After writing the biography of Duke Zheng of Wei

Zeng Gong

I observed that Taizong often bowed himself to the opinions of his ministers, and the disciples of Duke Zheng of Wei were delighted with the situation. When one knows one's friends, no matter how big or small the matter is, one can always give advice. Although he is loyal to himself, he still wins the king. Then think about the reason why the Tang Dynasty was governed, why Taizong was called the wise ruler, and why the previous kings were not as good as him. Their origins are all from this. Those who can know that they have this can be found in their books. And when I saw that Duke Zheng had given remonstrances and criticisms to the historians, but Taizong was angry with him, and treated him with kindness and disrespect, and lost the meaning of the beginning and the end, he often lamented and regretted him, hated him and did not think about it, and learned more about how virtuous Duke Zheng was.

What is the role of the envoys of the husband and the ministers in serving the king? It is just the most upright way. The most upright way to be a great duke is not to destroy others' words to cover up one's own faults, or to take Xiaoliang to privately own the king. This is impossible. And there is something even more unacceptable: If you use remonstrance and scolding as a cover-up, since remonstrance and scolding are not beautiful, then who will be responsible for admonishing and scolding in future generations? Moreover, the kings of the previous generation had the beauty of accepting remonstrances, but later generations do not see it. This is not just a loss of justice for a period of time. , and will make the kings of later generations say that the previous generations did not criticize and criticize things, which is a sign of their laziness and taboo. In the last years of Taizong, the people knew this but did not say anything, and gradually became unaware of the gains and losses of the world. As for the defeat of Liaodong, they began to hate Zheng Gong for not being alive, and they did not know that the bud of regret came from this.

What a human beings, Yi Yin and Zhou Gong are! Yi Yin and Zhou Gong’s admonitions to their rulers were profound, and their actions were extremely urgent, so they were recorded in books without any attempt to hide them. To this day, Taijia and King Cheng are called virtuous kings, while Yi Yin and Zhou Gong are good ministers, as can be seen from their books. If the order was cut and abandoned at that time, and it became only a small concession, how could future generations rely on it for admonishment? And how could they know that they were virtuous and good? After the death of Jie, Zhou, You, Li, and the First Emperor, what were the admonitions of their ministers? Nothing to see. It is not a legacy of history, but the world dare not say so. Therefore, the remonstrances and criticisms are not passed down, which is the reason why these kings have done harm to future generations.

One might say: "The law of "Spring and Autumn" is taboo for respect, relatives, and wise people, so it is cruel." The reason why "Spring and Autumn" is taboo is evil. Isn't it evil to accept remonstrance? "But who burns the manuscripts?" He said: Who burns the manuscripts? It is not Yi Yin or Zhou Gong who did it. This is not the case. Why? To burn his manuscripts is to cover up your faults and to pass them on to future generations, which means that future generations will not see the rights and wrongs of the manuscripts, but will assume that their faults always lie with you, and your beauty always lies with you. How can you say that you love your king? Kong Guangzhi left aside what he said in his manuscript, and it is unclear whether it is good or evil. And burning it will confuse future generations, and you will know that it is not a treacherous plot of your own?

It may be said: "'It is different from this to say something new and come out with cunning words.'" He said: This is not the behavior of a saint. What I have said. Now, if this is the case, it also means that when the monarch and his ministers are discussing, they do not want to let their words leak to the ears of the people for a while, how can they prevent them from telling the world?

Hey! Hold on to yourself with integrity, and He who serves his lord and does not deceive all the world is the Duke of Zheng. I know his wise words. Isn't that true? Isn't that true?

"Listen to both, and you will be enlightened, but if you believe only, you will be dark." This is a loyal and admonishing saying by Wei Zheng in the Tang Dynasty. Its profound philosophy and far-reaching purpose have been passed down to later generations. As a generation of statesmen and important court ministers, Wei Zheng set out to safeguard the fundamental interests of the feudal ruling class and took admonishment as his own duty. He repeatedly advised Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty on "more than two hundred matters." His "Ten Thoughts on Admonishing Taizong" is even more popular. Emperor Taizong in the early Tang Dynasty was more enlightened. He believed that the emperor was managing everything and would always make mistakes. "If he only promotes the good and hides the bad, and only flatters others, the country will be in danger and will be destroyed." (Zhenguan Zhengyao, Volume 8, "On Tributes") ) Therefore, we can pay attention to appointing talents and accepting advice. Wei Zheng's suggestions such as "thin taxes and low taxes", "be prepared for danger in times of peace, abstain from extravagance and use frugality" were all adopted by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Their mutual trusting relationship can be regarded as a model of the relationship between feudal monarch and minister, and has always been praised by historians.

However, Tang Taizong was a feudal emperor after all. Later, because Wei Zheng "paid the historian with admonitions and criticisms", he was "wrathed by Taizong". As a result, Wei Zheng was "little in kindness and courtesy, and lost the meaning of beginning and end." In terms of the majesty of the emperor, and to maintain his sacred status in history, we could not tolerate raising Wei Zheng's worth by "accepting advice". Zeng Gongzheng felt this, so he wrote the historical treatise "Book of Wei Zhenggong Biography". The article uses historical facts as an example and explains from both positive and negative aspects that recording criticisms and remonstrances in the annals of history will have positive political effects and far-reaching historical impact. Then it refutes the feudal ethical concepts such as concealing the king's faults and covering up the historical truth one by one, and puts forward the viewpoint of "integrity" in the relationship between the king and his ministers. The article's discussion is slow and solemn, and the argument is concise and powerful. It can be regarded as a better reasoning prose.

Reasoning and discussion are the main forms of Zeng Gong’s prose.

His reasoning essays always pay attention to the rigorous composition and clear layout, and thorough reasoning is Zeng Wen's more prominent feature. This historical theory has a clear argument and uses historical facts as evidence to repeatedly discuss what is the true way of "governing a country". The author points out that "the reason why the Tang Dynasty was governed and why Taizong was called the wise ruler" was because Taizong was able to accept advice. However, the acceptance of remonstrance has always received mixed reviews in history. Therefore, the author puts forward his own opinions from the perspective of the relationship between monarch and ministers. The article points out that "the most righteous way" is the principle of action for the relationship between monarch and ministers. However, it is not advisable to "kill others to cover up one's own faults, and to take Xiaoliang to privately own the king". As for the understanding that "it is not beautiful to remonstrate and criticize", it is even more undesirable. Accepting advice is not only beneficial to "ruling the country", but also beneficial to future generations. But even a king like Taizong could not do this in the last years of his reign. As a result, he "gradually lost track of the gains and losses of the world", which led to the defeat of Liaodong. The article demonstrates the importance of accepting remonstrance from the two aspects of "what is governed" and "what is not governed" in the country and society by combining narrative and discussion.

This article does not stop at this point, but takes the topic one step further and analyzes the historical role and impact of the remonstrances being recorded in the annals of history. The article takes Yi Yin and Zhou Gong as examples, and points out that the reason why they are "good prime ministers" and that Taijia and Cheng Wang are "good kings" is because "their writings can be seen". It not only allows future generations to "know that they are virtuous and good", but also provides future generations with a basis for imitation. This was not the case for Jie, Zhou, You, Li, Shihuang and other kings. "The remonstrances of his ministers have not been seen", this "is not a legacy of his history, but the world dare not speak out." Therefore, "the remonstrances and criticisms have not been passed down." This is the root reason why "these kings are so cruel that they will do evil to future generations." Through the comparison of positive and negative historical examples, the conclusion is self-evident. The author incorporates reasoning into the narrative, which not only makes the truth thoroughly demonstrated, but also avoids straightforward narration, making the article ups and downs, and the facts and reasons add color to each other. This article elaborates on the topic from different aspects and angles. It not only cited Wei Zheng, Yi Yin, Duke Zhou and others as positive examples, but also cited kings such as Jie and Zhou as negative examples; it not only discussed the remonstrances from the perspective of ministers, but also discussed it from the perspective of kings. The article is analyzed line by line, cited repeatedly, and advanced layer by layer. The narration, quotations, and discussions in the article are intertwined, and the reasons are based on the facts, and the things are based on the reasons and are profound, which makes this historical theory reach the artistic state of "bending all the facts and seeing the thoroughness in the ordinary".

Zeng Gong’s prose inherits and carries forward the tradition of Chinese classical prose of “writing to convey the Tao”. He believed that the "great sage" in the world should "understand the mind of a saint for hundreds of generations, and understand the mind of a saint for hundreds of generations", "speak it with your mouth, practice it with your body, and keep the rest in writing." "You must look at the outside and the inside." ("The First Book of Ouyang Scholars") His brother Zeng Zhao said: "It is said that the gains and losses of governing chaos in ancient and modern times must be based on the success or failure of people who are virtuous and unfaithful, so that the affairs of the world must be based on the considerations of profit and loss. "The Scriptures." ("Death of a Brother") It is precisely because Zeng Gong's consideration of profit and loss must be based on the Scriptures and must end with benevolence and righteousness, so he has few works of lyrical descriptions of scenes, but many articles of discussion and reasoning. In his early years, Zeng Gong was deeply influenced by the Confucian ideas of "the people are the foundation of the state" and "the people are the most precious". When he was an official, he often tried his best to eliminate disasters for the people. As Han Wei said: "The government must be strict but not disturbing, and it must eliminate the suffering of the people and do what they want." ("Zeng Gong's Shinto Monument") Therefore, his political achievements are remarkable. Throughout his life, he focused on studying the ways of governing the country, cared about the administration of officials, and often had his own unique insights and principles on matters of admonishment and criticism. Zeng Gong's thoughts are not only practiced personally, but also reflected in his articles. In this historical treatise, the author praised Wei Zheng and clearly proposed the idea of ??making public the content of his remonstrances to "tell the world". In fact, this was intended to publicize the shortcomings and mistakes of the feudal emperors. This undoubtedly entailed certain political risks at the time. Perhaps with Wei Zheng as an example and the desire to "revitalize the world and serve the country" ("Shangtian Zhengyan Shu"), Zeng Gong's courage to write for "ruling the country" was doubled. Zeng Gong's articles are often "all based on events", so they are rich in content and rarely empty talk. Although this article is a eloquent discussion, it should be done in a concise and well-founded way. Although it is passed on, it does not feel preachy or redundant.

"Book of Wei Zhenggong Biography" is a "postscript". As a literary style, "Postscript" is actually the same category as "Preface". What is commonly known as "postscript" is the "preface" written at the end of the book or at the end of the text. The meaning of "Postscript" is "躺ye" ("Erya·Explanation"), "褺 Ye". ("Hanshu"). Although the two are basically similar, there are slight differences in content. Generally, the "preface" is detailed, while the "postscript" is simple. The content of this "postscript" belongs to the category of reasoning. Although reasoning writing originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, it was not until the publication of Mozi that it could be said to have real reasoning writing.

Later, during the Warring States period, hundreds of schools of thought lobbied and argued, and reasoning prose developed greatly. However, there was no single piece of reasoning in this period. It was not until the Han Dynasty that there were single-piece reasoning prose written by literati writers.

The Tang and Song dynasties were the prosperous stages of reasoning prose creation. Zeng Gong's "Shu Wei Zhenggong Zhuan Hou" is a piece of writing that is based on the past but not based on the past. It is unique for its clear, simple and harmonious language. The language of this article is mainly clear and simple in expression, but it does not lose the charm of changes, ups and downs everywhere. The first sentence of this article: "I have observed that Taizong Chang Qu had already obeyed the opinions of the ministers, and the disciples of Wei Zhenggong were happy to meet him. He was aware of his own situation and the size of the matter, and all of them were admonished and criticized." The author uses family-style language, Talking eloquently makes people feel relaxed and friendly. When the article criticizes the feudal ethical concepts on the issue of remonstrance, the text appears plain, clear, and without the air of a classic scholar. But the logic is simple and easy to understand. There are many interrogatives and rhetorical questions used in the article, such as "What are the envoys of your husband and ministers doing to you?" "The reason why husband's "Spring and Autumn" is taboo is evil. Is it evil to accept remonstrance?" Although it is a commonly used sentence. Style also adds color to the writing. Zeng Gong has always opposed "resigning from work to harm literary works", but still advocates "winning both literary and literary works". In order to make the article "sufficient to express difficult feelings", Zeng Gong also pays great attention to the arrangement of language levels and the arrangement of sentence patterns in his compositions. In the second paragraph of this article, a question is first used as a question, and then a declarative sentence is used as an answer. Another rhetorical question is used in the middle of the paragraph, but there is no answer after it. The second half is only composed of two longer sentences, with a full and coherent tone, which makes the article form different language levels and intonations. The tone of the entire text is swaying and the sentence patterns are changeable, showing Zeng Gong's extraordinary ability to control language. Not only that, this historical theory also pays attention to the pronunciation and rhyme of the language. In the first paragraph of this article, the first sentence is longer, the second sentence is shorter, the third sentence is longer, the fourth sentence is shorter, and the last sentence is the longest. The interlaced use of long and short sentences creates a strong sense of rhythm in the article, which makes the reading rhythmic. The article very skillfully integrates emotions, events, and reasons into the sound and rhyme of the language. Although this historical treatise is not Zeng Gong's famous work, it better reflects Zeng Wen's reasoning and language characteristics.

Zeng Gong's prose shows a plain and tactful style in terms of narrative, reasoning and lyricism. His prose occupies an important position in the history of Chinese prose. However, compared with Han Yu, Su Shi and others, Zeng Gong's reasoning prose seems to lack the unrestrained and overbearing momentum. As far as this article is concerned, it is fair to say that its writing is "more than elegant but not exciting enough". This is also an issue worth noting in the process of research and evaluation of Zeng Gong’s literary works.

Author: Han Da (***3678 words)

[Citation information] Editor-in-chief Guan Yongli. Appreciative Dictionary of Eight Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Taiyuan: Beiyue Literature and Art Publishing House. 1989. No. 1219 -1220-1221-1222-1223 pages.