The lonely grass grows beside the stream, and there are orioles singing in the deep trees.
The spring tide brings rain late and comes quickly, and there is no boat crossing the wild river.
--Wei Yingwu's "Chuzhou West Stream"
This is one of the Tang poems I memorized earlier. Later I became obsessed with calligraphy, and this poem was once my favorite copy. Chuzhou is also like a familiar old friend, walking into my heart like flowing clouds and flowing water, following the rhythm of Tang poetry and the flying rhythm of modern cursive script. But the impression is vague, scattered, and elusive. In my subconscious, Chuzhou serves as a ferry, flowing along with the Shangma River in the riverbed of my memory.
Farewell to the peach and plum gate wall and step onto the green apricot altar. Because there is a sentence in Ouyang Xiu's "The Drunkard's Pavilion" in the textbook, "Chuzhou is surrounded by mountains", I put a city of Chucheng surrounded by mountains in my heart, and all the sudden things in my memory are "Wings are flying over the spring". The drunken man's pavilion and the shadow of Ouyang Prefecture, who is "pale-faced and white-haired, slumped in the midst". At that time, my attention was focused on Ouyang Xiu's unfortunate fate. As a great talent in ancient times, I felt indignant and aggrieved at this misfortune, and felt a surge of energy in my heart.
My memory began to invite people uninvited, following the history, getting into the classics, and wandering around the court of Ouyang Gong. In the netherworld, like an invisible hand tapping the keyboard of time, lines of text jumped before my eyes: Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), nicknamed Yongshu, nicknamed Zuiweng, late nicknamed Liuyi Jushi, Luling. (now Jishui, Jiangxi). He was orphaned at the age of four, and his mother taught him how to read by drawing sand with strawberries. Xiu studies diligently and has extraordinary acumen. Renzong became a Jinshi in the eighth year of Tiansheng's reign (1030). From then on, he embarked on an official career, serving as an admonisher and other positions, reaching the rank of privy secretary, deputy historian, and participating in political affairs. The cultivator was upright and outspoken. He supported Fan Zhongyan's reform in his early years and was demoted several times. In his later years, he wrote a letter pointing out the shortcomings of the "Qingmiao Law", disagreed with Wang Anshi's political views, and tried to resign. Xiu died at the age of sixty-six, and his posthumous title was Wenzhong.
The monotonous and dry text is not enough to highlight the image of Ouyang Xiu standing tall on the mountain. I know that Ouyang Xiu was the leader of the literary world in the Northern Song Dynasty. He vigorously encouraged the underachievers, and all the famous prose writers such as the Su brothers and Zeng Gong were his disciples. Together with his literary friends Yin Zhu, Mei Yaochen and Su Shunqin, he worked hard to eliminate the extravagant and obscure writing style of the Xikun School. Ouyang Xiu also co-edited "New Tang Book" with Song Qi and wrote "New History of the Five Dynasties" by himself. Ouyang Xiu is also an expert in poetry. His "Play to Yuan Zhen" has long been popular. His "Die Lian Hua" poem "How deep is the courtyard?" uses three characters "deep" in a row, which can be said to be an extraordinary way of writing. In the lower part of the poem, "With tears in my eyes, I asked about the flowers without saying a word, while the red flowers flew across the swing", it is even more profound and melodious. Mr. Xianshu of Qingmao commented: "The sadder the person is, the more annoying the flowers are, the shallower the words are, the more profound the meaning is, and there is no sign of laborious description. Do you mean that it is not deep and muddy?" As for his "Autumn Sound Fu", in his early years When I was studying in normal school, my teacher read Jun Qing's "Autumn Colors Fu" and compared the two poems together. He thought Ouyang Gong's Fu was negative and Jun Qing's Fu was positive. I didn't take it seriously, thinking that this was making fun of my seniors and belittling them. Although Jun Qing is a famous contemporary essayist, where does he belong? How can he compete with the master on the same stage? I think this is as funny as the cross talk "Guan Gong Fights Qin Qiong". If Mr. Jun Qing knew it, he would not approve of our Wenxuan teacher's comparison. Su Shi's "Preface to the Collection of Six-Year Buddhists" praised him as "discussing the Dao like Han Yu, discussing things like Li Zhi, and remembering things like Sima Qian"; Wang Anshi praised his prose as "heroic, vigorous and majestic" in the article "Sacrifice to Ouyang Wenzhonggong". In a word, I most appreciate his "Book of Remonstrances with Gao Si". He analyzed Gao Ruona's character from history, saying, "I doubted him three times out of four years." From doubt to belief, he directly denounced Gao Ruona as "a thief of a gentleman". Punishing with words and writing is more severe than using an ax and ax. Later, Ouyang Xiu was convicted and demoted to the Yiling Order. On his way to his post, he wrote to Yin Shilu: "In the past, anvils, axes, cauldrons, and woks were all used to cook and kill people. However, if a soldier dies and does not lose his justice, he will follow them. The pillows on the pillows are the same. "The spirit of never looking back can illuminate the sun and the moon." It’s no wonder that after reading this article, Huang Tingjian wrote the four words “Zhechong Ten Thousand Miles” to express his emotions.
Ouyang Xiu’s letter this time allowed me to see the legacy of Tai Shigong’s defense of Li Ling’s false accusation, and the bright spot of Bai Juyi’s letter “Please arrest the thief urgently to avenge the country’s humiliation”. In 1036, Fan Zhongyan was demoted to Dengzhou because he offended the powerful Prime Minister Lu Yijian with his new policies. Yu Andao defended himself and was demoted. Yin Shilu supported him and faced the crime. The power of the traitor was as strong as gold. Fan Feng shook the tree and broke his own head, so he deserved misfortune; Yu and Yin didn't know the current affairs, and they had the temper of donkeys, so they deserved to be whipped.
In today's officialdom, if you don't add insult to injury, you are considered a noble person. Who would be a fool and try to get into trouble? But Ouyang Xiu, who is thirty years old and full of vitality, insists on going into this muddy water, and it is strange that he is drowned in the end! But in my opinion, he is a phoenix soaring into the sky in the muddy water. With the exhaustion of battle, he flies to Yiling, the second phoenix tree in his life. Although the branches are covered with snow and the bamboo shoots are startled by freezing thunder, Ouyang Xiu, who "was once a guest of Luoyang flowers", can "do not complain even if the wild flowers grow late".
You see, up to now, my eyes are still on Mr. Ouyang. Because in my heart, Ouyang Xiuzhi and Chuzhou are like diamonds and necks, lamps and palaces. Once placed in Chuzhou, Chuzhou will double its worth and shine. It is a pity that Chuzhou did not have such blessing at this time. In 1036, Chuzhou was destined to endure ten years of bleakness.
Later, I checked the historical materials and found out that Sima Rui once fled the chaos here. After he became the emperor, he changed the mountain to Langya Mountain. There is the "Xuehong Cave" in Langya Mountain. When Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu, he encountered a woodcutter who led the way and escaped through this cave. Zhao Kuangyin also made a surprise attack on Qingliuguan in Chuzhou, killed Huangfuhui out of wisdom, and captured Yao Feng alive. And monk Fachen built Baoying Temple in Langya, attracting incense and pilgrims, ringing bells and drums, and leaving nothing left. But all this seems to be just the material of a prose, piled on the pages of Chuzhou without any intention. Still waiting quietly for everyone to have a discerning eye and put the finishing touch with a generous touch, and this person is Ouyang Xiu. And he is still twisting and turning, just like the prelude of a brilliant piece of music, the preface of a poem, heading towards the main song and theme.
In the seventh year of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty (1047), Ouyang Xiu suffered another setback in his official career. He was kicked out of the palace and the capital, and came to Chuzhou in the dust. But this time, Ouyang Gong did not angrily rebuke the traitor and be demoted. He did not bring this honor and pride to Chuzhou. Instead, he carried the unfounded charge of "immorality", which makes people talk happily before meals and after drinking. , talking about the "peach news" that makes people salivate. This really makes Mr. Ouyang helpless and humiliated. The well-informed people in Chuzhou were searching and pointing out, and it was quite a bit tongue-tied that the streets were long and the roads were short. I think this may be the main reason why Ouyang Xiu was so depressed after being demoted to Chuzhou, focusing on the mountains and rivers, and feeling so tired, old and lonely. Fortunately, the people are like water, as long as you are willing to put yourself in, you are a fish in the water; the people are like the forest, as long as you are willing to fly in, you are a bird liberated from the cage. Ouyang Gong may have understood this point. When he was not in charge of government affairs, he put down his pretense as a prefect and mingled with people in the mountains and delicacies. The harmony between officials and the people cannot be learned from today's officials who like to put on "people-friendly shows". They usually drank and drank with each other, but that was purely for official entertainment. It is only during the Chinese New Year that we show mercy, thinking of poor households and laid-off workers, and then go for "humanistic care"; let those who are in distress hold condolence money in their hands and burst into tears of gratitude; news media reporters go to steal the spotlight. Things have changed, and things have gone away.
When Mr. Ouyang left office after his first term, the citizens of Chuzhou saw each other off on a journey and could not bear to say goodbye. With tears in his eyes, Ouyang Xiuman wrote a poem to say goodbye to his father:
The spring was bright and the willows were green, and I saw him off with a drink in front of the flowers.
Just as drunk as usual, no strings or pipes can play the parting sound.
It was not until more than ten years later that Ouyang Xiu ended his demoted career and returned to the court. He also received a pair of white rabbits sent from Chu people all the way. Ouyang Xiu was so excited that he invited Mei Yaochen and Wang Anshi to come and they all chanted poems to the rabbit. In the eyes of today's people, this is definitely an act of ignorance, and is on the list of Alzheimer's disease.
Today's officials, when they leave their posts at the end of their term, or if they are demoted, they say goodbye sadly. They are most likely afraid of losing face, so they leave quietly and in dejection. If it is a flat tone, there will be a few cars from this unit and a few cars from that unit, as if they are getting married, or handing over property, or sending people there, and a banquet ends drunkenly. If he is promoted, those sycophants will make careful arrangements to bring in the heads of various units to form a farewell procession and fire cannons along the way to see him off to office. Everything is done by officials and officials, and cars come and go, but the people in various places either look at the guests with cold eyes, are frightened by their momentum, or cannot be fooled. This is essentially the same as in the past when feudal officials took office, they sounded gongs to clear the way, shouted in front and supported behind them, blocked the sun with flags, and snakes in the ceremonial guard, which is really not flattering.
It is said that when Ouyang Xiu was in the pavilion, Lu Yijian had evil intentions and colluded with Qian Xie to frame Ouyang Xiu for having an affair with his niece, and reported to the emperor asking for an investigation. The evidence is a poem by Ouyang Xiu, which says:
Jiangnan willow, the leaves are not yet shaded, the silk is so light that it can bear to be broken, the orioles pity the tender branches and can't stop singing, keep them until spring comes.
On the 14th of the 15th year of the lunar calendar, I was leisurely holding a pipa and searching for money. I was walking down the hall to win money. I had paid attention to it when we met each other, let alone now.
At that time, Xiu Mei’s husband died and she had nothing to rely on for her livelihood. She took her orphan girl to Xiu Men, and the orphan girl was only seven years old. The emperor actually believed the slander and handed over the reform duties to Kaifeng Yin for trial. Although the crime was unknown, he was still exiled, and Xiu Zhen had no excuse.
Ouyang Xiu came with the "romantic case" on his back, and did not leave with the romantic anecdotes, but left behind remarkable political achievements. This reminds me of his contemporary Fan Zhongyan, who was demoted four times in his life, and each time he demoted a place, he benefited one party; Su Shi was demoted three times in his life, and each time he demoted a place, he benefited one party. Nowadays, there are some officials who only have one place for each official position, which will cause harm to one party; what's worse, one place for each official position will cause harm to one party. Although this is only a minority, it cannot help but remind people of certain mistakes in our cadre appointment system.
At this point, you may scold me for writing a thousand words and digressing thousands of miles. Yes, in terms of traditional impressionism, it would not be unfair to put this hat on this article. But the impression I am talking about is not the impression you want. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have to use my pen to climb the grid, or my fingers to dance on the keyboard, nor would I have to sacrifice a lot of brain cells to let you read my impressions of Chuzhou. I will carry a camera and go to Chucheng to give Chucheng a "family photo" or "photo album" or something. In this way, you can take a look at Chucheng's high-rise buildings, streets, landmark buildings, characteristic shopping malls, model residential areas, and delicious food stalls.
Words are passed down from person to person, places are passed down from person to person, people are passed down through writing, outstanding people and places are famous. It can be seen that people are the charm of a city, the core of the city's reputation, and the place where a city can truly attract and impress people and leave an unforgettable impression, just like a person's temperament and spirit. Therefore, every time I visit a city, I am not keen on its beautiful architecture, economic prosperity, or fashionable people's clothing, but I pay attention to its cultural heritage. For this reason, I despise those boring questions like how young I was when I was online, where I work, how much my monthly salary is, and whether my family is happy. I also resent the presumption of asking for videos every time, and even more disgusting people who make appointments to meet in person after chatting a few times. of shallowness. Friendship between people should be valued because of the fusion of spirits, the resonance of the heart, and the resonance of love.
Translating people to things, I pay more attention to understanding a city and painting a portrait of a city from the aspect of cultural literacy. This is also the reason why I have only had two brushes with Chuzhou, and have not actually met each other, let alone being familiar with each other, but I still talk about my impressions of Chuzhou. Chucheng and I are close friends in the city, and Ouyang Xiu is like a colorful rope in the long years, the one in Yue Lao's hand, which makes me fall in love with him and write a poem for Chuzhou.
Thank you Chucheng for leaving me with the impression of graceful beauty