A Brief Introduction to Fan Zhongyan
Fan Zhongyan was one of the few politicians in the Song Dynasty who cared about the country and the people. From entering the official career at the age of 27 to his sudden death at the age of 64, during his decades of political career, he was concerned about the court and worried about the country and the people all the time. A more than 36-word "The Story of Yueyang Tower" has inspired the ancient times, and the famous sentence "Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later" has been passed down to this day. And this kind of sympathy is a portrayal of his personality all his life.
ever since he became an official of the imperial court, Fan Zhongyan has been worried about the world and committed himself to the country. "Every time I am grateful for talking about what's going on in the world, I am desperate for my life. For a while, the scholar-officials are arrogant and arrogant, and I sing it by Zhong Yan." However, people have ulterior motives, and his official career is sinister. The wood is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy it. Every time he makes a face, he is directly remonstrated, and he is always relegated. During the Tiansheng period, Song Renzong wanted to lead his ministers to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Liu, who knew it was not polite, but kept his mouth shut. Only Fan Zhongyan, who was in a humble position, was dismissed from the court (now Yongji, Shanxi) and moved to Chen Zhou (now Huaiyang, Henan). When Ren Yousi remonstrated, he was convicted of remonstrating Renzong's deposing Queen Guo and relegating Muzhou (now Jiande, Zhejiang). When Quanzhi Kaifengfu was in power, he again criticized Prime Minister Lv Yijian for being unfair in employing people because of the "Hundred Officials Map", and was accused of being a crony to discredit Raozhou (now Boyang, Jiangxi). "our capital teems with officious people, while you are alone and helpless and poor." Although he was banished from the DPRK for three times, he had no regrets and never felt depressed, saying that he "had confidence in one section and had no regrets after three times" and jokingly called his three banishments "three glories". When Ren Shenzhi was in politics, he was dismissed because of the failure of the "Qingli New Deal", and went out to Zhizhou (now Binxian County, Shaanxi Province) as a bachelor's degree in Senior Minister Hall, and never returned to the court again.
Even though he was humiliated, Fan Zhongyan did not change his original intention of worrying about the country and the people. When he went to Muzhou by boat, the wind and waves were fierce, and a family of more than ten people almost died in the belly of a fish; When the officials were demoted to Raozhou, none of the local officials in more than ten States along the way rushed out for fear of party disaster. The human feelings are warm and cold, and the world is cold. He doesn't even care about it. There is a poem saying: "Three out of the special city (the local governor called it a special city) is like silk, and the chic in the lent is better than the Zen master ... The world is honored and humiliated by He Zudao, and even the old man knows it." As usual, officials in the Song Dynasty showed their loyalty to the imperial court by thanking them every time they went to a new position. Fan Zhongyan thanked the table in Raozhou and said: "This is the county, and Chen Youyou is the party that manages the government; We must also stand in the DPRK and increase the festival of squatting. " It means that when you become a local governor, you must be simple in administration and clear in punishment, so as to keep the country safe and benefit the people; If you are an official in the DPRK, you should do your best to be loyal and straight. When he was in Runzhou, he said that he would "serve the country wholeheartedly and settle down." As long as it is beneficial to the country, even in adversity, he will not be tongue-tied and silent. When he learned about Dengzhou, he thanked the table and said, "Saving the people's illness is in one side, and the country is worried about thousands of miles." What a broad mind it is to save the people's diseases and worry about the country! Mencius said: "If you are poor, you will be immune to it, and if you are rich, you will help the world." Fan Zhongyan, on the other hand, is "thinking like a spring breeze, thinking about the world". As long as there is a little joy, he is willing to share it with the world. It is really commendable that a scholar-bureaucrat in a feudal society has such an open and aboveboard spiritual realm!
Fan Zhongyan's heart is in the imperial court, and he loves the people, whether he lives in the temple or far away from the rivers and lakes. During Ming Dow's reign, there was a locust plague in Jianghuai and JD.COM. Fan Zhongyan, then the right secretary, asked the court to send someone to give relief, but Renzong ignored him. He angrily asked, "What if you don't eat in the palace for half a day?" Injong ordered him to appease Jianghuai. He opened a warehouse for disaster relief, exempted the taxes on tea and salt, prohibited people from worshipping obscenities, and brought back the black grass eaten by the people to the capital, asking Renzong to spread it to the Sixth Palace to avoid extravagance. When he was involved in political affairs, he wrote off those mediocre people from the official register. Minister Fu Bi said, "It's easy to hook a pen, but I don't know that a family is crying!" Zhong Yan said, "Why does a family cry all the way?" Simply depose all these incompetent officials. When he was a local official, wherever he went, he cared about the people, promoted the advantages and eliminated the disadvantages, and benefited one side. When he was in Suzhou, he was hit by heavy rain, and thousands of miles of fertile land suddenly became a water country. In order to dredge the river, Fan Zhongyan trudged through muddy water many times. Knowing how to fight against the strongmen and rectify the official administration when opening the government, there is a ballad in Beijing that "the imperial court has no worries and Fan Jun, and the capital has nothing to do with Greek"; Raozhou produces tea, and the people there pay tribute to the court every year, which is a heavy burden. After Zhong Yan became the magistrate of Raozhou, he was exempted from this malpractice. In the sixth year of Qingli (146), when Zhong Yan learned that Dengzhou (now Henan) was a local drought, it didn't rain. At the age of 58, he personally led the people to dig wells and water the fields, which actually made the year rich and the family spared no one. He cultivated peaches and plums in the counties where he went, and Tao Zhu talents flourished, and he renovated state studies. His books sounded loud everywhere, and his string songs were endless. Hu Yuan, Sun Fu, Shi Jie, Li Gou and other famous Confucian scholars were all famous. Fan Zhongyan was a rare educator!
Even in some small things, Zhong Yan shows the wind of being a gentleman. When he learned about Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province), a subordinate died in his post, and his family was poor and unable to be buried. Zhong Yan not only donated money to hire a boat to transport the coffin, but also wrote a poem to Guanjin: "Ten mouths will be flooded, and when they come, they will be warm and sad. If Guan Jin wants to be a well-known surname, this is an orphan and widow ship. " Guanjin really gave care. When he was in Suzhou, he bought a homestead. Mr. Feng Shui divined that this place was a famous place. Zhong Yan said, "If you have it, you dare not take it personally." That is, donate the land to build a government school. He was charitable, returned to Suzhou Province, scattered all 3, silks with relatives and friends, and set up thousands of acres of land as a righteous village to support the poor among his relatives. While he is a minister, he doesn't eat meat unless he is a banquet guest, his wife wears a cloth skirt, and his daughter-in-law has a curtain made of silk. Zhong Yan thinks it is too extravagant and is not allowed to take it home. There are many such examples, which shows that it is his consistent character to help the needy and help the poor.
"A good horse never misses a lesson, but a martyr never misses a camp." Fan Zhongyan is such a person. Because he has the benefit of the government and the people, when Raozhou left office, the people felt Dai Qide, and all the people saw him off in an empty lane; When he was transferred from Dengzhou to Jingnan House, the people in Dengzhou blocked the way and asked him to stay, and the court granted him permission to stay. Later, he was transferred to Hangzhou, where the people of Dengzhou worshipped him at the Jiansheng Temple of Huazhou Academy, which he founded. And "on the day of death, everyone who hears it everywhere will sigh." It is rare for a politician in feudal society to be so loved by the people! Fan Zhongyan's optimism still has its practical significance today.