In the second year of Song Taizong Duangong (989), Fan Zhongyan was born in Xuzhou. When he was two years old, his father died of illness, and his mother was poor and helpless, so he had to remarry Zhu, a mountain man who was then the magistrate of Zi County. Fan Zhongyan also changed his surname to Zhu Yu. Fan Zhongyan lived in Jia Zhu when he was a child. His stepfather was very kind to him, and his mother taught him to read and write from an early age. Later, Fan Zhongyan studied hard at Liquan Temple. Because his family is poor, he cooks porridge with two liters of millet. After congee stayed up all night and solidified, he cut it into four pieces with a knife, ate two pieces in the morning and two pieces in the evening, and it was settled for three meals a day.

Although life is hard, I read a lot of books backwards. Gradually, the gap between Fan Zhongyan and his peers began to stand out. Just compare him with other playboys in the Zhujiajian family, that is, one is in the sky and the other is underground. They don't like him, so they sneer at him, don't name Zhu, and spend Zhu's money. Fan Zhongyan was puzzled. He went back to ask his mother before he knew his true identity. He felt very sad and didn't want to rely on others, so he left his mother and went to Yingtianfu (now Shangqiu) to study alone. Although mother didn't give up, she still supported his dignity in high live and let him go.

Later, Fan Zhongyan won the lottery, became a scholar and entered the official career. He is only 27 years old this year. I started as a junior official at the grass-roots level and finally became prime minister. We don't know what happened to Fan Zhongyan during this period. But a person's success is by no means accidental, and it is definitely not as simple as talking. Fan Zhongyan had to repeatedly emphasize himself, "He wants to return to the original, and there is nothing to see." He doesn't steal or rob, and he never takes bribes. Later, he wanted to return to his ancestral home, and the emperor agreed to his request. From then on, he finally restored the surname of "Fan" and took root.

After that, he was transferred to Taizhou Yan Guan Warehouse. Because the sea was too fierce, it swept away more than 200 lives at once. Fan Zhongyan did not escape or shirk his responsibility, but stayed silently, left the scene in person and stood in the middle of the sea to command the people. The sea slapped his thin body violently, but he stood there very firmly and refused to give up. Everyone was moved and began to assemble and rebuild the dam. 1028 Spring, 150 Li long seawall was finally repaired. Later, people named this dam "Gong Fan Dam". It can be seen that Fan Zhongyan has been a good official who has the heart of the world and can resolutely do practical things for the people since he began to be an official.

Fan Zhongyan is such a brave man. No matter how dangerous it is, he would rather die than look back. I thought that he would be a small official in the local area, accumulate word of mouth, and then be promoted slowly, and have a brilliant life, but Fan Zhongyan didn't want to do this. He began to remonstrate with the emperor like a "green head". And there is only one such result, which is demotion! Because Fan Zhongyan didn't "take sides" in the imperial court, he had to get a knife when he was alone. So, after being demoted for the third time, Fan Zhongyan decided to disappear from the imperial city and come to Raozhou on the bank of Poyang Lake.

In Raozhou, Fan Zhongyan experienced the most bitter period in his life, and this time it was even more bitter than when he was a child. It is said that he passed through more than ten states, and no one came out to receive him. Fan Zhongyan firmly wrote in Lingwu Fu, "I would rather die than live silently. Can ordinary people understand this venerable festival? Later, Hu Shi said that these eight words written by Fan Zhongyan were 740 years earlier than the classic sentence "Give me liberty or give me death" uttered by American Patrick Henry, which was a memorable story in the history of freedom in China.

In just seven or eight years, I was demoted three times, and I couldn't persist without firm belief. Therefore, Fan Zhongyan spoke his life creed: Ning Ming died, but he was born silently. A.D. 1040, Fan Zhongyan was 5 1 year old. Li Yuanhao of Xixia proclaimed himself emperor and invaded the border of Northern Song Dynasty. Fan Zhongyan was recalled, and he changed from a civilian who only advised to a border general against Xixia. The change of this role has a great influence on his life. In this regard, Fan Zhongyan said: In the past, I took pleasure in suffering, but now I am suffering both physically and mentally.

Fortunately, Fan Zhongyan fought like a god, forcing the Tangut Army to retreat 6,000 troops. Even the Xixia people praised him, "Fan Xiao Lao Zi has tens of thousands of Jiabing in his stomach." For this, I'm afraid no historian in history dares to deny Fan Zhongyan's status as an outstanding strategist. However, even if a good record is achieved on the battlefield, no one will like war, and so will Fan Zhongyan. In the third year of Li Qing (1043), Song Renzong was determined to reform. The first appointment was to transfer Fan Zhongyan back to the central government and give him an official position (deputy prime minister). It seems that in the eyes of the emperor, Fan Zhongyan is the most suitable reform leader.

However, the good times did not last long. Because Song Renzong's position was not firm, Fan Zhongyan lost the biggest backer, and the political reform was difficult to maintain. Finally, Fan Zhongyan ended up lonely by inviting others to transfer. This reform is called "Qingli New Deal" in history. Perhaps it was hit by this reform. 1046, 56-year-old Fan Zhongyan was released to Dengzhou, and his old friend Teng was demoted to Baling. In order to get the court's understanding, Teng Zijing decided to rebuild Yueyang Tower. Fan Zhongyan helped him write the famous Yueyang Tower. In the fourth year of the Northern Song Dynasty (1052), Fan Zhongyan went to Yingzhou with illness and died at the age of 64. "don't be happy with things, don't be sad for yourself" and "worry about the worries of the world first, and be happy after the joy of the world". Some people say that Fan Zhongyan is the first philanthropist in the Northern Song Dynasty. He is out-and-out, humble, ready to help others, and has a heart for the world. He can be called "perfect".