childhood
Fan Zhongyan, whose name is Wen Xi, is from Suzhou, Jiangsu. Great-grandfather Fan was the judge of Wu Huguo Festival, and grandfather Fan Zanshi was the secretary supervisor of Wu Yueguo. Father, who worked in Yue shogunate, went to Song Dynasty with money. In the early years of Duangong (988), he went to Xuzhou to be the secretary of Wuning Army (secretary of Xuzhou Military System) and died in 990. Xie was poor and helpless at that time, holding two-year-old Fan Zhongyan in his arms, and remarried to Zhu, a native of Henan Province and the governor of Zi County (now zouping county Village) in Shandong Province. Fan Zhongyan also changed his surname to Zhu Shuo (called Yue) and grew up in Zhujiajian Island.
Fan Zhongyan studied hard since he was a child. Zhujiajian Island is a rich man in Changshan, but in order to motivate himself, he often goes to Liquan Temple on the nearby Changbai Mountain for boarding study. Studying satirical recitation in the morning and evening left a deep impression on the monks. At that time, his life was extremely difficult. He only cooks a bowl of thick porridge every day and cuts it into four pieces when it gets cold. He ate two tablets in the morning and two tablets in the evening, mixed with pickles and vinegar juice, and continued his study after eating. Later generations have a reputation for rowing with broken porridge, but he doesn't mind this poor life at all and spends all his energy in books to find his own fun.
For almost three years, books in Changshan Township have gradually failed to meet his needs. An accidental incident exposed the secret of Fan Zhongyan's family background. He found himself the son of the Fan family in Suzhou and has been taking care of his life by his stepfather for many years. Fan Zhongyan was deeply stimulated and shocked by this incident. Under the intersection of shame and anger, he decided to leave the Zhujiajian family and set up his own family. He will always be outstanding in the future and then take over his mother. So he hastily packed some simple clothes, put a piano and sword on his back, said goodbye to his mother in tears and left Changshan on foot to study, regardless of Zhu Jiahe's mother's obstruction.
go to school
In the fourth year (10 1 1), 23-year-old Fan Zhongyan came to Yingtianfu Academy in Suiyang (originally located in Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, Henan Province). Yingtianfu Academy is one of the four major academies in the Song Dynasty, with one hundred and fifty school buildings and thousands of books. 1043, Song Renzong decided to change Yingtianfu Academy to imperial academy, Nanjing, and become the highest institution of learning in the Northern Song Dynasty together with imperial academy in Kaifeng, Tokyo and imperial academy in Luoyang, Xijing. What's more, there are many ambitious and intelligent teachers and students here. Studying in such a college, there are not only famous teachers to consult, but also many students to learn from each other and many books to read. Moreover, the college is free, which is especially popular for Fan Zhongyan, who is financially strapped. Yingtianfu was later renamed Nanjing, and Yingtianfu Academy was also called Du Nan Academy. Fan Zhongyan cherishes the brand-new learning environment and studies day and night. One of Fan Zhongyan's classmates, the son of Nanjing Liu Shou (the highest official in Nanjing), saw that he ate porridge all year round and sent him some delicious food. He didn't taste a bite, which made the delicious food moldy. It was not until people scolded him that he bowed deeply and said, "I am very satisfied with this life of cutting porridge and clams, and I am worried that once I enjoy a good meal, I will not be able to swallow porridge and pickles in the future." Fan Zhongyan's hard life is a bit like Confucius' sage Yan Hui; A bowl of rice and a ladle of water, in a simple alley, others complained bitterly, but Yan Hui did not change his happiness.
Fan Zhongyan's years of hard study also began in Zhixia in spring and ended in winter in autumn. Dance a sword in the morning and go home to sleep in the middle of the night. Others look at flowers and enjoy the moon, but he only finds pleasure in the Six Classics. "Baiyun rogue emperor, won who played Dong Xiao? It is difficult not to sing the wind bird, but a thin talent can still give an emu. If you think about Yan Zi's heart, you will be happy and the piano will be sold when you hate it most. But if Sven Tian is not lost, why blame Shan Miao? " This poem was written by Fan Zhongyan to Yan Shu, a classmate of the Academy. A few years later, Fan Zhongyan's themes of Confucian classics, such as The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Yijing, Book of Rites, Chunqiu, etc. , has always been called Datong: writing poetry, but also generously taking the world as its own responsibility.
In the seventh year of Dazhong Xiangfu (AD 10 14), superstitious Taoist Song Zhenzong led a hundred officials to visit Taiqing Palace in Bozhou (now Bozhou, Anhui). The mighty chariots and horses passed through Nanjing (now Shangqiu City, Henan Province, the same below), causing a sensation in the whole city. People rushed to see the emperor, but one student stayed at home and still buried himself in his studies. A good classmate came to persuade him: "Go and see, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, don't miss it!" " But the student just casually said, "It's never too late to see you again", and then went on reading his book without looking up. Sure enough, the next year, he was a scholar. This student is Fan Zhongyan, a great reform thinker in the Northern Song Dynasty.
take an examination
In the autumn of the seventh year (10 14) and the spring of the eighth year (10 15), Dazhong xiangfu passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. When he took part in the imperial examination in Chongzheng Hall, he first met Emperor Zhenzong, who was nearly fifty years old. Later, he was honored to attend a banquet hosted by the imperial government. In February, Bianjing (now Kaifeng) warmed bloom in spring. Jinshi rode across the horse and paraded the streets with the sound of drum music: "Changbai is a cold Confucian, and he has been famous for more than two years." He sang such a poem and thought he was twenty-seven years old. Compared with Teng Zongliang and others beside him, he looks much older.
Soon, he was appointed as the manager of Guangdejun to join the army (Guangdejun is located in Guangde County, Anhui Province, and the manager joined the army as an official in charge of litigation and trial, from Jiupin). Then, he was transferred to Qing Ji Army as our ambassador (Qing Ji Army is located in Bozhou, Anhui Province, and our ambassador is a curtain officer from Bapin). He took his mother to support him, officially restored Fan, and changed his name to Zhong Yan and the word Xi. From then on, he began his political career for nearly forty years.
Enter an official position
In the fifth year of Tianxi (102 1), Fan Zhongyan was transferred to Xixi Town, Hailing, Taizhou (now near Dongtai County, Jiangsu Province) to be a salt warehouse supervisor-responsible for supervising the storage, transportation and resale of Huai salt. Xixi Town is near the coast of the Yellow Sea. Although peony can be seen occasionally in the town, its desolate scene is different from that in the mainland after all. At first glance, listening to the roar of the wind and waves and the sigh of wild cranes, Fan Zhongyan couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Because Guan Cang is a idled official, he laughed at himself by eating and drinking lazily: "I have never held a chair, and I dare to talk about my ambition to go to Wan Li!" It's time to be black and white when you get old. Why are you complaining about Jianghu? When you are drunk and sing, you are lazy. Can people in the stream believe in laughter? "
However, he soon found that there were many things to do here. The dilapidated seawall in the area has collapsed, and not only salt fields and pavilions have lost their barriers, but also large areas of farmland and houses have been repeatedly threatened by waves. Thousands of victims were displaced when they encountered tidal waves and even flooded the gates of Taizhou. The government suffered losses in salt production and tax. To this end, he wrote to Zhang Lun of Jianghuai Waterway, complaining about the interests of Chen Haidi, and suggested rebuilding a solid seawall weir along the coast of Tongzhou, Taizhou, Chuzhou and Haizhou (now Lianyungang to the north bank of the Yangtze River estuary).
For this huge project, Zhang Lun generously agreed, and made Fan Zhongyan the magistrate of Xinghua County (now xinghua city, Jiangsu Province), fully responsible for weir management.
In the autumn of the second year of Tiansheng (1024), Fan Zhongyan, the magistrate of Xinghua County, led tens of thousands of civilian workers from four states to the seaside. Xinghua county ya (memorial hall)
However, shortly after the dam body control project began, a storm with snow appeared, followed by a big tide, which swallowed up more than 100 migrant workers. Some officials believe that this is an act of god and the dike cannot be completed. They advocated banning the original proposal and stopping work altogether. When things were reported to Beijing, courtiers hesitated. Fan Zhongyan, on the other hand, was not afraid of danger and stuck to the weir.
The wind swept the waves and rushed to his legs. The soldiers and civilians fled, and the officials panicked. Fan Zhongyan did not move. He saw with interest Teng Zongliang, a friend of the same year beside him. Zong Liang is quietly commenting on a standing levee. Everyone found that they were very calm and calm. Thanks to the efforts of Fan Zhongyan and others, defending the sea and harnessing the weir has been fully resumed. Soon, a long dike stretching for hundreds of miles stood on the beach of the Yellow Sea. The production of saltworks and farmland has been guaranteed since then. A few dry households in exile a few years ago were affected by the disaster and returned home to help the old and bring the young. People are grateful to Fan Zhongyan, the county magistrate of Xinghua, for his achievements, and they all call Hai Yan "Fan Gongdi". Many victims in Xinghua County actually took his surname Fan. Today, Xinghua still has a site of Gong Fan Temple, which is remembered by the elders.
"There are guests who are crazy and pure, and teenagers love fame." "Thirty-six years of dust have failed to become heroes." This is a poem written by Fan Zhongyan when he was thirty-six years old. He didn't get married until he was about thirty-four or five years old. This year, he got a son and was transferred back to Beijing to be the manager of Dali Temple. Since then, he has entered the ranks of Beijing officials.