Shen Kuo was a northern Song Dynasty scientist, and his achievements in the field of science were unmatched, whether it was mathematics, astronomy, geography, music, and military, he had a high level of achievement, and even an all-rounder. But what is surprising is that his reputation is not good, Song Shi did not give him a single independent biography, and even some people said that he was a "giant of science and a dwarf of morality". What's going on here? From several events recorded in history, it is not difficult to see the reason for this.
In the sixth year of Xi Ning (1073), Shen Kuo was sent by Emperor Shenzong of Song to inspect farmland and water conservancy in Liangzhe, while Su Shi happened to be in Hangzhou. When it comes to the friendship between the two, it is still quite intimate. First, the two were former colleagues of Chongwen Academy, and second, they both loved literature and shared a lot of languages. There are also different places, they belong to two factions, Shen Kuo belongs to the reform faction, supporting Wang Anshi, while Su Shi is more inclined to Sima Guang, belonging to the conservative faction.
However, the political opinion returned to the political opinion, and the old friends were reunited after a long absence, and they still saw each other very happily. Su Shi was simple and received Shen Kuo very warmly. Shen Kuo asked Su Shi: "Can you have good works recently, can you let brother Tai see it for a while?" Su Shi could not contain his excitement for a long time, and immediately took out the freshly baked works. Shen Kuo said, "It's really well written, can I transcribe a few poems?" Su Shi was not wary of Shen Kuo and happily agreed. Shen Kuo copied it neatly, and if he got Zhibao, he brought the poem back to Beijing.
Soon, Shen Kuo learned that Yushi He Zhengchen and Li Dingyi wanted to rectify Su Shi, and the two were Su Dongpo's sworn enemies. Shen Kuo suddenly remembered a few poems he had brought back, so he closed the door to thank guests, picked up the lamp and fought at night, and finally found a few "anti-poems". For example, Su Shi sang the praises of the juniper tree, "The root has no curve to the nine springs, and only the dragon in the world knows", Shen Kuo thought, "The emperor is like a flying dragon in the sky, but Su Shi you are looking for the dragon under the nine springs, and there is no one more than this!" He quickly wrote a folding bullet to impeach Su Shi and handed it over to Song Shenzong, but Song Shenzong did not pursue it.
However, Song Shenzong's failure to pursue it did not mean that Su Shi was safe. After 5 years, in the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), He Zhengchen and Li Dingyi joined forces to impeach Su Shi, which is the famous "Wutai Poetry Case".
The evidence in their hands is the "bone" in Su Dongpo's poem, which is the same as Shen Kuo's approach. For example, from "If the East China Sea knows the idea, it should be taught to rebuke the halogen change mulberry field" to su Dongpo is found to blame the water conservancy project; from "If you smell Shao and forget to understand the taste, you have no salt in March" to say that Su Shi is satirizing the prohibition of the people from selling salt, which is a very evil crime. Finally, Emperor Shenzong ordered Su Shi to be imprisoned. In this case, Su Dongpo almost lost his old life, and also tired more than thirty relatives and friends, which was regrettable.
It can be said that even if Shen Kuo is not the initiator of the "Wutai Poetry Case", it is difficult to escape the interference after all. As for why he dug a pit for Su Shi? Yu Qiuyu once analyzed: "Shen Kuo did not want Su Shi's cultural status to surpass his own, in addition, he knew that Wang Anshi was not compatible with Su Shi, and this move was to give Wang Anshi a side. ”
In fact, Shen Kuo was indeed a fan of Wang Anshi, and he once had great respect for Wang Anshi. But after Wang lost power, Shen Kuo began to sway from side to side. After Wang Anshi was deposed for the first time, Shen Kuo's attitude changed subtly.
An incident that happened at that time made everyone look down on Shen Kuo's personality. When the new prime minister, Wu Chong, asked about the "Immunization Law" at the beginning of his term of office, and Shen Kuo pointed out that there were serious drawbacks in the "Exemption Law" and suggested that "everyone should not be allowed to pay taxes", while Shen Kuo had no objection to the "Exemption Law" before.
Since then, many people have regarded Shen Kuo as a "wall-headed grass", and even his opponents have scorned him, saying that his attitude is capricious and unreliable. And the mentor Wang Anshi was even angrier and called him a "villain". Later, after Wang Anshi was reinstated, he no longer trusted Shen Kuo.
What really brought Shen Kuo's political life to an end was the matter of "military defeat and yongle." In May of the fifth year of YuanFeng (1082), after Shen Kuo won the Battle of Lingwu, he proposed to the imperial court to manage Hengshan and construct city defenses to resist Western Xia. Emperor Shenzong of Song was very supportive of his idea and sent Xu Xi, the chancellor of Chincha, to take charge of the matter with Shen Kuo.
Xu Xi was so great that he was high up in the world, and after he took office, he set a new standard, wanted to develop another set, and insisted on building a remote Yongle City. As the manager of one side, Shen Kuo understands the actual situation, and according to common sense, he should argue according to reason and persuade Xu Xi not to take risks.
However, he was wise to protect himself, and in order to avoid a direct conflict with Xu Xi, he allowed Xu Xi to decide all matters, but he stayed out of the matter.
The outcome was quite tragic, western Xia easily captured Yongle City, Xu Xi and 25,000 Song troops were all killed, with heavy losses. Emperor Shenzong of Song was furious and demoted Shen Kuo to Suizhou as a regimental trainer.
The three years of Suizhou were the darkest and saddest days of Shen Kuo's life. He lived in the Fayun Zen Monastery, alone, and even his movements were restricted. At this time, the times have changed, and he has a new understanding of his political career, from his "HandongLou" "The weeds stick to the sky and rain endlessly, and the guest heart is cold and does not close the autumn." The west of the village is where the ape cries, full of sadness and regret to go upstairs. In the middle, we can see his remorse for his political career.
Throughout Shen Kuo's life, the biggest flaw in his character is that he compromises in the face of things, and his personality is cowardly, and the evil in his personality has humiliated his talent. As a scientist, Shen Kuo is very outstanding and admirable; as a politician, although he works seriously, he does not have the courage and courage and perseverance he deserves.
Author: Our special guest author Liu Mai