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Chapter 343: Literary Saint Ouyang Xiu

As an outstanding writer and politician, Ouyang Xiu is known as the Sage of Literature.

It not only had an important influence on the Northern Song Dynasty at that time, but also had a profound impact on later generations.

First of all, he was the first literary leader in the history of Song Dynasty literature to create a new literary style.

His prose writing is of high achievement and correct theory of ancient Chinese literature, which has had a profound influence on later literary creation.

He is not only one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties, but also one of the Four Greatest Writers of All Time.
His poems and lyrics were widely circulated and studied by later generations, and had a profound influence both at that time and in later generations.

"In 1007, during the Northern Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu was born in Mianzhou, Sichuan."

"At that time, his father was the magistrate of Mianzhou and was already 56 years old."

"Three years later, my father passed away."

"Ouyang Xiu was the only son in his family, and he depended on his mother, Zheng, for support. The orphan and his widowed mother had no choice but to go to Suizhou, Hubei, to seek refuge with Ouyang Xiu's uncle."

"My uncle's family was not very wealthy, but fortunately my mother, Zheng, was an educated lady from a wealthy family. She taught Ouyang Xiu to read and write on the sand."

"Ouyang Xiu's uncle also cared for him from time to time, and finally did not let Ouyang Xiu lose the basic education in his childhood."

"Ouyang Xiu loved reading since he was young, and often borrowed books from the Li family in the south of the city to read."

"He was very intelligent and hardworking, and could often recite the book before he finished copying it."

"When a young boy writes poems and essays, his writing is as sophisticated as that of an adult."

"His uncle saw hope for the family's revival and reported the good news to Ouyang Xiu's mother."

"Don't worry about your poor family and young children. Your children are talented. Not only can they start a business to bring honor to the family, but they will also become famous in the world one day."

"When he was ten years old, Ouyang Xiu borrowed books from the Li family and never put them down. This sowed the seeds for the later Northern Song Dynasty poetry and prose retro movement."

"Ouyang Xiu's road to the imperial examination was bumpy. He unexpectedly failed the exam twice."

"In the spring of 1029, Ouyang Xiu took the examination for the Imperial Academy, the highest institution of learning in Kaifeng Prefecture."

"In the autumn of the same year, Ouyang Xiu took part in the Imperial College's examination."

"Ouyang Xiu won first place in both the Guangwenguan exam and the Guoxuejie exam of the Imperial College, becoming the Jianyuan and Jieyuan respectively."

"In the second year, he won first place in the provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites, becoming the provincial champion, which can be regarded as winning three championships in a row."

"Ouyang Xiu felt that he would definitely win the top prize in the upcoming palace examination."

"So I made a new set of clothes, ready to wear when the time comes."

"Ouyang Xiu had a classmate in Guangwenguan named Wang Gongchen, who was only 19 years old and also qualified for the palace examination."

"One night, Wang Gongchen put on Ouyang Xiu's new clothes and proudly said that he was wearing the robes of the top scholar."

"I didn't expect that on the day of the palace examination, it was Wang Gongchen who really won the top prize."

"In 1030, the palace examination presided over by Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen, was held in Chongzheng Hall."

"After the palace examination results were announced, Ouyang Xiu was ranked 14th by the emperor, ranking second in the class of Jinshi."

"According to a fellow countryman of Ouyang Xiu who was the chief examiner at the time, the main reason why Ouyang Xiu failed to win the first prize was that he was too conspicuous."

"The examiners wanted to dampen his enthusiasm and help him become a talent."

"Although he didn't win the first place, Ouyang Xiu also got a good ranking and was awarded an official position."

"At the same time as he passed the imperial examination, he also had his wedding night."

"In the Song Dynasty, there was a custom of selecting a son-in-law from a list of successful candidates. High-ranking officials in the court liked to choose a son-in-law from among the newly-appointed Jinshi candidates."

"As soon as Ouyang Xiu passed the imperial examination, he became the son-in-law of his mentor Xu Yan."

"Soon after his wedding, Ouyang Xiu said goodbye to his family and went to Luoyang to serve as an official."

Zhu Di: It was precisely because of Ouyang Xiu's promotion of the ancient prose movement that the cultural heyday of the Song Dynasty was achieved.

Ouyang Xiu was a writer with many achievements who spent forty years in the officialdom.

However, due to his diligent research and perseverance, he left behind a rich literary legacy for future generations.

In particular, the ancient prose movement he advocated after Han Yu created a new situation for Song Dynasty prose and wrote a glorious page in the history of Chinese literature.

The literature of the Tang Dynasty experienced a decline during the Five Dynasties until it was revived again by Ouyang Xiu in the Song Dynasty.

He reversed the decline of literature, suppressed the wrong ideas that had existed for thousands of years, and ensured that the upright cultural atmosphere could be passed on.

However, it is a pity that although Ouyang Xiu was appreciated, he was unable to fully display his abilities.

Before Ouyang Xiu in the Song Dynasty, students' writing style was conservative and lacked vigor.

Since Ouyang Xiu, the world has used the knowledge of classics and ancient texts as the evaluation standard, and this is all thanks to Ouyang Xiu.

Ouyang Xiu vigorously advocated the revival of poetry and prose, reformed the formalist literary and poetic style from the late Tang Dynasty to the early Song Dynasty, and achieved remarkable results.

Due to his political status and great achievements in prose writing, his status in the Song Dynasty was similar to that of Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty.

He guided writers such as Wang Anshi, Su Xun, Su Shi, and Su Zhe, and had a great influence on their poetry and prose.

Even until today's Ming Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu's writing style continues to influence thousands of students.

"At that time, Ouyang Xiu's superior was Qian Weiyan, the son of Qian Chu, the last King of Wuyue during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period."

"The Song Dynasty treated Wuyue nobles well. The first names of the Hundred Family Surnames are Zhao, Qian, Sun and Li."

"Zhao is the surname of the emperor of the Song Dynasty, and Qian is the surname of the Wuyue royal family, which follows the emperor."

"Coupled with his personal efforts, Qian Weiyen occupied a prominent position in the political arena of the Northern Song Dynasty."

"Qian Weiyan was very kind to young talents like Ouyang Xiu, and he simply promoted them as tributes."

"Not only did he rarely let young scholars like Ouyang Xiu take on trivial administrative tasks, he also openly supported him in eating, drinking and having fun."

"Once, Ouyang Xiu and his young colleagues went to Mount Song for a trip, and it snowed in the evening."

"Suddenly, Qian Weiyan's messenger arrived, bringing with him an excellent cook and a singing girl, and conveying Qian Weiyan's words."

"There's nothing going on in the mansion. You don't have to rush back. Just enjoy the snow in Songshan."

"Of course, these young talents also compose poetry and prose in addition to eating, drinking and having fun."

"Parallel prose was popular in the literary world at that time, and the style was gorgeous."

"But it's hard not to use big words and clichés. Ouyang Xiu and others used such articles to participate in the imperial examinations."

“Finally, they can create without any pressure. Of course, they are not satisfied with such a rigid writing style.”

"Instead, he relied on his rich knowledge and tried to break the stale style of writing at the time and promote classical writing by imitating the ancients of the pre-Qin and Han dynasties."

"With the support of Qian Weiyan, Ouyang Xiu and others had ample time to ponder ancient Chinese writing."

"Later, the creation of classical Chinese flourished in the Song Dynasty, leaving behind countless famous works that will last through the ages."

"Qian Weiyan's contribution to supporting these young scholars can be said to be of lasting benefit to future generations."

"Qian Weiyan's successor, Wang Shu, is an official in his seventies who has always been very strict in disciplining his subordinates."

"After arriving, he saw that the young people left behind by Qian Weiyan were traveling around all day, and he was very dissatisfied."

"One day, Wang Shu gathered Ouyang Xiu and others together and gave them a strict lesson."

"Look at Kou Zhun, he was demoted because of his indulgence in pleasure."

"Besides, you guys are no match for Kou Zhun in talent, so how dare you do this?"

"Everyone was scolded into silence, except for Ouyang Xiu, who was young and energetic and had a quick response."

"The reason why Kou Zhun later fell into misfortune was not because he indulged in pleasure, but because he did not know how to retire at an old age."

"Later, Qian Weiyan suffered political failure and was forced to leave Luoyang."

"Ouyang Xiu and others saw Qian Weiyan off, and both sides shed tears of farewell."

"The luxurious life in Luoyang not only laid the foundation for Ouyang Xiu's literary career, but also became the most beautiful memory of his life."

Wang Yangming: Ouyang Xiu advocated a retro movement in poetry and prose and opposed the then popular Xikun style of writing, which had a profound influence on literary creation in later generations.

Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty initiated a cultural retro movement, advocating ancient literary style and pragmatic writing style.

What Ouyang Xiu started in the Northern Song Dynasty literary world was a revival movement of Northern Song Dynasty poetry and prose based on Han Yu's ideas.

The Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song were established based on this idea.

Before Ouyang Xiu's reform, the mainstream literary style in the Northern Song Dynasty was Xikun style.

During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, officials, while editing history books, imitated the writings of Bai Juyi, Liu Yuxi and others.

These officials compiled these poems into a book, which is the so-called Xikun style.

Different from Bai Juyi and Liu Yuxi who each sang in response to each other, the Xikun style was given a name and then several people wrote poems together to compete with each other.

After the Xikun style became popular, it swept the streets at that time and became the most popular cultural element of the time.

Ouyang Xiu was born during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, and he took office during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen.

At that time, as society stabilized, it faced the problems that all dynasties have faced.

As time goes by, land is constantly being annexed and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. A more pragmatic writing style is needed to expose some social problems.

The Xikun style of writing that was popular at the time became increasingly rigid, with everyone copying each other's words.

Such set words cannot accurately describe inner feelings, but are simply a show of skill.

Ouyang Xiu believed that writers should express their truest inner feelings rather than setting rules and then using fancy words within the rules.

And this is the significance of the poetry and prose revival movement advocated by Ouyang Xiu.

"In 1034, 28-year-old Ouyang Xiu returned to Beijing to take up a post and participated in the compilation of Chongwen Zongmu."

"The table is always full and the jug is always full of wine" became his motto in Beijing.

"However, at this time, Ouyang Xiu was no longer the boy who enjoyed his youth. He began to shoulder social responsibilities."

"At that time, the drawbacks of the Northern Song Dynasty's poverty and weakness began to show."

"The gap between the rich and the poor is widening, and social contradictions are becoming increasingly prominent."

"Fan Zhongyan, who had a close relationship with Ouyang Xiu, began to call for reforms, blaming social problems on corruption."

"Ouyang Xiu saw it more deeply and believed that redundant officials and staff were the fundamental problem."

"Finally, Fan Zhongyan's reforms offended the vested interests, and he was hit hard and demoted to Raozhou."

"Ouyang Xiu, as a member of Fan Zhongyan's faction, was also implicated and demoted to the magistrate of Yiling County."

"Ouyang Xiu married Madam Xu when he passed the imperial examination, but she died shortly after their marriage."

"Shortly after being demoted, Ouyang Xiu married the second daughter of the late Prime Minister Xue Kui."

"It is worth mentioning that Xue Kui's eldest son-in-law is none other than Wang Gongchen, who participated in the palace examination with Ouyang Xiu and won the first place."

"Later, Wang Gongchen's wife passed away, and he married Xue Kui's third daughter, continuing to be the son-in-law of the Xue family and Ouyang Xiu's brother-in-law."

"Ouyang Xiu wrote a poem to ridicule that the old son-in-law became the new son-in-law, and the elder uncle became the younger uncle."

"In 1043, the third year of the Qingli reign, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Fu Bi and others implemented the Qingli New Deal."

"Ouyang Xiu participated in the reform and became a key figure of the reformists, proposing reforms in the civil service, military affairs, and the imperial examination system."

"But due to the obstruction of conservatives, the New Deal failed again."

"Two years later, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and Fu Bi, who promoted the Qingli New Deal, were successively demoted."

"Ouyang Xiu wrote a letter to defend himself, and was demoted to the position of governor of Chuzhou."

"In Chuzhou, Ouyang Xiu wrote his immortal masterpiece, The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man, and the art of ancient Chinese literature reached maturity."

"He still maintained a relaxed and lazy attitude, governing in a lenient and simple manner, making life easy for himself and the people."

"But even under this governing policy, Chuzhou is governed in an orderly manner."

"Ouyang Xiu liked wine, and there are many descriptions of wine in his poems and essays."

"In the poem "Fisherman's Pride", the lotus-picking girl uses lotus leaves as cups and drinks while rowing a boat, which fully describes the beauty that wine brings to people's lives."

"When Ouyang Xiu was governor of Yangzhou, he would bring guests to Pingshan Hall every summer."

"They sent people to pick lotus flowers and put them in pots, and asked the singing girls to take the lotus flowers and pass them around."

"Whoever the flower is passed to picks off a petal. When the last petal is picked, they drink a glass of wine."

"In his later years, Ouyang Xiu claimed to have a collection of 10,000 books, a zither, a chessboard, and a pot of wine, which shows that Ouyang Xiu loved drinking."

"When he was a prefect, Ouyang Xiu still loved drinking and hiking as much as he did before."

"He often took his officials and people out for outings and picnics in the mountains."

"Then I got drunk and watched everyone having fun in a daze."

"It is said that the beginning of The Drunken Pavilion originally spent a lot of time describing the mountains around Chuzhou."

"Finally, these descriptions were modified by Ouyang into five words: "Mountains surround Chu", which became a famous sentence in the history of prose."

"When drunk, I can enjoy myself with the people, and when sober, I can record the process of my trip with the best writing skills of the time."

Su Shi: "The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man" is a classic prose written by Ouyang Xiu. Once this article came out, it immediately caused a sensation in the literary world.

When Ouyang Xiu was working in Chuzhou, he often visited the nearby Langya Mountain, and thus became friends with Monk Zhixian of Lang Temple at the foot of the mountain.

In order to facilitate him to visit the mountain scenery, the monk Zhixian built a pavilion for him on the mountainside. When the pavilion was completed, Ouyang Xiu went to congratulate him and named it the Drunken Old Man Pavilion. He also wrote the famous "Drunken Old Man Pavilion" which has been passed down through the ages.

When the article was just written, Ouyang Xiu took it to people for advice, and all he heard was praise.

Later, he read it to an old man dressed as a woodcutter.

Chu is surrounded by mountains on all sides: Wulong Mountain in the east, Dafeng Mountain in the west, Huashan Mountain in the south and Baimi Mountain in the north.

As soon as the old man heard the beginning, he thought that the article seemed to have too many words.

When the old man went up the mountain to chop firewood, he looked around and saw mountains all around him.

Before he finished speaking, Ouyang Xiu understood, crossed out a string of words, and changed the beginning to "Mountains surround Chu."

These five short words are the concise and comprehensive beginning of "The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man".

This "The Drunken Old Man's Pavilion" has been revered as a masterpiece among travel notes and can be regarded as a famous piece of writing throughout the ages.

This article caused quite a stir and became a masterpiece.

First, it is a work that comes from the heart of Ouyang Xiu and is full of true feelings.

"The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man" broke the inherent boundaries of literary styles and was innovative in the structure of the article.

The writing of articles has always attached great importance to the expression of emotions, and writing based on emotions is an aesthetic requirement.

Second, Ouyang Xiu created a new writing system.

Chen Shidao of the Northern Song Dynasty mentioned in his "Houshan Poetry Talk": "Tuizhi wrote notes to record events; today's notes are discussions."

When Han Yu wrote notes in the past, he only wrote articles to record events.

By the Northern Song Dynasty, people had already begun to express their opinions when writing notes.

Starting from "The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man", historical articles not only included discussions but also the expression techniques of fu.

Therefore, the innovation of "The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man" is unmatched by any other article.

Third, this article is not a game, but an ingenious work by Ouyang Xiu.

Because this article seems to be written more casually and shows more personality.

Therefore, scholars who advocate spiritual doctrines highly respect it.

Fourth, this article is chaotic yet orderly, and its ideas are profound.

When Ouyang Xiu wrote this article, he had just been demoted.

But he exiled himself and regarded it as a free and secluded life.

At the same time, this article also reflects Ouyang Xiu's idea of ​​sharing happiness with the people.

The sentence "The drunkard's intention is not to drink" is particularly intriguing.

In other words, the reason why "The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man" is so good is that the article is lyrical, original and thoughtful.

"The suppression of the conservatives did not affect Ouyang Xiu's good mood."

"Later, Ouyang Xiu became the governor of Yingzhou."

"In Yingzhou, he still indulged himself in poetry and wine, and thought his life was no worse than in Luoyang."

"Ouyang Xiu's official position became higher and higher, and the lyrics he wrote became more and more popular in society."

"Legend has it that there was a singing girl in Yingzhou who could sing all of Ouyang Xiu's poems."

"Later, Ouyang Xiu was sent as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom. The officials who received him invited a local singing girl to entertain him and asked him to treat Ouyang Xiu well."

"The singing girl just agreed and didn't say much."

"Everyone thought she was just a singing girl from a remote area and didn't know anything."

"Who would have thought that the first thing the courtesan sang was Ouyang Xiu's poems, which shows how influential Ouyang Xiu's poems were at that time."

"It is said that Ouyang Xiu had an affair with his niece Zhang, but the two were not related by blood. She was born to Ouyang Xiu's brother-in-law's ex-wife."

"Zhang married Ouyang Xiu's cousin and later had an affair with a servant in the family."

"After the truth was revealed, the case was tried in Kaifeng Prefecture, and in court, Zhang confessed that she had an affair with Ouyang Xiu."

"Ouyang Xiu made all kinds of excuses, and although the case was finally dismissed as unfounded, his reputation was greatly affected."

"His political enemies also used this as an excuse to attack him, and he was eventually demoted to Chuzhou by the imperial court."

"In August 1054, Ouyang Xiu, who had already become a high-ranking official in Beijing, was falsely accused and demoted."

"As soon as the order was issued, Emperor Renzong regretted it."

"When Ouyang Xiu went to the court to bid farewell, the emperor personally asked him to stay and edit the History of Tang."

"In this way, Ouyang Xiu became a Hanlin scholar and began to compile history books."

"As a historian, Ouyang Xiu was particularly adept at using his fluent writing skills to compile history."

"He presided over the compilation of the New Book of Tang, and there were many other people who actually participated in the writing."

"In order to prevent different styles, Ouyang Xiu was responsible for coordinating the entire manuscript."

"At that time, classical Chinese literature in the Northern Song Dynasty was a bit overdeveloped, and everyone wanted to write classical Chinese to attract attention."

"But if you don't have enough talent, your articles will often be obscure and difficult to understand."

"It looks impressive, but it actually has no real content, let alone artistic value."

"Song Qi, who was in charge of writing biographies, always liked to use uncommon words."

"In terms of age and qualifications, Song Qi is Ouyang Xiu's predecessor."

"Ouyang Xiu was a little embarrassed to say anything to him, so he could only give some tactful advice."

"One morning, Ouyang Xiu wrote eight words on the door of Tang Shuju: Sleeping at night is not auspicious, and the door is closed."

"Song Qi came and looked at it for a long time, and finally figured out what it meant. It turned out to be a common saying that dreams at night are ominous, but writing on the door brings good luck."

"Ouyang Xiu jokingly said that he was imitating the writing style of Song Qi in his Tang History. Song Qi wrote the plain phrase "thunderbolt cannot cover one's ears" as "thunderbolt cannot cover one's ears"."

"Song Qi understood what Ouyang Xiu meant and couldn't help but smile. From then on, his writing became more simple."

Wang Anshi: Ouyang Xiu's two demotions were accompanied by huge scandals, which led to his extremely bad reputation.

Despite his fame as one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties, Ouyang Xiu's life was a mess.

Even after being splashed with dirty water twice, it could never be washed clean, and they became two major stains on itself.

Ouyang Xiu failed in the imperial examinations twice until he was appreciated by Xu Yan, the prefect of Hanyang Prefecture.

Thanks to Xu Yan's recommendation, Ouyang Xiu was admitted to the imperial examination at the age of 24.

What followed was the wedding night, and Xu Yan married his daughter to Ouyang Xiu after he passed the imperial examination.

Unfortunately, this first wife died of illness before he could stay with him for long.

The first time Ouyang Xiu was demoted was because he spoke up for Fan Zhongyan.

It's completely out of righteous indignation, a little unfair, but worth it.

But when Ouyang Xiu was demoted for the second time, his reputation became bad, as someone impeached him for having an ambiguous relationship with his niece.

Ouyang Xiu had a niece who lost her father at an early age, or to be more precise, her sister's stepdaughter.

Later, this niece married the son of one of Ouyang Xiu's cousins ​​and became Ouyang Xiu's niece-in-law.

But this niece-in-law was not faithful to her husband and had an affair with a servant. Her husband found out and reported her to the authorities.

It is also possible that she was bribed by Ouyang Xiu's political enemies, or it is possible that she was tortured and blinded by the accusations. In any case, she actually said that she had an affair with Ouyang Xiu.

This was like dropping a bomb, leaving Ouyang Xiu speechless and in an extremely embarrassed state.

Although the matter was ultimately dropped due to insufficient evidence.

But Ouyang Xiu's reputation was really ruined.

At this time, Ouyang Xiu was only forty years old, which was a good age for a man to advance.

Once this basin of dirty water is poured down, it will never be cleansed no matter how hard you try.

The second scandal was his affair with his daughter-in-law.

In his later years, Ouyang Xiu had many students all over the world in literature and became a leading figure.

However, a memorial from the censor Jiang Zhiqi said that Ouyang Xiu and his eldest daughter-in-law had an affair, which made him the target of public criticism.

If the last scandal had already made Ouyang Xiu disgraced, this time he was completely disgraced.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, Ouyang Xiu has failed as a human being.

After the scandal with his daughter-in-law, Ouyang Xiu repeatedly asked the emperor to resign, but the emperor repeatedly tried to keep him.

However, because of his ruined reputation, his official position was demoted again and again, and he finally went to the remote Caizhou.

"In February 1057, Ouyang Xiu, who was already years old, became the chief examiner of the imperial examination of the Ministry of Rites."

"He presided over the Jinshi examination as a Hanlin scholar and advocated a plain style of writing."

"The admission of Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong and others had a great influence on the transformation of the literary style of the Northern Song Dynasty."

"In this exam, Ouyang Xiu also saw a good answer sheet, the language of the article is fluent and the reasoning is thorough."

"Ouyang Xiu probably learned this from his student Zeng Gong. This style of writing needs to be encouraged."

"But since he was one of us, it was not appropriate to give him first place, so I gave him second place. In the end, I learned that this was Su Shi's."

"Ouyang Xiu also admitted Su Shi along with his younger brother Su Zhe and a number of important figures in the literary world of the Northern Song Dynasty."

"Ouyang Xiu made an outstanding contribution to the Northern Song Dynasty court and the entire history of literature with his outstanding ability to judge people."

"After Su Shi passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, he wrote a letter of thanks to Ouyang Xiu."

"Ouyang Xiu praised Su Shi for his good writing skills, and I felt that I should give this young man some respect."

"He praised Su Shi highly, and Su Shi lived up to Ouyang Xiu's expectations and eventually became another cultural giant after Ouyang Xiu."

"In his later years, Ouyang Xiu often took out articles he had written when he was young to revise them."

"This awareness of literary history and serious attitude made a generation of literary giants."

"When the results were announced, those arrogant candidates found out that they had not been selected and started making trouble. Some even said they would stop Ouyang Xiu on the street and beat him up."

"But the emperor had full confidence in Ouyang Xiu's character and judgment and gave him great support."

"History ultimately proved Ouyang Xiu right, and the literary style of the Northern Song Dynasty was revived from then on."

"Ouyang Xiu was the first literary leader in the history of Song Dynasty literature to create a new style of writing. He led the Northern Song Dynasty poetry and prose retro movement and inherited and developed Han Yu's theory of ancient prose."

"His high achievements in prose writing complemented his correct theory of ancient Chinese literature, thus creating a new literary style for his generation."

"While Ouyang Xiu was changing the literary style, he also innovated the style of poetry and lyrics."

"Later generations called Ouyang Xiu, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and Su Shi the four great writers of all time, and together with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Su Shi, Su Xun, Su Zhe, Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong, they were called the eight great prose writers of the Tang and Song dynasties."

Zhang Juzheng: The imperial examination chaired by Abbot Ouyang Xiu became the number one list in history.

Ouyang Xiu, who was a scholar in the Hanlin Academy at the time, was well aware that both articles and poems were mired in the quagmire of formalism.

The imperial examination was used to select talents, and also focused on the rhetoric and rhythm.

If we want to change this phenomenon and truly select useful talents for the country, we must reform the imperial examination system.

Ouyang Xiu was already the leader of the literary world at that time, and the reform of the literary atmosphere fell on Ouyang Xiu's shoulders.

Ouyang Xiu achieved the first place in the imperial examination for a thousand years, as well as his several arrogant students.

Song Renzong personally presided over the palace examination and was very satisfied with this year's students.

All those who participated in the palace examination were awarded the title of Jinshi or Jinshi Chuan, without exception.

Su Shi won the first place in the palace examination, but his performance in poetry and prose was average, and he was finally awarded the title of Jinshi with the first grade.

The results of the palace examination showed that the top three candidates remained unknown in the future.

But among those who passed the imperial examination this time, there were many who became famous throughout the ages.

Su Shi, Su Zhe, Cheng Hao, Lü Huiqing, Zeng Gong, Zeng Bu, Wang Shao, Zhang Zai, Zhang Dun, Lin Xi, Wang Shao.

Each of them is a superstar, and each of their names is a legend.

They bring their own halo to illuminate the era and shine in the starry sky of history.

Su Shi, Su Zhe and Zeng Gong are among the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties. Together with Ouyang Xiu and Su Xun of the contemporary dynasty, there are actually five of them.

Cheng Hao was the founder of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which was revered by later emperors and had a significant impact on the political structure of the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

Zhang Zai was also one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism. His ideas of establishing a mind for heaven and earth, establishing a destiny for the people, continuing the lost knowledge of the ancient sages, and bringing peace to the world for all generations have remained enduring.

Zeng Bu, Lu Huiqing, Zhang Dun and Lin Xi were all famous politicians who had held important positions in the two governments.

Zhang Dun was a political strongman. He served as prime minister for eight years and made many innovations in politics, military affairs, diplomacy, culture and agriculture.

Lu Huiqing was a major figure in Wang Anshi's reform and the actual promoter of the reform.

Wang Shao was the most famous military strategist in the late Northern Song Dynasty. He led the Song-Xia Xihe Campaign and expanded the border by more than 2,000 miles. This was the most brilliant achievement achieved by the peace-oriented Song Dynasty.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that this imperial examination chaired by Abbot Ouyang Xiu was ranked first in the thousand years.

(End of this chapter)