine the favor of the government, the characteristics of the Song Dynasty is that the strength is strong and the government is weak, so Su Xun vigorously advocates "superiority", to "one reward and punishment, one order, one action, all out of prestige", and made a strong refutation of objections such as "the king is not punished". For such a situation, according to Mencius's idea of benevolent government, it is certainly not feasible, so Su Xun participated in the quan to the scriptures, and he used the warring states period to develop Confucianism. The northern song dynasty's weak government caused internal and external troubles, and the implementation of prestige could make the internal and external troubles like the king of Qiwei.
He used the view of power to analyze the current situation in the world, and the rulers had to exercise grace according to the situation. Mao Kun once praised Su Xun's article as "The text is like an angry horse running away from the dust and cannot be restrained." Roughly old Su's text, there is this period of Qimai Fengxun, so reading it is often heartbreaking. Su Xun opposed the Confucian theory that the soldiers did not speak of soldiers, and he believed that if the soldiers of benevolence and righteousness were invincible, how could the King of Wu appoint Jiang Taigong, and that the purpose of participating in the right was to make up for the dilemma of benevolence and morality. His articles have the idea of power and art, and they renovate historical events and put forward new perspectives in the light of current events, making his articles more ups and downs and imposing.
<h1>2. Slightly start to stabilize the dynasty</h1>
Su Xun believes that hiring talents is like seeking gold in the sand, and it is necessary to relax the initial threshold for entering the taxi, and strictly assess it later. Su Xun in the "Book of the Above-mentioned Minister", "lost its beginning and invited its end, and there is no end in the world". Regarding the phenomenon of redundant officials, Su Xun believed that it was necessary to "the minister suggested that the number of sons be reduced and the soldiers should be cut in order to facilitate the world", reduce the number of descendants of the ministers, and seek convenience for the world. At the same time, Su Xun further pointed out in conjunction with the talent selection method mentioned earlier, "The system of stealing the ancients is slightly better at the beginning and the end, making it easy for the sages to be easy to offend and then the unworthy to be offended." Husbands are prone to committing crimes and retreating, retreating into the multitude of the sages. The sages and then the unworthy retreat, and the husband is troubled by official redundancy! "
Su Xun cited the example of Zhou Gong's appointment of Guan Shu and Cai Shu to argue his political propositions, "a little from the beginning and fine in the middle", Zhou Gong lived with Guan Shu and Cai Shu in his early years, and later entered the Taixue study together, and learned to shoot in the archery palace, which can be said to have a very deep understanding of the two, but the ambitions of the two never appeared, until they reached the fiefdom to become princes, monitoring the country of the Yin remnants, and could not calm down in the face of major events, and then revealed their ambitions. Su Xun believed that the fact that saints such as Zhou Gong did not know that they did not panic about taking arrows and shooting bows did not mean that this person was not an unscrupulous person, but only used this name to collect talents from all over the world, and then examine their ability to handle affairs and dismiss those who were not shawn.
Recruiting talents is like seeking gold in the sand, if the initial threshold is very strict, then a large number of talented and virtuous people in the world will be rejected. Mao Kun said: "Today's country suffers from the burden of redundant officials, and the number of soldiers is also cut, which is not even counted." Yao also uses the old Suzhi saying, and the fine is in the end! "
Su Xun's idea of selecting talents still has reference significance for the current society, and the selection of talents can give more talents the opportunity to enter the career path, and in the process of strict selection, more outstanding talents can serve the imperial court, so that the program can be stable.
<h1>3. Cherish the people's strength to secure the world</h1>
Su Xun inherited the idea of Mengzi Minben and advocated that rulers should cherish the people's strength, so that the world would be stable and peaceful. The current situation of poverty and weakness in the Northern Song Dynasty made ordinary people's taxes heavier, and life itself was already very difficult, so Su Xun advocated the implementation of thin burials to alleviate the people's difficulties.
In the eighth year of Jiayou (1063), on the obscure day of March, Emperor Renzong of Song collapsed, and in April "Yi Hai, ordered Han Qi to be the envoy of the mountain tomb", and the funeral was carried out according to the scale of the Yongding Mausoleum of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, and a thick burial was carried out, and many ministers at that time advised him, hoping to save money to alleviate the people's difficulties. Su Xun advocated that those who were in power should cherish the people's strength, and if they were to be courteous and practice thin burials, they could obey the humble and frugal sincerity of the previous emperors, and they could forgive the current disasters of the common people, and they could be free from the ridicule of having an unincorporated heart like Hua Yuan, and after thousands of generations, the mausoleum could be stable and never stolen.
In the Tang and Song Dynasty Wen Alcohol, volume 34, it is said: "Song Renzong increased the age of the coin in the Khitan at that time, and at that time it was said that the Khitan had no tireless desires. Exhausting the blood of China is not enough to bribe, so the heroes are ashamed. Xun composed "Several Strategies and On the Enemy", and said that he should be absolutely desperate, and should not be with the old coins, and the "Book of Rights" was also written as "The Theory of the Six Kingdoms" to start his end. Su Xun combined historical events with the politics of the Northern Song Dynasty at that time, pinpointing the shortcomings of the times and proposing in the "Six Kingdoms": "The six kingdoms are broken, the non-soldiers are unfavorable, the war is not good, and the disadvantages are in the Qin." The children of the Six Kingdoms "frosted and exposed their grandfathers and cut thorns to have a place of size", and then fell into the consequences of "subversion, it is reasonable and appropriate", Su Xun lamented and ridiculed him. Although the rulers of the Song Dynasty also had bribes, they did not do so, thus achieving clever insinuation, and at the same time, the disillusionment of the children of the Six Kingdoms also gave a strong shock. Yan Zhao did not bribe Qin and thus obtained good results, which undoubtedly gave the Northern Song Dynasty decision-makers encouragement to refuse bribes. Only by cherishing the people's strength can the people become a powerful weapon and backing for the monarch, so that the world can be at peace.
Su Xun's "Several Strategies", "Book of Quan", and "Theory of Balance" are the main body of his political treatises, and also the embodiment of Su Xun's complete political thought, and most of his letters to the officials of the imperial court also point to the social problems of the Northern Song Dynasty, which have strong practicality. Combined with history, he discussed the current situation of poverty and weakness in the Northern Song Dynasty and many problems in foreign affairs and internal affairs, expressed his feelings and pointed out specific and feasible measures.
Su Xun advocated that rulers should judge the time and size of the situation to implement enwei, select talents to start a little in order to stabilize the program, cherish the people's strength, and put the people first. Although Su Xun's fame was not as great as that of the others in the Tang and Song dynasties, he adhered to the concept of feudal scholars and masters to cultivate themselves and rule the country and the world, and developed and innovated traditional Confucian thought.