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Gui Youguang (1506～1571) was an official and essayist of the Ming Dynasty. The courtesy name is Xifu, also the nickname is Kaifu, the nickname is Zhenchuan Gui Youguang, also the nickname is Xiang Jisheng, Han nationality, from Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. In the 19th year of Jiajing's reign, the people were elected. After passing the examination for the eighth time, he moved to Jiading on the Anting River, where he studied and talked and had many apprentices. He became a Jinshi at the age of 60. He served as magistrate of Xing County in Changxing, Tongpan of Shunde, and Prime Minister of Taipu Temple in Nanjing. He stayed in charge of the imperial office of the cabinet and worked with Xiu. "Records of King Sejong", died in Nanjing. Gui Youguang, Tang Shunzhi, and Wang Shenzhong all advocated the Tang and Song Dynasty ancient prose with detailed content and simple writing, and they were called the Three Jiajing Masters. Because of Gui Youguang's profound knowledge in prose creation, he was called "Today's Ouyang Xiu" at the time. Later generations praised his prose as "the best in Mingwen". He is the author of "Zhenchuan Collection" and "Sanwu Water Conservancy Records" wait.
Life of Gui Youguang
Gui Youguang was born in a Han Confucian family with a long history of inferiority. In his early years, he studied at the Wei School in Tongyi. In the 19th year of Jiajing's reign (1540), he passed the imperial examination and failed the Jinshi examination eight times. He moved to Anting, Jiading (now Jiading District, Shanghai), where he studied and lectured, and wrote two books, "Guan Li" and "Patriarchal Law". There are often hundreds of people studying there, and they are known as "Mr. Zhenchuan". He inspected the historical sites of the Three Rivers and concluded that the only way from Taihu Lake to the sea was the Wusong River. The Wusong River was narrow and filled with tidal mud, and gradually became choked. As long as we work together to dredge the water to make the Taihu Lake flow eastward, other waterways can be used without effort. Later, Hai Rui used his right as the censor of Qiandu to inspect Yingtian Shifu, built water conservancy projects, and presided over the dredging of Wusong River. His suggestions were adopted in many aspects.
In the 33rd year of Jiajing's reign, Japanese pirates caused chaos. Gui Youguang entered the city to prepare for the defense and wrote "The Imperial Japanese Policy". In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing (1565), he became a Jinshi at the age of 60 and was awarded the title of magistrate of Changxing County, Huzhou (now Changxing County, Zhejiang Province). He attaches great importance to education and governs with integrity. Whenever handling litigation matters, be sure to clarify the truth. At that time, there were many thieves in Changxing County, and the government randomly arrested a group of innocent people. He used a trick to capture the leader of the thieves and freed more than 30 people who had been wronged and wronged in prison. Because he offended the wealthy family and his superiors, he was transferred to Shunde (Xingtai, Hebei) to be the general magistrate, specifically in charge of Ma Zheng. Recommended by the academicians Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji, he became the Prime Minister of Taipu Temple in Nanjing in the fourth year of Longqing (1570). He stayed in charge of the cabinet system and compiled "Shizong Shilu". He died in Nanjing at the age of sixty-six. He was buried in Jintongli inside the southeast gate of Kunshan City (near today's Post and Telecommunications Bureau). Today, Gui Youguang Tomb in Kunshan is one of the tourist attractions.
Gui Youguang’s literary achievements
Advocating changes in literary style
In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the restoration movement of the former and later seven scholars appeared in the literary world , which played a certain role in eliminating the Taige style of writing. However, by the Jiajing period, there had been a tendency to blindly respect the ancients. Wang Shenzhong, Mao Kun, Tang Shunzhi and others rose up against the Communist Party and advocated the ancient prose of the Tang and Song Dynasties. They were called the Tang and Song Dynasty schools, and their leader was actually Gui Youguang. At that time, Wang Shizhen was a great master in the literary world, and Gui Youguang disparaged him and said: "It is difficult to describe the so-called writers in this world. It has not yet begun to learn from the ancients, but only one or two mediocre people have become the giants, vying to agree with them, in order to offset it." "As for the famous scholars of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, their power is enough to compete with them for thousands of years, but it is sad that the world has always shaken them with earthworms" ("Preface to the Collected Works of Xiang Siyao"). In terms of poetry theory, he also criticized the trend of retrospection, saying: "In today's world, people are just chasing chapters and refining sentences, imitating plagiarism, and making obscene and flashy works without knowing what they are doing." On the contrary, he believes that the kind of "speaking outright" , many folk songs, words of sympathy for the times and worries about the world, which are what the elegant gentleman will not waste" ("Mr. Shen Cigu's Poems Preface"). His basic point of view is: although the articles of the Qin and Han Dynasties represented by "Historical Records" are good, the famous articles of the Tang and Song Dynasties are not bad. The first and last seven scholars claimed that "the literature must be from the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the poetry must be from the Tang Dynasty". Misguided. He advocated "changing the Qin and Han Dynasties into Ouzeng", and the writing should be "based on the sincerity of the intention...not specifically seeking the work of painting and algae as an article. It is just a matter of beauty and dazzling in the world" ("Reply to Yu Zhifu") . At that time, Wang Shizhen heard that he criticized herself for being "vain and mediocre" and said: "If you are arrogant, you will have it, but if you are mediocre, you will not dare to obey your destiny." However, in his later years, Wang Shizhen also felt that he was too sculpted and could not live up to Gu Youguang's tranquility and nature. In the "Preface to the Praise of the Imperial Servant of Gui", it is said: "Mr. Gui Youguang's ancient prose... is not decorated but has its own flavor, which is worthy of being a famous writer." Some people compare Gui Youguang with Ouyang Xiu and praise him as the first essayist of the Ming Dynasty. . Until the Qing Dynasty. Fang Bao, Yao Nai and others also praised Gui Youguang.
Characteristics of Prose
Gui Youguang opposed imitation of antiquity, focusing more on form and not achieving real innovation in content. His works are mainly prose, and nine out of ten of them are scripture interpretations, inscriptions, comments, prefaces to gifts, birthday prefaces, epitaphs, inscriptions, memorial texts, deeds and righteousness. Some of his works express dissatisfaction with the politics of the time. Some works show sympathy for the people, but there are also many works with empty content and outdated ideas. In several narrative and lyrical prose, it can be said that "it is not intended to be touching, but the joyful and tragic thoughts overflow beyond words" (Wang Xijue's "Returning to the Cemetery Epitaph"). Its artistic characteristics are: ① It is lyrical and truly touching. For example, the representative work "The Chronicles of Xiang Jixuan" uses the ups and downs of the "hundred-year-old house" Xiang Jixuan, interspersed with memories of his grandmother, mother, and wife, and expresses the feelings of the death of people, the survival of things, and the vicissitudes of life. The events recalled by each person are all trivial family matters, but they are extremely humane.
② Pay attention to details and draw vividly. For example, the description of scenery in "Xiangjixuanzhi" carries forward the fine tradition of Tang and Song Dynasty literature, which is indeed beyond the reach of the seven scholars before and after. ③The text is short and concise. His famous prose works, such as "Xiang Ji Xuan Zhi", "Xian Concubine's Story", "Si Zi Ting Ji", "Nu Er Er Kuan Zhi", etc., all have no more than a thousand words. "Hanhua Burial Chronicle" was written in memory of the young maidservant who died in the early 20th century. The full text is 112 words long, but it uses two details to outline the image of the maidservant and describe the human feelings in court, which is extremely concise. ④Exquisite structure and changeable twists and turns. For example, "Residence in Baojie Mountain" writes about the scenery of Taihu Lake and the residence in Baojie Mountain. It also compares Wang Wei's Wangchuan Villa in the Tang Dynasty and discusses Wang Wei. "Chrysanthemum Chuang Ji" writes about the terrain and scenery of Hong's residence to the ancients Zhong Changtong and Tao Yuanming, with narratives and discussions, full of ups and downs.
Gui's prose mostly writes about trivial matters around him, which fails to fully reflect the social contradictions of the Ming Dynasty. However, in his articles such as "Preparation of Japanese Affairs", "The Beginning and Ending Book of the Japanese Bandits in Kunshan County", and "The Story of the Japanese Bandits", he described how after the Japanese invasion in Kunshan, "all the houses have been burned down, all the gatherings have been exhausted, and half of the parents, wives, etc." They were massacred, and the cries could be heard in the villages." In the articles "The Death of Zhang Zhennu" and "The Prison Case of Zhang Zhennu", the reality of bullies running rampant and official corruption was revealed. In articles such as "Unveiling the Papers of Prisoners Sent to the Sentence Society", "Nine Counties Notices", "Begging for Rest" and other articles, he expressed his desire to serve the people. In biographical articles such as "The Story of Kecha" and "The Story of Lu Yeweng", the images of some ordinary characters are sketched. In chronicles such as "Ji Wei Huishan Miscellaneous Notes" and "Journey to Renxu", some of the people's sentiments and state of affairs at that time were recorded. These works also have certain social significance.
List of writings
After Gui Youguang's death, his son Zining compiled some of his writings and engraved them in Kunshan. Many words and sentences were changed. His grandsons Changshi and Qian Qianyi After searching all the remaining documents and carefully collating them, they compiled them into 40 volumes of collected works, but not all of them could be engraved. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, his great-grandson returned to the village and added some of his posthumous writings. With the help of Dong Zhengwei and others, it was engraved into "The Complete Works of Mr. Zhenchuan", with 30 volumes in the main volume, 10 volumes in the supplementary volume, and 40 volumes in total. It contains 774 prose articles and 113 poems in various genres. The current version is the first 40 volumes of the four-part series "Mr. Zhenchuan Collection", which is a photocopy of the Changshu edition of the Ming Dynasty.