For Fan Zhongyan, many people know his famous saying "Be worried about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness". They have read his heroic essay "The Story of Yueyang Tower", but they are not familiar with his role in history. What kind of deeds he has done in the past are often unknown.
Fan Zhongyan was the "perfect man" of the Northern Song Dynasty. He was a hero and a sage. He was a famous writer, a famous politician and a military strategist for a long time. He also served as the governor of Kaifeng, and his tenure was similar to that of Bao Zheng. Because the two men had similar backgrounds when they were appointed governors of Kaifeng, and their conduct and actions as governors were also similar. Therefore, in folk stories passed down orally, these two characters of the same generation and type were blended and mixed together. The two are combined into one, thus creating an image of "Qingtian" who eliminates harm for the people, asks for orders for the people, and makes decisions for the people.
Fan Zhongyan rose to prominence on the political stage of the Northern Song Dynasty due to a "return to power storm" that is still repeated and talked about by people today.
Song Renzong Zhao Zhen was born to the palace maid Li Wanyi, and was taken away by Queen Liu shortly after he was born. Li Wanyi was demoted to the cold palace and suffered all kinds of abuse. Song Renzong only knew that Queen Mother Liu was his mother since he was a child, but he did not know that he had his biological mother Li Wanyi. After he ascended the throne at the age of 12, Empress Dowager Liu listened to politics behind the curtain for 11 years. With the passage of time, the issue of the Queen Mother's return to power gradually became an extremely sensitive matter in the DPRK and everyone kept tabs on it.
When he was 20 years old, Song Renzong planned to lead hundreds of civil and military officials to congratulate Empress Dowager Liu on her birthday in the court. There is nothing wrong with releasing the harem in this way, but releasing it to the imperial court would undermine the emperor's supremacy, so Fan Zhongyan strongly opposed it. At that time, Fan Zhongyan was only a mid-level official responsible for sorting and collating the royal collection, and his words were ignored.
Unexpectedly, not long after, he actually violated Yan Zhijian again and openly criticized the Queen Mother for monopolizing power and demanded that the power of the country be returned to the emperor. Fan Zhongyan's courage in remonstrating shocked the civil and military officials of the entire court, but he angered Empress Dowager Liu and was demoted from the capital.
Fan Zhongyan was born in poverty. His father died when he was less than two years old. His mother took him and remarried to a family named Zhu, where he suffered a lot of hardship and humiliation. He studied hard since he was a child. He cooked a pot of porridge every day, cut it into four pieces after it cooled, and took two pieces in the morning and evening to satisfy his hunger. He often studied hard into the night. Later, he went to Nanjing (today's Shangqiu) alone to study. He went to bed without taking off his clothes for five years. At the age of 27, he finally passed the Jinshi examination. He was transferred to the capital after serving as a minor local official for 13 years. He was supposed to keep a low profile and bide his time, but he wrote letters one after another to discuss state affairs, and his advice was forthright and unavoidable. It was very lucky for him that he offended the Queen Mother without causing death.
Two years later, Queen Mother Liu passed away, and Song Renzong learned of his life experience. Those officials who had favored Empress Dowager Liu when she was in power now began to slander her. Although Fan Zhongyan had been demoted for offending the Queen Mother, at this time he urged the emperor to express gratitude to the Queen Mother for her nurturing grace. Song Renzong was deeply moved and issued an edict not to discuss the Queen Mother's affairs anymore.
A major incident between the flesh and blood of a real and a fake mother in the palace was resolved harmoniously and without bloodshed, and Fan Zhongyan’s performance could be described as upright and radiant.
Chat Hall Debate
Bao Zheng was famous for his outspokenness and courage in admonition, and often argued fiercely with the emperor. It was rare in any other dynasty for ministers to dare to challenge the emperor in court. However, during the Northern Song Dynasty and the Song Renzong period, Bao Zheng was by no means the only one who dared to publicly argue with the emperor and argue with reason. At that time, court debate almost became a trend and a custom, and the founder of this style of deliberation was Fan Zhongyan.
Fan Zhongyan always regarded the world as his own responsibility, and often did not consider his own safety when discussing major issues related to the national economy and people's livelihood. One year there was a severe drought in Jingdong and Jianghuai, and then the locust plague broke out again. As an admonisher, Fan Zhongyan petitioned for disaster relief, but was ignored. He questioned him righteously and sternly, and Song Renzong had no answer, so he had to send him to appease the victims.
When he returned from disaster relief, he also brought back to the capital the weeds, bark, etc. that were eaten by the hungry people in the disaster area, and displayed them on a tour inside and outside the palace to curb extravagance.
Fan Zhongyan’s actions caused a strong shock, and many righteous people responded. Impassioned people such as Yu Jing, Yin Zhu, Cai Xiang, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shunqin, etc. wrote letters one after another accusing the imperial court of mistakes, setting off a trend of fierce criticism.
Prime Minister Lu Yijian and others were deeply disturbed by this, so they looked for excuses to demote Fan Zhongyan from the capital again.
This time, Fan Zhongyan was demoted for two years, had outstanding political achievements, and was promoted when he was recalled to the capital. Lu Yijian cared deeply about him and asked the emperor to appoint him as the prefect of Kaifeng, who had the busiest official duties and was the most vulnerable to blame.
Unexpectedly, less than a month after taking office, Fan Zhongyan managed the capital in an orderly manner. There was a chief eunuch who was so powerful that no one dared to offend him. With the determination to die, Fan Zhongyan explained his funeral arrangements to his family, and then went to court to impeach him, finally eliminating this harm for the people of the capital. What made Lu Yijian even more embarrassed was that Fan Zhongyan also drew the promotion situation of officials in the DPRK and Central China as a "map of hundreds of officials" and presented it to the emperor, accusing Lu Yijian of employing nepotism and promoting officials only based on personal relationships. As a result, Fan Zhongyan could not escape his bad luck and was demoted again.
Although Fan Zhongyan was demoted three times, his demeanor of ridiculing current ills deeply influenced court officials, and his aggressive style of speaking out continued. Bao Zheng, who came to Beijing as an admonisher more than ten years after Fan Zhongyan, was obviously also infected by this trend.
Accepted in critical situation
When Fan Zhongyan was demoted for the third time, the northwest border was in crisis. Yuan Hao, the leader of the Dangxiang tribe, proclaimed himself emperor and led an army of 100,000 to invade the Song Dynasty. The Song army suffered consecutive defeats, and the government and the public were in panic. 52-year-old Fan Zhongyan was ordered to face the danger and immediately rushed to the border.
Fan Zhongyan was a Confucian scholar, but he showed extraordinary military talents on the war-torn battlefield. Due to more than 30 years of no war, the Northern Song Dynasty army was in disarray. Even the cavalry could not put on armor and mount their horses, and the infantry had to hire people to carry their weapons. Faced with this situation, Fan Zhongyan selected good generals, loved the soldiers, cared for the exiles, reclaimed wasteland, built forts and cities, taught the people how to shoot, and built the western border defense that was riddled with holes and could collapse at a touch into a steel barrier that the enemy did not dare to invade. Great Wall. The team he led became the only elite division in the Song Dynasty that could compete with the Xixia army.
On the northwest battlefield, Fan Zhongyan met Zhang Zai who loved military martial arts. The young and energetic Zhang Zai hoped to make a difference on the battlefield, but Fan Chongyan discovered that his real talent was not in martial arts, but in Confucianism. Zhang Zai listened to his advice and studied hard from then on, eventually becoming a master of Neo-Confucianism. At this time, Di Qing was also being appreciated by Fan Zhongyan. He was originally a junior sergeant with a very low status. Fan Zhongyan gave him books to encourage him to read and carefully cultivated him, so that Di Qing quickly grew into a rare generation of famous generals in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Fan Zhongyan guarded the border for four years, which frightened the enemy. The border people respectfully called him "Longtu Laozi", and the Xixia army praised him as "having tens of thousands of soldiers in his chest". People on the border sang this song everywhere: "There is a good example in the army, and the Western thieves will be frightened when they hear it."
When the situation on the border eased, Fan Zhongyan was transferred back to the capital again to preside over the implementation of the "Qingli New Deal" ", which brought a new situation to the sluggish Northern Song Dynasty regime. However, some bureaucrats and nobles hated him and spread rumors one after another, slandering him for making friends with his cronies.
Fan Zhongyan has a broad mind, is cautious in doing things, and has a reputation for integrity. Indeed, many talented people regard him as a confidant and role model. But they are just like-minded friends, not traitors. Despite this, the power of conservatism and inertia was astonishingly strong, and slanderous opinions surged like a tide, making people panic for a while.
At this time, there was another crisis on the northwest border. Fan Zhongyan had no choice but to go to the border again. And as soon as he left the capital, the political situation in the DPRK suddenly became unstable. All the New Deal was abolished, and the reforms that had been implemented for one year and four months came to an end.
A leading figure in the literary world
Fan Zhongyan worked for the people down-to-earth and did not care about writing. Everywhere he went, he would build water conservancy projects, train talents, protect the land and bring peace to the people, and devote his energy to dealing with matters related to the national economy and people's livelihood. He left only a handful of poems to future generations, but they established his immortal status in the history of Chinese literature.
"The scenery in the autumn is strange, and the geese from Hengyang are leaving without paying attention. There are sounds from all sides, thousands of mountains, long smoke and sunset, and the lonely city is closed. A cup of turbid wine can lead to thousands of miles away, and the swallows have not yet returned home. "The Qiang pipes are covered with frost, and people are sleepless." Fan Zhongyan has only five poems that have been handed down to this day. This famous song "The Proud Fisherman" was written when he was guarding the frontier, and it has a grand artistic conception. , majestic and majestic, was the forerunner of the heroic poetry of the Song Dynasty.
After the failure of the Qingli New Deal, Fan Zhongyan was demoted to Dengzhou.
An old friend, Teng Zongliang, rebuilt the Yueyang Tower and sent a letter asking him to write a commemorative article. Having been in the officialdom for most of his life, his hair has already been dyed with frost. Looking back on the past like smoke, he can't help but have ups and downs in his thoughts. He summed up the sages of the past and his own life experience, poured out his understanding of life and society through the magnificent and magnificent sceneries of Dongting Lake, and finally uttered a sigh that will illuminate the future: "Be worried about the world first, and worry about the world later. Enjoy it."
"Yueyang Tower" is an eternal masterpiece that shines in the annals of history, and it is also a monument that makes future generations admire it with admiration. The famous saying "worry before the world is worried, and be happy after the world is happy" is a highly condensed thought of Fan Zhongyan's concern for the country and the people. It is also the code of conduct he pursued and practiced throughout his life. He did not care about his personal gains and losses, he was rigorous in running his family, frugal and honest. When he died and was buried, he didn't even have any new clothes.
Bao Fan Xingrong
Wang Yun, a poet of the Yuan Dynasty, once paid homage to the "Kaifeng Mansion Inscription" monument and wrote a sentimental poem: "Brush off the remaining monuments to see the glory, and Bao Fan will be there for thousands of years." See the title. The crows circle the cypresses in the courtyard, still afraid of the frost. "The poet lamented the fame of Bao Zheng and Fan Zhongyan, comparing corrupt officials to the crows flying around the cypress trees in the courtyard, even after thousands of years. , they are still scared and afraid, not daring to get close to these two famous names in the world.
Fan Zhongyan likes to play the piano, and his best piece is "Lu Shuang Song", so people also call him "Fan Lu Shuang". The sentence "still afraid of the power of frost and dare not live" in Wang Yun's poem should be taken from this, and it can also be said that it expresses more admiration for Fan Zhongyan.
Fan Zhongyan was 10 years older than Bao Zheng. He was appointed governor of Kaifeng 22 years earlier than Bao Zheng, and served for half a year. Bao Zheng served for a little longer, one year and one month. It is difficult to say how many earth-shattering deeds they will accomplish after they have been in office for a year and a half, but they all have upright, honest and honest characters, and they all care about the country and the people, so they have been loved by the people for generations. and admiration.
Among the people, Fan Zhongyan is not as famous as Bao Gong. Bao Gong is a superstar across the ages in novels, folk arts and drama stages. He has long become a household name and a well-known example of an upright official. However, in terms of historical contributions and political actions, Fan Zhongyan is far beyond Bao Zheng's reach. Even as the prefect of Kaifeng, he managed the capital decisively and efficiently. He was "as powerful as a god, and the officials did not dare to show off their evil deeds. The capital was solemnly governed." At that time, it was widely spread in the streets and alleys of the capital that "the imperial court has no worries because of Fan Jun. The folk song "If nothing happens in the capital, there is nothing to be desired". Whether it is political voice or political achievements, they are enough to be compared with Bao Zheng.
Of course, on the drama stage, the images of Fan Zhongyan and Bao Zheng are often combined into one. Reading Bao Gong's stories carefully, it is not difficult to find that Fan Zhongyan's shadow is active everywhere in them. The protagonist of some stories should even be Fan Zhongyan instead of Bao Zheng.
Fan Zhongyan was given the courtesy name Xiwen, and his posthumous title was Wenzheng; Bao Zheng was given the courtesy name Xiren, and his posthumous title was Xiaosu. On the stage of drama, when Bao Gong introduced himself to his family, he almost always said "surname Bao, name Zheng, courtesy name Xiwen", and some even called themselves "Bao Wenzheng". Bao Zheng's family was well off and he did not live in exile or endure hardships when he was young. However, Bao Gong on the drama stage suffered as much as Fan Zhongyan did since he was a child. The widely circulated story of Bao Gong, "The civet cat exchanges for the prince", is deduced from the historical event of "the storm of returning to power". In fact, when Fan Zhongyan advised the Queen Mother to return to power, Bao Zheng had only been a Jinshi for two years and had not yet become an official; Li Wanyi died one year earlier than Queen Mother Liu, and when Queen Mother Liu died, Bao Zheng had only been appointed Magistrate of Tianchang County and had not yet arrived in the capital. Be an official. Regarding this turmoil, he obviously did not have the opportunity or qualification to participate, let alone meet Concubine Li in the cold kiln, and make the emperor mother and son recognize each other.
It can be said that the artistic image of Bao Gong not only represents Bao Zheng, but also represents Fan Zhongyan. However, the image of "Bao Gong" is far from representing all of Fan Zhongyan.
Fan Zhongyan is a rare sage in history. His great benevolence and righteousness, great wisdom and courage, as well as outstanding political and literary talents are multifaceted and even all-round. As the famous contemporary Han Qi said, he is a saint who "lives up to the expectations of the ancients and can learn from those who come after him."