Ouyang xiu statue
Ouyang Xiu, named Yongshu, is an alcoholic. In his later years, he called himself a layman on June 1st. When he was four years old, his father died and his family fell into poverty. Ouyang Xiu's mother, Zheng, was born in a famous family in Jiangnan. She is a very knowledgeable woman. She attaches great importance to children's education. No matter how poor her family is, she will teach her children to read. Because the family was poor and had no money to buy brushes and rice paper, she used reed poles as pens and sand as paper, and taught Ouyang Xiu to practice calligraphy in the sand hand in hand. Ouyang Xiu was clever since he was a child. Encouraged by his mother, he studied hard and was determined to get ahead when he grew up and do something for the country and the people.
After diligent efforts, Ouyang Xiu won the first place in the Jinshi exam in the eighth year of Tiansheng, and was appointed as Luoyang to stay behind and be promoted the following year. When Ouyang Xiu ascended the official career, it was the most serious period of national crisis and party struggle in the Northern Song Dynasty. The reformists represented by Fan Zhongyan and the conservatives represented by Lv Yijian fought fiercely in the imperial court. Ouyang Xiu is firmly on the reformist side. He cares about state affairs and observes people's sufferings. He was once demoted for supporting Fan Zhongyan's reform ideas. During the Li Qing period, Ouyang Xiu once again participated in the "Qingli New Deal" presided over by Fan Zhongyan. After the failure of the New Deal, he was demoted again. It was not until twenty or thirty years ago that he entered North Korea as an official, and gradually became an important position such as deputy special envoy of parliament and political affairs adviser.
Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi
Ouyang Xiu is well-read and versatile, and has made great achievements in poetry and academic works. At the same time, he is a famous minister and enjoys a high reputation in politics. He entered the literary world in a dual capacity, uniting fellow travelers and encouraging the younger generation. At that time, famous writers and Mei were his good friends, Su Xun and Wang Anshi were recommended by him, and Su Shi, Su Zhe and others were his rising stars. Among the literati groups at that time, Ouyang Xiu enjoyed great appeal. Personality cultivation shown in political activities is highly respected by scholars who attach importance to moral integrity.
Ouyang Xiu likes to praise people's merits and recommend talents in all fields for the country. At that time, almost all famous writers got help from Ouyang Xiu, so a force of literati group was formed around him, which made it easier to expand their influence and publicize the idea of reform. Ouyang Xiu's dual prestige in politics and writing made him a political opinion leader and a literary leader.
Zuiweng Pavilion in Chuzhou, Anhui Province
Ouyang Xiu's theory of poetry reform emphasizes the decisive role of "Tao" in the article and thinks that Tao is the content; Words are forms. At the same time, he also realized that people with moral cultivation could not write good articles. He advocates emphasizing facts in his writing and opposes "beautiful writing" that "ignores the sufferings of the people". To some extent, his articles got rid of the shackles of "orthodoxy" and wrote some good articles that reflect real life and serve the country and people.
Ouyang xiu calligraphy
Ouyang Xiu's poems, words and essays were all the best at that time. Prose is eloquent, lyrical and euphemistic. Poetic style is similar to prose, emphasizing momentum, fluency and naturalness. His poems are beautiful and creative, and they inherit the legacy of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Ouyang Xiu was demoted several times, experienced several ups and downs in his career, and finally became a politician with high political prestige. He also became a literary leader because he advocated the poetry reform movement and his own literary achievements. Most of his proteges became very successful figures in the literary world of the Northern Song Dynasty. Throughout his life, Ouyang Xiu is worthy of the reputation of a generation of literary masters.