Fan Zhongyan was one of the few politicians who cared about the country and the people in the Song Dynasty. 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 always paid attention to the court and worried about the country and the people. A more than 360-word "Yueyang Tower" is inspiring through the ages. The famous sentence "Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later" has been passed down to this day. And this sympathy is a portrayal of his personality all his life.
Since becoming an official, Fan Zhongyan has been concerned about the country and the people and devoted himself to serving the country. "Every time I talk about what is happening in the world with gratitude, I don't care about myself. At that time, the scholar-bureaucrat was arrogant, so I sang it from Zhongyan. " However, people have ulterior motives, and his official career is sinister. The beauty of wood in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Every time I make a ghost face, I am directly remonstrated and always relegated. In the heyday, he wanted to lead the minister to the emperor Liu Zhushou. Liu knew it was impolite, but he kept his mouth shut. Only the humble Fan Zhongyan was dismissed by the court (now Yongji, Shanxi) and moved to Chen Zhou (now Huaiyang, Henan). When Ren Yousi remonstrated, he was convicted of remonstrating Renzong to oust Queen Guo and demote him (now Jiande, Zhejiang). When Quan Zhi Kaifeng was in power, he was accused of nepotism to discredit Raozhou (now Boyang, Jiangxi Province) because of the criticism of Prime Minister Lv Yijian's unfair employment in Baiguan Map. "Our capital is full of nosy people, but you are lonely, helpless and poor." Although he was demoted to the DPRK for three times, he never felt depressed, calling himself "confident for one quarter and regretless for three quarters" and jokingly calling himself "three honors" for three times. When he was in politics, he was dismissed because of the failure of the "Qingli New Deal" and went out to (now Binxian County, Shaanxi Province) as a college minister and never returned to the court.
Even if he is humiliated, Fan Zhongyan will not change his original intention of worrying about the country and the people. He went to Zhou Mu by boat, and it was very stormy. A dozen people in the family almost died in the belly of a fish. When officials demoted Raozhou, none of the local officials in more than ten States rushed out because of the fear of the party. Human feelings are cold and warm, and the world is cold. He doesn't care. There is a poem saying: "Three special cities (called special cities by the local governor) are like silk, and the chic in the lent is better than that of the Zen master ... Even the old people know the honor and disgrace of the world." As usual, officials in the Song Dynasty thanked them every time they arrived at a new position to show their loyalty to the imperial court. Fan Zhongyan thanked Biao in Raozhou and said, "This is the county, and Chen Youyou is the party in charge of the government; We must also stand in North Korea and increase the festival of kneeling. " It means that when you become a local governor, you must simplify administration and punish clearly, so as to protect the country and benefit the people; To be an official in the DPRK, you should 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, he will not be tongue-tied and silent even in adversity. Knowing the news of Dengzhou, he thanked Biao and said, "The disease of saving the people is on one side, and the worry of the country is thousands of miles away." What a broad mind it is to save the people from illness and worry about the country! Mencius said, "If you are poor, you will be alone, and if you are rich, you will help the world." Fan Zhongyan is "thinking like a spring breeze and 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 aboveboard spiritual realm!
Fan Zhongyan's heart is in the imperial court, and he loves the people, whether living in a temple or far away from the rivers and lakes. During the reign of Ming Dow, locust plagues occurred in Jianghuai and JD.COM. Fan Zhongyan, then the right minister, asked the court to send someone to give relief, but Renzong ignored it. He asked angrily, "What if you don't eat in the palace for a long time?" Renzong ordered him to appease Jianghuai. He opened a warehouse for disaster relief, exempted the tax on tea and salt, prohibited the people from worshipping prostitution, brought the black grass eaten by the people back to the capital, and asked Renzong to spread it to the Sixth Palace to avoid extravagance. When he took part in political affairs, he erased those mediocre people from the official list. Fu Bi, the minister, said, "It's easy to tick a pen. I don't know if a family is crying!" Zhong You asked, "Why did the family cry all the way?" Simply dismiss all these incompetent officials. When he was a local official, everywhere 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 a rainstorm, and thousands of miles of fertile land suddenly became a water town. In order to dredge the river, Fan Zhongyan trudged through the muddy water many times. When opening the government, he knew how to crack down on the strongmen and rectify the bureaucracy. In Beijing, there was a ballad that "the imperial court was carefree and Fan Jun, and the capital had nothing to do with Greece"; Raozhou produces tea, and the people there pay tribute to the court every year, which is a heavy burden. When Zhong You became the magistrate of Shangrao Prefecture, he was relieved of this disadvantage. In the sixth year of Li Qing (1046), Zhong You learned that there was a drought in Dengzhou (now Henan). At the age of 58, he personally led the people to dig wells and water fields, which really made this year a bumper harvest. He planted peaches and plums in the county where he went, and there were many talented people in Tao Zhu. He innovated Chinese studies. His books are ringing everywhere, and his string songs are endless. Hu Yuan, Sun Bin, Shijie, Li Gou and other famous Confucian scholars are all famous. Fan Zhongyan is a rare educator!
Even in some trivial matters, Zhong Yan showed the wind of modesty. When he learned about Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), one of his subordinates died in the line of duty and his family was poor and could not be buried. Zhong You not only donated money to hire a shipping coffin, but also wrote a poem to Guan Jin: "Ten mouths will be flooded, and it will be warm and sad when you come. If Guan Jin wants to be a surname, this is a lonely boat. " Guan Jin really gave care. When he was in Suzhou, he bought a homestead. Mr. Feng Shui speculated that this place is a famous place. Zhong You said, "If you have it, you dare not go to people." That is, donate land to build an official school. He was charitable and returned to Suzhou, where he distributed all 3,000 silks to his relatives and friends, and set thousands of acres of land as a righteous village to help the poor among his relatives. And he is a minister, unless he is a banquet, his wife wears a cloth skirt and his daughter-in-law has a silk curtain, otherwise he won't eat meat. Zhong Yan thought it was too extravagant to take home. There are many such examples, which show that it is his consistent character to help the needy.
"Good horses don't leak, martyrs don't care about the camp." Fan Zhongyan is such a person. Because he has the benefits of the government and the people, when Raozhou left office, the people felt that Dai Qide and all the people saw him off in the empty lane; When he transferred from Dengzhou to Jingnan House, Dengzhou people blocked the way and asked him to stay, and the court allowed him to stay. Later, he was transferred to Hangzhou, and the people of Dengzhou worshipped him in the Jiansheng Hall of Huazhou Academy, which he founded. And "on the day of death, people who hear 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.