Biography of the characters
Yu Fu, courtesy name Zishu. He was born in Sanyang (now Shanyang Village, Shanyang Town), the first capital of Gutian County, into an educational family in the fourth year of Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty (1168). When Yu Fu's grandfather Yu Pi was hired as a private school teacher by a family named He in Ningde County, he took his young son Yu Konghui there. In the school, Kong Hui and He family's daughter Renjuan were studying at the same table. Seeing that the Yu family was poor, Renjuan often gave money to help, and fell in love with Kong Hui. Later, the He family thought that although Kong Hui was poor but ambitious, they married Renjuan to Yu Konghui.
When He was pregnant with Liujia, his brother went to Shanyang to visit his sister. Seeing that his sister's family was in dire straits, he returned to Ningde with them. Mr. He gave birth to a boy in his natal family, and this was Yu Fu. Therefore, although Yu Fu's ancestral home is Shanyang, he grew up in Ningde.
Yu Fu started school at the age of seven. At the age of fourteen, he studied under Zhang Han, a famous scholar from Ningde (Jinshi in the second year of Qiandao). With his guidance, he studied hard behind closed doors, often to the point where "his pen withered, his hands turned into calluses, and his eyesight became blurry." Strange and dizzy." Gradually, he covered ancient and modern learning, and was especially proficient in "Zhou Rites". Uncle Yu Fu supported his nephew as much as he could because of his outstanding talent and affection.
In the 16th year of Chunxi (1189), his uncle raised funds for Yu Fu to go to Beijing to take the exam. When Yu Fu set out for Lin'an (now Hangzhou), Yu Konghui went to Ningde Wharf to see him off and recited a Qilu poem for his son: "Father and son only study Confucianism when they are together, and they often use pens and inkstones instead of plows. Now you are approaching Danque with a sword in hand, and I will The old house is poor and drunk, and there is no need to hesitate when traveling for thousands of miles. In February of next year, I will send you peace of mind and the letter."
The first year of Shaoxi. 1190), Yufu became a Jinshi in Gengxu Science. When he was in charge of the Imperial Court, Guangzong Zhao saw what he was doing, and he had insightful opinions on state affairs. He called him "straightforward but not critical" and promoted him to the first place. At the roll call of Chuan Lu, there were 587 people with Jinshi rank and family background (according to "History of the Song Dynasty" and 557 people in "Wenwen Tongkao"). When Yu Fu was promoted to Jinshi, Emperor Guangzong summoned him to serve in the imperial court. Seeing that he was straightforward in his speech and did not attack the shortcomings of others, he was very satisfied and promoted him to the rank of Jinshi. If you don't keep your basic duties, you will be worthy. You will give me your loyal words and I will continue to care for the people and the country. I will give you a banquet with Qiong Linxiu. I am looking forward to reading the poem. After regaining his gratitude, he wrote the poem "He Yu Ci Deng Di": "Winds, tigers, clouds and dragons are not accidental. I believe that there are many sages in the prosperous times. Yu Xiang's education was deeply influenced by Shen Ze, and the Han Palace consultation was ashamed of the first extension. Shi Brown suddenly touched Qiong's banquet. Favored, I gave you a poem and listened to the sound of the jade. I love the king and worry about the country, and I dare to live up to the banquet of the king of Zhou."
When Yu Fu went to the palace, he sent his father's message before the test. , Xu Mian presented poems and reported them to the emperor one by one. Guangzong ordered him to return to Gutian to pay homage to his ancestors before taking up his post, and was awarded the post of military judge of Hongzhou (ruling today's Nanchang). Yu Fu returned home with the imperial plaque "No. 1 Scholar" and an imperial edict. The imperial edict contains the officials Yu Fu was awarded and the titles given to his parents. The Shanyang clan wrote a congratulatory message for him: "The Qiaomu family has accumulated virtues for hundreds of years; the flying dragon ascends to the top, and its high reputation is spread all over the world." Before people changed. ”
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Jinshi were generally only awarded official positions below the ninth rank. It was not until Renzong of the Song Dynasty that they were given more important positions, but the top three were only awarded to Jiancheng and Tongpan. (deputy governor of the state) and other minor officials. Yu Fu was first appointed as a judge of Hongzhou (now Nanchang, Jiangxi), and soon changed his official position and was awarded the title of Xuanyi Langqian Shuzhen Nanjun Jiedu judge. Eight years later, Ningzong called Yu Fu to the National History Museum to serve as a recorder and reviewer, and he was promoted to Secretary and Provincial Writer. Yu Fu served as an official in the court for fifteen years. During his tenure, he was considerate of the people's sentiments, built farmland and water conservancy, and restored historical sites. He had excellent political achievements, but his official position was not high. In November of the second year of Qingyuan (1196), he was specially awarded the title of secretary and provincial book assistant. Lang (eighth grade) is also the reviewer of the Record Academy. Finally tired of officialdom, he retired and returned to his hometown in the first year of Kaixi (1205).
When passing by Xianxia Ridge in the Eighteenth Capital of Ningde, Yu Fu wrote a poem (engraved on the stone wall by later generations) saying: "I passed here twenty years ago, and my travels were shy and I was short on pen. The scenery of the mountains and the people came from time to time. Well, my poetic heart is as wide as the sea. The old things have disappeared, and the new voice is ashamed of the officials on the roadside. "Pavilion", the wooden master who wrote the names of ancestors, clan names, family titles and officials was placed in the pavilion. Later, he built a garden and pavilion in the south of Ningde County, where he sang wine and drank wine. About seven or eight years later, he died of illness in Xiaoxuan Tower, south gate of Ningde County. He was buried in Jinzhang Mountain (Mingkeng Yujiashan) in Jiudugui Village, Ningde, and enshrined in the Xiangxian Temple. The original Zhuangyuanli in the county seat has been abandoned.
He has written fourteen volumes of "Lei Shuo of the Book of Rites", "Zuo Shi's Compilation of Lei" and "Sacrifice"; "Feng Ji Zhu", "Collection of Yu Zhuangyuan" and other poetry collections. His main achievement is that he is the first scholar in Eastern Fujian
What Yu Fu said at the farewell banquet of Lantian tribesmen when he first took office in Hongzhou is still very convincing: "Although Yunhe Mountain is amazing, it is a real species." Isn’t the Jade from Lantian, the Galaxy Sect, originless?” The grave of Yu Fu’s great-grandfather Bang Xian is at the pier at the east end of Shanyang Village, and is commonly known as the “Tomb of the Number One Scholar” by the people of Shanyang. After Yu Fu was appointed as an official, he returned to Gutian to worship his ancestors, built three buildings named "Shisi Tower", and wrote "The Story of Shisi Tower in Xi'an".
Yu Fu followed his father who made a living as a traveling scholar since he was a child. He followed the road where Zhu Xi once left the ink fragrance and came to Changxi, now Ningde. The imperial court of the Southern Song Dynasty adopted a national policy of emphasizing literature over military affairs. "Schools were established all over the world." Poor students also had the opportunity to attend school. Children in school were "given official food every day" so that they could study with peace of mind. After Yu Fu came of age, he studied under Zhang Han, a famous Confucian and Neo-Confucian scholar in Ningde, Ningde, and became successful in his studies. At that time, the Southern Song Dynasty court was located in a corner, and the political center moved south to Hangzhou. It was more convenient for Fujian students to go to Hangzhou to take the imperial examination. Therefore, Fujian has "a large number of talented people from the Song Dynasty" and the number of Jinshi scholars has reached 7,144 (recorded in "History of the Imperial Examination"), and Shanyang's Yu Fu benefited from the favorable timing and location.
In the past, there was a saying that the magistrates of Gutian and Ningde counties were arguing over the number one scholar. In fact, it cannot withstand scrutiny. There is no record of the number one scholar in Gutian county annals.
Gutian Shanyang, known as "Lantian" in ancient times, is a village with a long history and a rich collection of humanities. Lantian Creek flows slowly by the village and is the source of Aojiang River. According to historical records, great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties such as Ouyang Xiu and Wang Anshi had close friendships with famous people in Lantian. Zhu Xi once lived here and set up an academy to give lectures. At the foot of Shiyan Mountain, 3 kilometers northwest of Shanyang Town, there is the majestic and majestic Cicada Forest Temple of the Yu family. It was built in the fourth year of Jingde in the Song Dynasty (1007 AD). The temple faces north and faces south. It is a wooden building and covers an area of ??1321.8 square meters. On the central axis are the main gate, Huabiao gate pavilion, downstream corridor, front patio, middle hall, back patio and ancestral hall. The main hall is 5 rooms wide and 3 rooms deep. It has a mixed wooden frame with buckets and raised beams, a double-sloped roof, and a wind and fire wall. The couplets on both sides of the ancestral gate are: "The bells and spirits of the lions are thick, and the cicadas and rivers are long and the holes are long." There is a Huabiao gate pavilion inside the gate. There are Ruyi brackets on the door, which are protruding layer by layer to support the eaves. In the middle, there is a vertical plaque "Zhuangyuan Jiji". The plaque on the square pavilion is "Cicada Forest Temple Cultural Relics Museum". The cultural relics museum has There are more than 300 cultural relics in the collection. In the main hall of the main ancestral hall of the ancestral hall, there is a six-character plaque in regular script: "Tan Yue Zhu Shangshu Hall". There are more than 20 ancient plaques hanging on the beams in the ancestral hall, such as Zhuangyuan, Wenkui, Wukui and Jinshi. There are 24 pairs of ancient couplets on the pillars in the hall, and the overall building is well preserved. On the left and right sides of the flagpole of more than 100 square meters in front of the temple are dozens of flagpole stone tablets with famous scientific names from past dynasties, which are witnesses of the talent and talents that have been cultivated in Cicada Forest Temple from generation to generation. Walking into the vermilion gate, there is a Hua Dai plaque that reads "No. 1 Scholar and No. 1" hanging high on the Keming Pavilion at the second entrance. It was the No. 1 scholar in Eastern Fujian in the first year of Chunxi of the Song Dynasty, and it was also the No. 1 No. 1 scholar in the country at that time. The honorary plaque of the ninth generation Sun Yufu. The Yu family tree collected in the temple records the deeds of this number one scholar. Yu Fu said in "Xi'an Shisi Lou Ji": "My family has descended from Shangshu to the top, and all the ancestors have passed down to the descendants of the twelfth generation. Each clan has its own title, and it has benefited for hundreds of generations." 椤". In addition to Yu Fu, the number one scholar, the descendants of Yu's Cicada Forest Temple have also given birth to a number of figures who made important decisions in the imperial court, including Yu Jing, Prime Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Yu Shen, Prime Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Yu Xiang, the Minister of Rites, and more than 50 other people. Jinshi.
Why is it that a family that only lives in a small village has such a large number of talented people throughout history? This requires some exploration into the cultivation of future generations by the Shanyang Yu clan and the historical favor of Shanyang.
In 968 AD, Yu Renchun, the sixth generation of the Shanyang Yu clan, passed away from Yong. After resigning as magistrate of Zhen (now Luoyuan) County, he recited "I am happy to return to my hometown. My family is poor and I am at peace with myself. I have three to five acres of land and plant bamboos for fishing poles." After spending all his life savings and thinking hard, he "founded a school in the north of the village with a suitable location... taking advantage of the beauty of the mountains and rivers, and the blue fields in front of it." Lam Tin Academy founded by Eu Ren Chun started as a family school. After many reconstructions, it became the highest institution of higher education in Shanyang, and all the children from the village were enrolled in Pan Tian Academy. After Eu Yan Chun built Lam Tin College, he was still not satisfied. He felt that with a school, students should also be provided with the material conditions to afford schooling. "Renchun Gong left more than 70 acres of farmland, and he earned eighty shi of grain every year." It was specially used for his children and grandchildren to study and have a taste of it when they were old.
These fields are the best paddy fields in the fertile fields of Pingchou. The family named them "oil lamp field", which means to add fuel to the children and grandchildren who are studying. They are only allowed to cultivate in turns and will never be sold. They are only allowed to increase, not decrease. After each harvest, apart from the necessary commission for the cultivators, the rest, except part of the annual sacrifices to ancestors, is used as a reward for the children and grandchildren of the family to study. The amount of this kind of reward is sometimes very considerable: if only one person in the family studies that year, then all the income belongs to that person; if two people study in the next year, they will share it equally. And so on. Therefore, later on, when there were more children and grandchildren who were studying, the share gradually decreased, so each branch branch jointly purchased land as the "oil lamp field" of the branch. In this way, regardless of whether the family is rich or poor, the children who can study hard will receive the support of the whole family without discrimination, and many students are lucky enough to receive the double "Oil Lamp Award" from the ancestral family and the branch family. This move laid a solid material foundation for the study of future generations of the Yu family. This custom was followed for hundreds of years until it declined in the late Republic of China.
Lam Tin Academy not only occupies an advantageous position in Feng Shui, but has also been gifted twice with "the transformation of sages." In the eleventh year of Chunxi in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi, a famous Neo-Confucian master in Fujian Province, came here to give lectures. Students from all over the surrounding areas gathered here to learn from it. Lantian Academy became the base of Neo-Confucianism in eastern Fujian. Scholars in Shanyang also aspired to great success, and their literary style flourished. Thirteen years later, due to the "party disaster", Zhu Xi came to this remote haven again. His senior disciples Lin Yongzhong of Gutian, Yu Yu and Yu Liang of Shanyang, and his son-in-law Huang Qian who followed him carefully protected and cared for him, so that he could rest in peace, recuperate, give lectures, and devote himself to teaching apprentices and writing. During this period, Zhu Xi wrote "Dongzhai Zhi" for Lantian Academy, which says: "During the Qing Dynasty during the Yuan Dynasty to avoid the ban on learning, eight out of ten senior disciples gathered in Lantian Academy and called them 'Dongzhai'. He taught that his disciples were all over Fujian, including Yu and Li in the east of the city, and Huang and Wei in the west of the city. His poetry and etiquette were passed down to his family, and his righteousness was well established.
"The land is transformed into a famous mountain", Lantian Shanyang "has been adhering to Zhu's legacy since the Song Dynasty", "humanities respect filial piety, and people from poor families are also Confucian scholars" (recorded in "Gutian County Chronicles" of the Republic of China) ). In the ten years before and after Zhu Xi came, in addition to Yu Fu, who was the number one scholar in high school, Shanyang also had uncles and nephews of Yu Yu, Yu Liang, Yu Fei, the sixth grandson of Yu Renchun, Yu Riyan, the sixth grandson of Shi Yugong, as well as Yu Ji, Yu Zhaopan, Yu Songxing, etc. High school Jinshi.
Yu Fu, who was confident that "his mind was full of good fortune and his words were filled with dragons and dragons," couldn't suppress his joy when he saw that he was indeed ranked first. It is said that he once recited:
"The silver vase is used as an inkstone to illuminate the new robe, and the thousands of troops in the pen have their own gods. I am the first to be called, and I have never tolerated others." This poem.
Some people say that Yu Fu offended the emperor because of being accused of this poem, and his official position was eventually demoted. Careful analysis is not necessarily the case. The imperial examination results of the Southern Song Dynasty were released in February, and the palace examination was held in March. Only the top two candidates were selected. Yu Fu topped the list, and he also recited the poem at that time. If he was reported, he would not be selected as the number one scholar a month later. The answer to the actual situation can be found in the "General Genealogy of the Yu Family": "Yu Fu, who studied "Zhou Guan" as a young student from Zhang Han, took action against the imperial court in the first year of Shaoxi. Guangzong said that he was straightforward and uncritical, and he promoted First". It was Emperor Guangzong who chose him as the leader because of his upright and selfless character. As for saying that official positions were devalued, it does not understand the method of promoting officials in the Song Dynasty. During the Northern Song Dynasty, high school Jinshi scholars were generally only awarded official positions below the ninth rank. It was only during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty that they were given more privileges, but the top three were only Granted to minor officials such as Jian Cheng and Tong San (quoted from "The Official Selection System of Chinese Dynasties"). And Yu Fu was immediately awarded the title of Xuan Yi Lang Zhen Nan Jiedu Qian Fan, a sixth-grade official position, which was considered a good salary. Eight years later, Emperor Ning Zong called Yu Fu to the National History Museum to serve as a recorder and reviewer. From his official position, he was promoted to Secretary of the Ministry of Writing. He was the author of "Lei Shuo of the Book of Rites" and "Zuo Shi's Compilation of Lei". When he was old, he "went back from officialdom to look for good places to build a garden and build a pavilion, where he could serve his disciples and chant for the rest of his life" (recorded in "Gutian County Chronicles·Biographies" of the Republic of China). Judging from the verses, the writing is simple and vulgar, and it does not seem to be written by the number one scholar. Therefore, it is groundless that Yu Fu got into trouble because of his poetry. It belongs to the category of "folk stories" and is not very credible.
Throughout the history of China, over 1,300 years of imperial examinations, more than 880 champions have been produced, but only a handful of them can truly go down in history. The Tang Dynasty has Wang Wei's poems, Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, the Song Dynasty has Zhang Xiaoxiang's lyrics, the Qing Dynasty has Weng Tong's courage, Wen Tianxiang's "leaving a loyal heart to illuminate history", and Qin Hui's traitorous pursuit of glory that will last forever. There are not many that are really familiar to people. It can be seen that the number one scholar is not a god, but is just a kind of example of struggle for scholars and a spiritual encouragement.
The main halls of the three major ancestral halls of Shanyang's three surnames have unique "stones of merit and fame". This "famous stone" was opened only when a high school champion among the tribe returned to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and only one person from the Cicada Forest Temple could enjoy this honor. At that time, the ancestors presupposed that this stone was full of expectations and encouragement for the descendants of their family, and they had good intentions.
Looking at Shan Yang's "General Genealogy of the Yu Family", we can also check other information about Yu Fu. His tomb is in Aoping at the foot of Jinzhang Mountain in Jiudugui Village, Ningde, but it has not been found so far. The Zhuangyuan Street archway that was also built in Ningde Old Street has long since disappeared. Only what Yu Fu said at the farewell banquet of Lantian tribesmen when he first took office as the magistrate of Hongzhou is still powerful: "Although Yunhe Ridge is amazing, if the jade of Lantian is actually planted, isn't the Yinhe sect without origin?" Calligraphy High attainments
There are few records about Yu Fu's life. However, the limited historical materials clearly prove that this scholar had high attainments in calligraphy, especially in official script, which can be regarded as a unique one. There is also a piece of official script "Inscribed on Yan Wengui's Qiu Mountain and Xiaosi Picture" written by Yu Fu in the Cicada Forest Temple. In the calligraphy of the Song Dynasty, cursive script was the most successful, followed by regular script, and seal script and official script were almost unrivaled. During the 320 years of the Southern Song Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty, there were almost no people or monuments to be mentioned. As for ink marks, they are even rarer, so Yu Fu's official calligraphy ink marks are even more precious. Official script of the Song Dynasty has a low status in the entire history of calligraphy and the development and transformation of official script, but it is indispensable. Therefore, Yu Fu's official script can still win a place among the official scripts of the Song Dynasty. Characters and Families
Yu Fu’s father, Yu Konghui, married He and his family settled in Ningde. Yu Konghui wrote a poem to encourage Yu Fu before he went to take the exam: "Father and son passed down the tradition of studying Confucianism, and they often used pens and inkstones instead of plows and hoes. Now you are approaching Danque with your sword in hand, while I will live in poverty and stay in the old house. I will not drink wine until I am drunk." "Don't hesitate when you have traveled thousands of miles. After the Hua Dynasty in February next year, I will send you a letter of peace and success as soon as possible" ("Shanyang Yu Family Genealogy").
It can be seen from this that the Yu family was indeed using writing instead of hoeing to alleviate poverty and enjoy Taoism. So in the past, some people deliberately slandered Yu Fu, saying that his father died early, that Yu Fu was the posthumous son of his mother who remarried to the He family, and so on. He even deliberately distorted "the nephew of the number one scholar of the Yu family" into "the nephew of the number one scholar of the Yu family", which indeed deceived some people who did not know the details. Writings
Yu Fu is the author of fourteen volumes of "Lei Shuo of the Book of Rites", "Zuo Shi's Compilation of Lei" and "Sacrifice", "Feng Ji Zhu", "Yu Zhuang Yuan Ji" and other poetry collections (lost), Most of them are not handed down from generation to generation.
The existing "Funing Prefecture Chronicle" compiled by Li Ba during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty contains two thank-you notes when Yu Fuzhong became the number one scholar.
Most of the poems published in the Qianlong edition of "Ningde County Chronicle" of the Qing Dynasty praise the beautiful scenery of Ningde and the temples in the city.
The "Ningde City Chronicle" published in 1995 records that when Yu Fu ranked first and heard the roll call, he was the best in the crowd: "The silver bottle, pen and inkstone shine on the robe, and the thousands of troops under the pen have their own characteristics." God. I am the first to be called, and I have never tolerated others." He sent this poem home as a letter to express his father's encouragement and upbringing. Unfortunately, this poem caused trouble. Han Xie, a powerful official in the Privy Council of the day, slandered him and said: "I jumped over the dragon gate, ambitious, flattering the emperor, and there is no emperor behind me, so I dare to recite anti-poetry. No one should be tolerated." After Guangzong asked the whole story, he did not punish him. Although this statement appears in county annals, I think it is a folk legend. Scholars in the Song Dynasty were deeply influenced by Neo-Confucianism. It can be seen from the expression that Yu Fu is a very humble and restrained person, unlike the kind of eloquent expression shown in "Kou Zhan Quatrain". He is an arrogant person who speaks arrogantly, and the quatrains are too straightforward and crude, showing no literary grace and skill. It does not seem to be written by the number one scholar, and it belongs to the level of "folk literature and art".