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Qingzhou, Shandong Province, is one of the oldest administrative regions in China. After Dayu controlled the floods, he divided China into nine states, namely Qingzhou, which is recorded on the Yu tribute map. Nowadays, when people come to Qingzhou, they mainly do two things. One is to go up the mountain to pay homage to Fan Zhongyan, and the other is to pay homage to Fan Zhongyan in the city.

Five miles south of Qingzhou City, there is a mountain named Yunmen Mountain. Looking from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, there is a faint word "Shou" on the cliff. This is the miracle that people want to see. A path with stone steps turns upwards, with green cypress trees on both sides, spreading branches and ravines. The trees are not very thick, but they are strong and straight. They are all grown on rocks. The roots of the tree run along the stone wall, like lightning cracking the sky; the trunk breaks out of the stone, like a strong wind.

Occasionally, there are one or two trees blocking the road. They were left behind because they could not bear to be damaged during road construction. The bark of the trees has been touched by tourists and is shiny. Looking around, one can feel the details of the past.

After a while we climbed to Wangshou Pavilion in the middle of the mountain and took a rest here. The big red longevity characters on the stone wall at the top of the mountain were clearly visible. Looking back at the foot of the mountain, the market retreats far away, and the countryside is like a weave. After gathering enough courage, I reached the top of the mountain. At this moment, looking up at the word "Shou", it looked like a huge multi-masted ship, carrying clouds and mist, as if it was about to hit my head.

The characters on the body of a young man traveling with me are not as high as the character "inch" in the name of longevity. This is the largest longevity character in the world, and it is a masterpiece of calligraphy. Japanese calligraphy experts often come across the sea to worship it. This is the moment when King Heng of Qingzhou celebrated his birthday in the 39th year of Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty. It has been more than 400 years ago. There was still snow on the mountain, and I looked at this miracle carefully in the cool spring breeze.

This character is 7.5 meters high and 3.7 meters wide. I don’t know how it was written or carved in the first place, but it still maintains the structure and the meaning of the strokes. This King Heng created miracles, but his purpose at that time was not art. Just like the Wei stele unearthed from the ancient tomb, which we regard as a masterpiece of calligraphy today, it was just an ordinary stone next to the deceased.

Source: From "An Eternal Fan Zhongyan" by modern writer Liang Heng.

Extended information:

Character introduction:

Fan Zhongyan (August 29, 989 - May 20, 1052), courtesy name Xiwen, Han nationality. A native of Wuxian County, Suzhou. An outstanding thinker, politician and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Fan Zhongyan lost his father when he was young, and his mother remarried to the Zhu family of Changshan, so she changed her name to Zhu Shuo. In the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1015), Fan Zhongyan studied hard and passed the exam, and was awarded the title of Guangde Army Manager to join the army. He welcomed his mother back to raise him and changed his name back to his original name. Later, he successively served as magistrate of Xinghua County, school administrator of Mi Pavilion, general magistrate of Chenzhou, magistrate of Suzhou, etc. He was repeatedly criticized for his impartiality and outspokenness.

In the first year of Kangding (1040), he and Han Qi were appointed deputy envoys of Shaanxi Economic Strategy to appease and recruit, and adopted the policy of "garrisoning the fields for a long time" to consolidate the northwest border defense. In the third year of Qingli (1043), he served as the counselor of political affairs and launched the "Qingli New Deal".

Soon after, the New Deal was frustrated and Fan Zhongyan was demoted from Beijing. He knew Pizhou, Dengzhou, Hangzhou and Qingzhou. In the fourth year of Huangyou's reign (1052), the official name was changed to Yingzhou, and Fan Zhongyan took up the post with help from the sick. He died on the way at the age of sixty-four. Posthumously presented to the Minister of War and Duke of Chu, he was given the posthumous title "Wenzheng" and was known as Duke Fan Wenzheng in the world.

Fan Zhongyan has outstanding political achievements and outstanding literary achievements. He advocated the idea of ??"worrying before the world's worries, and rejoicing after the world's happiness" and the integrity of people with lofty ideals, which had a profound impact on later generations. There is "Collected Works of Fan Wenzhenggong" handed down from generation to generation.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Fan Zhongyan