Han Yu was orphaned at the age of three and was raised by his brother and sister-in-law. He was homeless in his early years and had the ambition to study and manage the world. Although he was lonely and poor, he was hardworking and studious. At the age of twenty, he went to Chang'an to take the imperial examination, but failed in three tests. After he was twenty-five years old, he first passed the Jinshi examination, but failed in the three examinations of Erduo Hongci. He went to Dong Jin in Bianzhou and Zhang Jianfeng in Xuzhou to serve in the shogunate. Later he returned to Beijing and served as a doctor of Simen. After the age of thirty-six, he was appointed as the Supervisory Censor. Because he wrote a letter to discuss the drought and people's hunger, asking for tax exemptions and reductions, he was demoted to the Yangshan Order. During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, he returned to the north and became a doctor of the imperial family. He was promoted to the crown prince's right concubine, but failed to achieve his ambition. After the age of fifty, he first conquered Wu Yuanji from Pei Du, and then moved to the Ministry of Punishment. Because he remonstrated with the Buddha's bones, he was demoted as the governor of Chaozhou. Moved to Yuanzhou. Soon after he returned to the court, he held the posts of Guozi Jijiu, Minister of the Ministry of War, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Jing Zhaoyin. He died at the age of fifty-seven. Politically more accomplished. The poem strives to be dangerous and novel, powerful and powerful.
Wang Anshi was born in the fifth year of Tianxi (1021 AD) and died in the first year of Yuanyou (1086 AD). His courtesy name was Jiefu, his late name was Banshan, his nickname was Badger Lang, and he was named Duke of Jing. He is called King Jinggong and Mr. Linchuan in the world. A native of Linchuan in the Song Dynasty (now a native of Shangchi Natural Village, Dongxiang County, Fuzhou), Han nationality. An outstanding politician, thinker, writer, and reformer in the Northern Song Dynasty, he was one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. He has made outstanding achievements in the literature of the Northern Song Dynasty. His poems "learned from Du, so he was thin and strong". He was good at reasoning and rhetoric, good at using allusions, his style was powerful and powerful, his insights were brilliant, and he also had works with deep emotional charm. Author of "Collected Works of Mr. Linchuan". He was born in a family of small officials. Father Yi, also known as Shuizhi, was a military judge in Linjiang and served several prefecture and county magistrates in the north and south throughout his life. Anshi was good at reading, had a strong memory, and received a good education. In the second year of Qingli (1042), he ranked fourth in the Jinshi Ranking and served successively as a judge in Huainan, magistrate of Yin County, Tong magistrate of Shuzhou, magistrate of Changzhou, and officials in Tidian Jiangdong Prison and other places. In the fourth year of Zhiping (1067), when Shenzong ascended the throne, he ordered Anshi to know Jiangning Mansion and was summoned to become a Hanlin bachelor. In the second year of Xining (1069), he was promoted to participate in political affairs. From the third year of Xining, he was appointed Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi twice to implement new laws. After Xining resigned as prime minister in the ninth year, he lived in seclusion and died of illness in Zhongshan, Jiangning (now Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province). He was given the posthumous title "Wen". His political reforms had a profound impact on the social economy of the early Song Dynasty and had the characteristics of modern changes. He was hailed by Lenin as "China's eleventh-century reformer". .
[Edit this paragraph] Politician Wang Anshi
In the second year of Qingli (1042), Wang Anshi ranked fourth in Jinshi and served successively as the judge of Huainan (Yangzhou). He was appointed to the office of official affairs, informed Yin County (today's Ningbo, Zhejiang), and Shuzhou (today's Qianshan, Anhui). He was once transferred to Kaifeng and served as the judge of Qunmu Division. Later, he was transferred to the outside to inform about Changzhou affairs and to mention the official affairs of Jiangnan East Road Criminal Prison. He was subsequently called He served as the magistrate of the third division and knew how to make imperial edicts. Years of experience as a local official made Wang Anshi realize that the root cause of social impoverishment in the Song Dynasty lay in annexation. The crisis faced by the feudal rule of the Song Dynasty was that "internally, one must worry about the country, and externally, one must not fear the barbarians and the Di." Therefore, in the third year of Jiayou (1058), Wang Anshi submitted a letter of ten thousand words to Song Renzong Zhao Zhen, requesting a comprehensive reform of the laws since the early Song Dynasty to reverse the situation of poverty and weakness. Taking the fact that Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji, and others only wanted to "escape" without seeking reform, as an example, Wang Anshi had a sense of urgency for reform that was rare among scholar-bureaucrats, and loudly shouted: "In ancient times, "If we keep in mind today, we can still do something about the world's security and control of chaos, but when we can do something, don't rush to today." It requires that the reform of the law be implemented immediately; otherwise, the history of the Han Dynasty's fall by the Yellow Turban and the Tang Dynasty's fall by Huang Chao will surely repeat itself, and the Song Dynasty will also It will surely embark on the road of destruction. Feudal literati also placed their high hopes on Wang Anshi for governing the country and hoping that he would come to power as soon as possible. At the beginning of the Xining period, Wang Anshi, as an attendant of the Hanlin scholar, discussed the governance of the country with the young Song Shenzong, and was highly appreciated by Song Shenzong. In the second year of Xining (1069), Wang Anshi was appointed as the counselor of political affairs. The following year, he was promoted to prime minister and began to vigorously implement reforms.
The purpose of Wang Anshi's reform was to enrich the country and strengthen the army, so as to reverse the situation of poverty and weakness in the Northern Song Dynasty and consolidate the rule of the landlord class. Wang Anshi clearly stated that financial management is the top priority for the prime minister, explained the relationship between political affairs and financial management, and pointed out that "the reason for political affairs is financial management, and financial management is the so-called righteousness."
More importantly, before taking office, Wang Anshi believed that only on the basis of developing production can the country's financial problems be solved: "The world's wealth is generated by the world's strength, and the world's wealth is taken to provide for the world's expenses." Later, Wang Anshi continued to develop this idea, and once pointed out: "Those who have not done anything now are usually because of insufficient wealth, so I think managing finances is the most urgent thing now." , suppressing mergers, and turning to agriculture as an urgent matter." In this reform, Wang Anshi regarded the development of production as a top priority and placed it in a top priority position. Wang Anshi believes that to develop production, we must first "remove (workers') suffering, suppress mergers, and facilitate farmers", mobilize the enthusiasm of workers, and bring those idlers back to the front line of production. The quality of the harvest will be determined It depends on people and not on heaven. To achieve this goal, the state power needs to formulate corresponding guidelines and policies and carry out top-to-bottom reforms across the country. Although Wang Anshi emphasized the leading role of the state power in the reform, he did not agree with the state's excessive intervention in social production and economic life, opposed too many patent searches, and proposed and insisted on the idea that "it is not appropriate to question the law too much." and practices. Under the guidance of Wang Anshi's above-mentioned thoughts, the reformists formulated and implemented a series of new laws such as farmland water conservancy, green crops, exemption from labor, equalization of transportation, market transactions, exemption of money, and mining tax collection system, from agriculture to handicrafts and commerce. From rural to urban areas, extensive social reforms were launched. At the same time, the reformists headed by Wang Anshi reformed the military system to improve the quality and combat effectiveness of the army and strengthen their control over the vast countryside; in order to cultivate more talents needed by society, the imperial examination and school education systems were also reformed. Wang Anshi He personally wrote "Zhou Li Yi", "Book Yi" and "Poetry Yi", the so-called "New Meanings of the Three Classics", which provided new teaching materials for school education reform.
The reform violated the interests of conservatives and was opposed by conservatives. Therefore, Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister for the first time in the seventh year of Xining. In particular, because Wang Anshi, the designer of the reform, and Song Shenzong, the supreme presiding officer of the reform, had differences on how to reform the reform, Wang Anshi did not receive more support after he returned to the throne and could not continue to implement the reform. Coupled with the internal split within the reform faction and the death of his son Wang Yu, Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister for the second time in the ninth year of Xining and lived in Jiangning Mansion ever since. In the first year of Yuanyou (1086), Zhezong of the Song Dynasty, the conservatives gained power and all previous new laws were abolished. The reversal of the political situation made Wang Anshi deeply uneasy. When he heard that the exemption law had also been abolished, he couldn't help but said sadly and angrily: "That's it!" Soon he died of illness.
[Edit this paragraph] Historical evaluation
There are many different historical evaluations of the reforms implemented by Wang Anshi. During the Northern Song Dynasty, its opponents used the method of historical revision to criticize. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the reform was characterized again through the method of historical revision, and it was pointed out that Wang Anshi's reform led to the destruction of the Northern Song Dynasty (some say it was the Southern Song Dynasty court's attempt to shirk the royal family's responsibilities). Later dynasties used this as a basis to make such judgments about its reforms, so much so that there were articles specifically satirizing it in the Song and Yuan scripts.
However, some literati in Wang Anshi's hometown had some arguments for reasons of being from the same hometown, such as Lu Jiuyuan and others.
With the development of history into modern times, China has suffered unprecedented changes, and the voice for reform has been increasing day by day. Therefore, Wang Anshi’s reforms began to be positively evaluated. The main figures include Liang Qichao, Yan Fu, etc., who started from the needs of social reality. , calling for a spirit of reform. Later, more and more studies were conducted on Wang Anshi's reform, and it was promoted during the Republic of China.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wang Anshi was mainly evaluated from the perspective of class. Later, this method was gradually canceled and his reforms were viewed from the perspective of specific interests. The main researchers include Qi Xia, Deng Guangming, etc.
Overseas, Chinese-American historian Huang Renyu believes that Wang Anshi’s many reforms involved large-scale commerce and digital management in China at that time, but they were not compatible with the official culture of the time. They also lack the relevant technical capabilities to succeed.
In the second year of Zong Xining (1069), Wang Anshi began to implement new laws and adopt a series of reform measures.
The next year, Sima Guang wrote a long letter of more than 3,300 words to Wang Anshi, listing the disadvantages of implementing the new law and asking Wang Anshi to abandon the new law and restore the old system. "Reply to Sima's Remonstrance" is Wang Anshi's reply: "If you really blame me for being in office for a long time and not being able to do anything great to anoint the people, then I know that I am guilty. If you say that nothing will happen today, It’s just a matter of keeping one’s previous actions, which is not what one dares to know.” The so-called “Don’t be afraid of the clouds to cover your eyes, because you are at the highest level” is exactly what Wang Anshi said.
[Edit this paragraph] Wang Anshi's Reform
Because he was deeply appreciated by Shenzong, in the second year of Xining (1069), Wang Anshi was appointed as the counselor of political affairs. The following year, he was promoted to prime minister. Vigorously promote reforms and carry out reforms. Wang Anshi clearly stated that financial management is the top priority for the prime minister, explained the relationship between political affairs and financial management, and believed that only on the basis of developing production can the country's financial problems be solved. After taking office, Wang Anshi continued to develop this insight. In the reform, he regarded the development of production as a top priority and placed it in a top priority position. Although Wang Anshi emphasized the leading role of the state power in the reform, he did not agree with the state's excessive intervention in social production and economic life, opposed too many patent searches, and proposed and insisted on the idea that "it is not appropriate to question the law too much." and practices. Under the guidance of Wang Anshi's above-mentioned thoughts, the reformists formulated and implemented a series of new laws, launching extensive social reforms from agriculture to handicrafts, commerce, and from villages to cities. At the same time, the reformists headed by Wang Anshi reformed the military system to improve the quality and combat effectiveness of the army and strengthen their control over the vast rural areas. In order to cultivate more talents needed by society, the imperial examination and school education systems were also reformed. The reform offended the interests of big landowners and big bureaucrats. The empress dowagers of the two palaces, relatives of the emperor and conservative scholar-bureaucrats united to oppose the reform. Therefore, Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister for the first time in the seventh year of Xining (1074). The next year he paid homage to the prime minister again. After Wang Anshi returned to the prime minister, he could not get more support and could not continue to implement the reforms. In the ninth year of Xining (1076), he resigned as prime minister for the second time and lived in Jiangning Mansion. In the first year of Yuanyou (1086), Zhezong of the Song Dynasty, the conservatives gained power and all previous new laws were abolished. Wang Anshi died of illness soon after.
[Edit this paragraph] Literary writer Wang Anshi
Wang Anshi is not only an outstanding politician and thinker, but also an outstanding writer. In order to realize his political ideals, he closely linked literary creation and political activities, emphasizing that the role of literature lies first in serving society. He opposed the empty and weak writing style of Yang Yi, Liu Jun and others of the Xikun School, believing that "the so-called writers should only be useful to the world. The so-called poets are just like engraving and painting. Sincerely make Qiao County Exquisiteness does not have to be practical; if it is to be applied sincerely, it does not have to be clever and elegant. It must be practical and engraving and painting are its content." ("Book of Masters") It is precisely because Anshi believes that "it is useful to supplement. The "applicable" view of "the world" is regarded as the foundation of literary creation. Most of his works expose current ills and reflect social contradictions, which have a strong political color. Today there are "Wang Linchuan Collection", "Linchuan Collection Supplements", "Songs of Mr. Linchuan", etc.
Wang Anshi is one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". His prose is vigorous, concise, and unique. Most of them are expository essays in the form of books, tables, notes, prefaces, etc., expounding political opinions and propositions. Reform and innovation services. These articles address current affairs or social issues, with clear views and profound analyses. The long articles are comprehensive but not exhaustive, and the short articles are concise but not boring. "Emperor Shanren's Statement" is a representative work advocating social change. Based on an in-depth analysis of the internal and external difficulties of the Northern Song Dynasty, it puts forward complete reform proposals and shows the author's progress in "raising the diseases of the people and the flaws of governing the country" Thought. "A Hundred Years of Peace in the Dynasty" not only narrates and explains the situation and reasons of peace and quiet for more than a hundred years in the early Song Dynasty, but also sharply reminds the crisis-ridden social problems at that time. It hopes that Shenzong will make a beneficial contribution in politics and believes that "the great The time to do something is today." The policy that was implemented in the second year was like a prelude.
The poetic innovation movement launched in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty was strongly promoted in his hands, and he contributed to the eradication of the glitz and glamor that was prevalent in the early Song Dynasty. However, Anshi's literary ideas placed too much emphasis on "practicality" and often underestimated the role of artistic forms. Many of his poems often appear to be too heavy on argumentative elements, thin and lacking in image and charm. There are also some poems that discuss Zen and Buddhism, which are obscure and dry, but they still have the style of everyone. They are a star in the history of Chinese poetry.