Mo Ke Dao Xi said that Wang Anshi was "cool and addicted to books. Although he slept and ate, he could not put down his books". "The Biography of Wang Anshi in Song Dynasty" said: "An Shi is less good at reading and never forgets. His writing is flying, and if he is careless at first, he will eventually achieve something. Anyone who sees it will be impressed. " It can be said that Wang Anshi is a gifted scholar, and his obsession with books and the god of pen power make people lament. "An Shi's discussion on Gao Qi can help him argue, but it is for his own use and has the ambition to change the world." And ambitious, determined not to be a vulgar Confucian, apply what they have learned, and make a difference in politics.
At the age of 22, he was admitted to the Jinshi, and the bookmark was Huainan Judge. A few years later, he was appointed as the magistrate of Yin County. "Breaking the dam and breaking the pond is the benefit of land and water; Lend money to the people and make a promise to pay off. Give a new Chen Xiangyi, and foreigners will do it. " It seems to be very successful. I moved the capital to Changzhou, changed some prisons on Jiangnan East Road, and transferred three judges. Emperor Renzong of Shang Dynasty wrote "Rhetoric", pointing directly at the shortcomings of court politics, and put forward some preliminary improvement plans, which showed the sense of responsibility of a court official.
Wang Anshi is quiet and generous. Shao Bao recorded such a thing: Wang Anshi knew the imperial edict and Mrs. Wu bought a concubine for him. An Shi saw it and asked, "What do you do?" His concubine replied, "Madam asked me to wait on adults." An Shi asked again, "Where are you from?" My concubine said, "My husband was a small official. In the process of transporting food and grass, the boat capsized, and it was not enough to confiscate all the assets at home, so I sold it as compensation. " An Shi was quite moved and asked, "How much did your wife buy for you?" A: "900 thousand." An Shi called his wife and ordered the girl to be sent back, so that the husband and wife could feel the same way and gave her some money to tide her over.
After Wang Anshi became prime minister, he remained clean and simple, and lived a simple life. Du Xing magazine recorded a vivid story: when Wang Anshi was prime minister, his uncle Xiao came to Beijing to visit him, and Anshi invited him to dinner at his house. The next day, Xiao got dressed and left, thinking that the Prime Minister would give him a banquet. After entering the yamen and sitting down, "people are surprised without fruits and vegetables." After noon, Xiao felt hungry, but there was no sign of eating, and he dared not leave. After a while, I served two Hu cakes, four pork and a glass of wine. The food was served quickly, with only one dish of soup. Small families usually eat well at home. Faced with such a simple food mat, "I don't want to eat any more, but I only have a little cake in the middle, leaving four sides to take care of the food." I was ashamed and even retired. People say that the public is in phase, but that's all. "
Wang Anshi was indifferent to fame and fortune, and his life in his later years was even more desolate and peaceful. "Record" records: "The king will attack the government again and make it awarded to Jinling. When you arrive, you will be relieved of your post. I ask your permission to change your left servant's shooting. A few days later, I asked for the temple again, and I felt very tired. Judy is located 70 miles outside the south gate and 70 miles away from Jiangshan. On weekdays, you can take a donkey and walk through several temples. If you want to enter the city, you can take a boat and walk through the tidal ditch. Beggars have never sat on a horse's shoulder. There are four people living in the place, and the house is just sheltered from the wind and rain, and there is no wall. When you read it, you advised you to build a wall, but you didn't answer. "
Since the Southern Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi's political reform has been completely denied, and his new learning has also been criticized. Although Zhu, a Neo-Confucianism scholar, held a negative attitude towards Wang Anshi's political reform, he still praised Wang Anshi's personality and ambition: "What is the significance of the Anshi Rebellion in the contemporary world? At first, he saw the gods, focusing on the shortcomings of Emperor Wendi and Emperor Taizong, and then taking Zhuge Liang and Wei Yuancheng as the responsibility. This outstanding ambition is unheard of by Confucianism since Qin and Han dynasties, but for a while? Lu Xiangshan also spoke highly of Wang Anshi's personal integrity: "I am determined to abandon the vulgar and lewd habits, but I can get into my heart without moving a hair, and I am cold in white and public." "Sweep away the customs of folk customs and shake up the tradition of abuses. The Tao will be Confucius and Mencius, and the work will benefit the state and the public will."
The Biography of Wang Anshi, the History of Song Dynasty, said: "Zhu tasted the theory of" promoting the whole life with articles, especially taking moral aid as his own responsibility "in Anshi. When I met a god Sect, he became a prime minister. The world admired his achievements and saw the prosperity of two emperors and three kings several times. An Shi's primary task is to make money, benefit the army, cite evil spirits, refuse to be honest and straightforward, force people to be violent, and make everyone in the world lose joy. Those soldiers raped their heirs and abused them, and they are poisonous all over the world. As for the occasion of Baining Xuanhe, it is even more terrible. "This is the public opinion of the world."
This kind of "public opinion" judgment became the standard of later generations in the following hundreds of years. Logic: A man of such noble character has done such a thing that harms others and does not benefit himself in troubled times. It is really incomprehensible. Is it really so contradictory? Of course, Zhu and others have also pointed out some weaknesses in Wang Anshi's personality: "He is a human being, although his nature is clear, his tools tend to be chivalrous, he has lofty aspirations and practical learning." There are also some trivial matters such as Wang Anshi's casual life, sloppy clothes, sloppy appearance and strong personality, which still cannot be justified.
From the Qing Dynasty to modern times, many scholars reversed Wang Anshi's political reform. Especially since the second half of the 20th century, some historians have completely affirmed Wang Anshi's political reform according to Lenin's conclusion. In this way, Wang Anshi is a perfect example of a feudal bureaucrat from moral character to work effect. Is that really the case?
First of all, in the process of political reform, there are some things that are quite doubtful about Wang Anshi's character. For example, one day, when Zongshen talked about the bitter new law among the people, Wang Anshi said disapprovingly: "The people should complain even about the cold, summer and rain, and leave it alone!" The religious Sect was dissatisfied: "Don't the people even complain that the weather is cold and it rains in summer?" Boss Anshi was unhappy. He said he was ill and could not see the government. In the seventh year of Xining, there was a drought and famine, and various new expropriation laws still forced the victims to sell their land. The displaced victims can only help the young and old to flee to Kaifeng and other cities to beg for a living. Xia Zheng, who came to the gate of Kaifeng House, painted a picture of the people's hunger and cold, and wrote about the gains and losses of current politics. Because the normal channels were blocked, he disguised himself as an urgent document and sent it to the court by horse. Zongshen sighed at this. I can't sleep at night After I showed it to An Shi, the New Party beat Xia Zheng with a stick for sending horses. As a ruling minister, can you say that he is noble and virtuous, regardless of the lives of the people?
So at that time, some people thought that Wang Anshi was a big traitor like loyalty and faith, a big liar like faith, deceiving the world and stealing fame. In June of the second year of Xining, Lu Chenghui impeached Wang Anshi, who participated in politics, and accused him of heinous crimes: disdainful and rude; See profit and forget righteousness, and want to be named; Take the respect of the teacher's family, I don't know the instrument; Pretending to be the government and ignoring the public with emotion; Always resentful and complaining for personal interests; Show off Fu Wei and gain power; Nonsense, sacred heart, specializing in bullying and harming politics; Arbitrary and arbitrary, the spirit is in the same column; Alienate clans and collude with friends and traitors; Discuss wealth and profit and shake the world. Lu Hui Biography of Song History said: "Pure education, family mechanics, not making friends with people." "Teaching the Third Hospital to say that its responsibility is to play with the minister for a while and push it straight for a while." When he died, "everyone who heard it at home lamented it." Such an "upright" minister first attacked Wang Anshi's moral integrity, which may reflect some problems.
Shao extended some background stories of the above events: one day in the early years, Sima Guang, a bachelor of Hanlin, met Lu Hui and walked together. Sima Guang asked, "What will be said in the temple today?" Lu Hui held high the throne and said, "I want to impeach and participate in politics." Sima Guang was shocked: "Wang Anshi has always been a scholar, and the court is happy to get people. Why impeach him? " Lu Hui replied: "You said so. In fact, although Wang Anshi is sometimes famous, he is biased, ruthless, credulous and gratifying. " It seems reasonable to listen to him, but there will be problems when using it. If he is in the position of the general squire, he can bear it; If you are Minister Zaifu, the world will suffer! Sima Guang said, "I don't see anything wrong with Wang Anshi, so I'm afraid it's not appropriate to talk about it. Lu Hui replied: "The emperor is newly enthroned. He is young and strong. He will discuss state affairs with him day and night, and he will be in power for two or three days. If you are in power, you will lose, and the country will die! This is a disease of the abdomen and heart. I'm afraid it can't be cured in time. Can it be delayed? " Soon, some officials circulated Lu Hui's letter, and many people thought it was too much. Wang Anshi's political reform began, the new law became specialized, and the world rose and fell. Taiwan Province's admonition could not be changed, so some people lamented that Lu Hui could be described as knowing people and being good at their duties. Sima Guang was finally forced to quit the imperial court and settle in Luoyang. Every time I think about this, I sigh: "Lu Hui has foresight, but I am not as good as him. "
"Xiao Shi News Record" also records: "God-given frugality, because of the words of the old palace people, the monthly salary of concubines and princesses is extremely small when they are ancestors, which is beyond their reach. Wang Anshi said alone:' Your Majesty can manage money, although he can do it for himself. The emperor began to deliberately advocate young crops and help serve. This is the art of Anshi, so Lu Huizhong said,' It is wild on the outside and cunning on the inside. Among them, Wang Anshi advised God to manage money, saying that "the world is selfish", and he completely regarded "the world" as the private property of the emperor, so the emperor could naturally do whatever he wanted.
There is also Su Xun's "On Distinguishing Traitors", which compares Wang Anshi to the treacherous court official Wang Yan and Qilu who cheated the world in history. It is believed that Wang Anshi's "backing the old man's words and acting in harmony with foreigners" is really a "sinister thief", with a perverse temperament, unkind feelings and loyalty like a villain. His bad character can be summarized by many treacherous court officials in history, and it is asserted that once Wang Anshi is in power, the world will "suffer from it". It seems that Su Xun saw Wang Anshi's true face earlier than Lu Hui. In the Qing Dynasty, some people verified that this article was forged by Shao Bowen, and others had close ties with him. Another chapter of this book tells the secret.
In addition, The Biography of Wang Anshi in the Song Dynasty recorded An Shi's promotion to the top spot, and Huainan was appointed as the judge. Under the old system, Xu Xianwen asked for a job as a test librarian, but Anshi didn't ... If he wanted a job as a test librarian, he wouldn't. (Ouyang) Xiu Jian is an admonition officer, and his grandmother is tall. " "Russia straight Jixian. First of all, the life of pavilions has been repeatedly banned, and Anshi has repeatedly resigned; Scholar-officials said, I have no intention of being in the world, and I hate not knowing its face. The imperial court wants to be an American official every time, just because he has suffered. Next year, fellow practitioners will be concerned that the day of resignation will be very tiring. Close the door to pay, but refuse to accept; If collectors worship it, they will avoid the toilet; Recovery of officials from cases; From the last chapter to the ninth chapter, accept. " Some of these performances are beyond ordinary people and common sense, and there seems to be traces of deliberate show. Su Shi hit the nail on the head at the memorial ceremony at that time: "In the past, when Wang Anshi was in Renzong and Yingzong, there were many frauds, stealing his name or thinking that he could get it" (Discussion on Zhou Wei's Appreciation of Miscellaneous Children). A wise and foolish friend even refers to him as "selling himself to be king", that is, bargaining with the emperor (Biography of a wise and foolish friend in the Song Dynasty). He was a high-minded minister and enjoyed a good reputation at that time. "So Lv Gongzhu: Han Wei and Anshi all made a name for themselves: Ouyang Xiu, Wen Yanbo, self-recommended; Fu Bi, Han Qi, used as attendants also; Sima Guang and Fan Zhen are also good friends; I know I will spare no effort (An Shi Biography of Wang Songshi). There are Ceng Gongliang, Fan Chunren, Lv Hui, Yang Hui, Liu Qi, Mclynn Killman Liu, Liu Shu, Herry Liu, Su Shi and Su Zhe. In a word, countless people were dismissed and demoted by the admonition officer, and many of them dared to tell the truth.
Many of Wang Anshi's trustors are traitors and villains. Deng Wan, for example, has a thick skin and fawns on the new party, so he can be promoted to a higher position and make a fortune. His fellow villagers laughed at him, but he claimed, "Laugh at him and be a good official." Wang Yancuo, an official, once listed the villains in his reformist group as: tough and dangerous, Deng Wan is kind and soft, dependent, Han Jiang is harsh, treacherous, Cai is arrogant and cunning, and Zhang is full of contradictions. There are also Lian Hengfu, Wen and so on. An Shi introduced these people to important positions, supported their related activities and even presided over important political reforms. Therefore, many people think that the failure of Wang Anshi's political reform is mainly the result of "refusing to be a gentleman, being a villain and destroying the platform" in the future. The great traitor Cai Jing (whose brother Cai Bian is Wang Anshi's son-in-law) and his gang still belong to the political reform school on the whole, and they inherited Wang Anshi's political reform route of collecting money until the Northern Song Dynasty.
How to explain the above phenomenon? If Wang Anshi is a "gentleman", why should he associate with so many "villains"? If its reform is good for social progress, why is it mainly operated by some "traitors and villains"? In a word, can you tell whether Wang Anshi is a gentleman or a villain?