In the first year of Song Renzong Baoyuan (1038), Sima Guang was admitted as a scholar and graduated from Longtuge with a bachelor's degree. When he was in Song Shenzong, he left the imperial court for fifteen years because he opposed Wang Anshi's political reform, and presided over the compilation of the first chronicle general history in the history of China —— A Mirror with Resources. After the four dynasties of Renzong, Yingzong, Zongshen and Zhezong, it was presented to the Taishi and Wenguogong. He is gentle, humble, upright, hard-working and diligent. Boasting that "the day is insufficient, the night follows", his personality can be called a model under Confucian education and has always been admired.
Sima Guang wrote a lot in his life, including Sima Zheng Gong Wen, Ji Gu Lu, Su Shui Ji, Xu Qian and so on.
2. Cultural achievements
(1) Sima Guang's main achievements are reflected in his studies. Among them, the greatest contribution is to preside over the compilation of Zi Tongzhi Jian. During the Xining period in Song Shenzong, Sima Guang strongly opposed Wang Anshi's political reform and asked to go abroad. In the fourth year of Xining (107 1), he was sentenced to Xijing Yushitai, and lived in Luoyang for the next fifteen years without asking about political affairs. During this leisurely time, Sima Guang presided over the compilation of 294 volumes of nearly 4 million words of chronological history book Zi Tongzhi Jian. Sima Guang's paradise is not only his apartment, but also the location of Zitongzhi Bamboo Slips Bookstore. The environment here is beautiful and the style is simple, which reflects the owner's interest and pursuit. Its publishing house was established in Bianjing. In addition to Sima Guang, famous scholars at that time, such as Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu, participated in the work of the publishing house. Among them, Sima Guang is the editor-in-chief, Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu are co-schools, and Sima Kang, the son of Sima Guang, is responsible for collating the text. After Sima Guang came to Luoyang, he moved the bookstore of Zi Tong Zhi Jian from the capital of song dynasty to Luoyang. Not only the staff of the bookstore live in the park, but also celebrities such as Er Cheng, Shao Yong and Wen Yanbo often come here for parties. This is an academic center.
He said in Zi Zhi Tong Jian: "I am so tired now, my eyes are dim, my teeth are missing, my knowledge is exhausted, and I immediately forgot. My energy is on this book. " Sima Guang devoted his life to this book. Less than two years after writing, he died of overwork. From the publication of Zi Tongzhi Jian to the abridged and finalized version of Zi Tongzhi Jian, Sima Guang wrote it himself, and so did others.
Zi Tong Zhi Jian is the largest chronicle in China, with 294 * * volumes, which runs through ancient and modern times. From the Warring States period, Korea, Zhao and Wei were divided into Jin Dynasty (403 BC) to the end of the Five Dynasties (Houliang, Houtang, Houjin, Houhan and Houzhou), and before the last year of (Song Taizu) (955 AD), the author recorded the historical facts of this year 1362 in chronological order, taking the year and month as the longitude and the historical facts as the latitude. Hu Sansheng, a historian at the turn of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, said: "If you don't know the mirror, you will want to govern without knowing the source of autonomy, and if you are evil, you won't know the art of preventing chaos. If you are a minister and don't know Tong Jian, then you have nothing to do with the monarch and nothing to do with the people. ..... This is like using soldiers and teachers to create laws and regulations. I don't know what the ancients got, but it is inevitable to lose and win. " Wang Yinglin said: "Since bookmarking, there is no such thing as a mirror." Wang Mingsheng, a great historian in the Qing Dynasty, said: "This book is indispensable between heaven and earth, and it is also a book that scholars can't help reading" (Volume I of the Seventeen Histories). Liang Qichao, a famous scholar in modern times, commented on Tong Jian and said: "The Tong Jian written by Sima Wengong is also a great work in the world. Its magnificent structure and rich materials make it impossible for future generations who want to compile a general history to take it as a blueprint, but so far no one can rule it. Wen Gong is also a great man! "
(2) Sima Guang was mainly engaged in history and politics all his life, and was not proud of literature. He commented that "as for literature, it is not his strong point". However, his knowledge is extensive and profound, and he combines learning with writing articles, although he has no intention of writing for the sake of writing. Sima Guang thinks that flashy poetry is useless. What he praises is plain and carefree poetry, which expresses true temperament and true self.
(3) In the study of Confucian classics, Sima Guang carried forward Confucianism, vigorously developed Buddhism and Taoism, and made many groundbreaking interpretations of Confucian classics. Zhu, Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, Er Cheng (Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi) and Zhang Zai were also called the "six Taoist masters" in the Northern Song Dynasty.
(4) Sima Guang left few calligraphy works. His handwriting is thin and square, and every painting is regular, even if it is long and big, it is not sloppy. Such vigorous writing style is similar to his honest and rigorous character.
Sima Guang's main styles are official script and official script, and they are more than official script. The main features of the book are: clear strokes, regular and flat structure, and the horizontal strokes often contain the intention and shape of silkworm head and phoenix tail, which is obviously integrated into the tradition of official script. The characteristics of official script are: it is not as simple as Han Li, and it is not as beautiful as Tang official script. However, its brushwork is sharp, penetrating, thick and vigorous, and its structure is mostly vertical. Although the font is small, it is full of energy, and the turning point is angular and rigid. The lines are connected by a straight arc, which is very beautiful in simplicity. In addition to the official law, there is also the intention of opening a mold. There is no fullness that is common in the Tang Dynasty, and there is a wind of anger but not power.
Sima Guang's achievements in calligraphy mainly benefit from his understanding and appreciation of calligraphy, painting and epigraphy. According to his personal thoughts, he learned from others' strengths, gathered strength, prestige, Jin people's connotation and Tang Jie's strength in one furnace, and formed a distinctive personal appearance and style, which is undoubtedly unique in the calligraphy of Song people. Huang Tingjian's On Books once commented: "Your book is not very good, but it is full of spirit, like a man. The so-called left criterion, right rule, sound as law, and degree can be seen from his book. " Song Gaozong also said: "Sima Guang's official script is really like the Han people, which is not seen in Mi Fei in recent times. I have five volumes of official script and play with its characters every day. "
(5) Besides Zi Jian, there are eighty volumes of Tong Jian Li, twenty volumes of Lu and six volumes of Guan Bai Gong Qing Biao. In addition, he has research and writings in literature, Confucian classics, philosophy and even medicine. His main representative works are Hanlin Cao Shi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi, Shuowen Jiezi and Shuowen Jiezi. "Frugal training, showing health" is included in the Chinese textbook of senior high school.
3. Political views:
After Zhao Yong ascended the throne, he was young and determined to revitalize his ancestral business. After asking questions with an open mind and seeking advice from various parties, I felt that a radical and bold reform plan put forward by Wang Anshi was in line with my own thoughts, so in the second year of JaeHee Ning (1069), Wang Anshi was appointed as a counselor and was responsible for the political reform. Ideologically, Wang Anshi advocated open source and Sima Guang advocated throttling. Because of their different political views, Sima Guang and Wang Anshi argued fiercely on some issues, and sometimes they did not give in to each other at the seminar hosted by the emperor. However, Sima Guang did not oppose Wang Anshi's political reform in general, especially when the reform had not exposed obvious drawbacks, and he did not openly oppose it. Even when someone wanted to impeach Wang Anshi, he advised him. It was not until Wang Anshi promulgated the Young Crop Law that Sima Guang expressed different opinions. He thinks that it is more harmful for county officials to rely on their powers to release money and collect interest than for civilians to lend money and collect interest, so he expresses strong dissatisfaction.
Zong Shen hoped that Sima Guang could play a good role and help him to save the crisis as soon as possible and realize the national rejuvenation. In the third year of Xining (1070), on February 12th, Sima Guang was appointed as assistant envoy. However, Sima Guang resolutely refused on the grounds of "no money" and "no military study". From 15 to 27, he signed five letters and asked to leave Beijing. Later, he learned about Yongxing Army (now Xi City, Shaanxi Province) from Bachelor Duanmingtang.
In the eighth year of Yuanfeng (1085), Sima Guang was 67 years old. On March 7th, Zongshen died, and Zhao Xu, who was only 10 years old, succeeded Zhezong. Zhezong was young and ruled by his grandmother, Empress Dowager. Empress Dowager Cixi asked Sima Guang for advice on the strategy of governing the country. Sima Guang published "Begging for Tao Yan" and suggested "clearing the way". Sima Guang once again called for not to increase the burden on poor farmers, and advocated that the new law must be abolished and "benevolent government" should be implemented for farmers. Then he played the second book "Essentials of Governing the Country by Nourishing the Heart", focusing on rewards and punishments of employing people, and put forward that the Garbo Law, the Exemption Law and the Art of War are all "harmful to the people and the country"
Empress Dowager Cixi began to use Sima Guang to get to know Chen Zhou. Soon, she wrote a letter to the assistant minister (deputy prime minister). But Sima Guang declined politely, saying that he was "older and more tired" and only asked about Chen Zhou. Later, with the support of relatives and friends around me, I took office. Sima Guang advised the Empress Dowager that Herry Liu, Fan Chunren, Chang Li, Su Shi and Su Zhe, who were demoted for opposing the new law, were recalled to North Korea, and Lv Gongzhu, Wen Yanbo and other senior ministers were also recalled to the court.
Sima Guang abolished the new law, published "Please Correct the Malpractices", and compared the new law to poison in "Please Update the New Law", demanding that immediate measures be taken to "update" all. Garbo Law was abolished, as were Tanaka's average tax law, market liberalization law and horse protection law. Knowing that the immunity law, the young crop law and the general officer law have not been abolished, he said with infinite sadness, "I will close my eyes even if I die!" " He said to Lv Gongzhu, "Since I fell ill, I have learned that my medical care is paid, my family affairs are paid (Sima Kang), and state affairs are not paid." I hope Lv Gongzhu can realize his old dream. At the same time, the above table requests resignation. However, the empress dowager is very dependent on him. Not only was she not allowed to resign, but she was granted the position of assistant minister Zuo and assistant minister, and officially became prime minister. Then the exemption law and the young crops law were quickly abolished. Sima Guang finally realized his long-cherished wish to abolish the exemption law and his own political views.
At the same time, they spared no effort to crack down on reformists. Zhang Dun once refuted Sima Guang's idea of restoring the official law one by one, and the anti-reformists mobilized all the forces of remonstrance and repeatedly attacked Zhang Dun until they were forced to be idle. All officials classified as pro-party reformers such as Wang Anshi were demoted. Among them, Cai did write poems about Che Gaiting, thinking that all of them were involved in ridicule and died in NSW. Everyone in the political reform school is in a state of fear and anxiety. Lv Huiqing was afraid to drink cold water when he was exiled, for fear that he would be caught by the opposition when he got sick.
For Xixia, it inherited the compromise policy of Xining before, and ceded the recovered four villages of Anjiang, Lu Jing, Futu and Mizhi to Xixia, temporarily stealing peace. These bad style's have aroused widespread social discontent.
People with a clear mind once suggested that Sima Guang put himself in the young Song Zhezong's shoes. If someone teaches "father and son righteousness" in the future and instigates Zhezong to oppose today's "changing children into mothers", it will be miserable. Sima Guang said: "If it were a religious society, there would be no such thing!" Sima Guang and his successors ignored the little emperor, which aroused the dissatisfaction of Zhezong. After participating in politics, Zhezong said that he "only saw his hips and back" during his participation in politics, and rebuked the opposition for not understanding the meaning of monarch and minister. After Ren Xuan's death, the anti-reformists who restored the old system collapsed and suffered a heavy blow.
4. Interesting stories about people:
(1) Walnut Peeling
Influenced by his father's honest education, Sima Guang was honest all his life. When he was about five or six years old, he once tried to peel walnuts, but he couldn't. My sister wants to help him, but she can't go. She left first. Later, a maid peeled walnuts for him with hot soup. When her sister came back, she asked, "Who helped you?" When he lied to his sister that he did it himself, his father scolded him: "How dare a boy lie?" Sima Guang never dared to lie. When he was old, he wrote it on paper, always encouraging himself to die and never telling a lie. Shao Yong's son Shao Bowen has also read this paper. A Qing Chen Hongmou said, "Sima Guang's life is based on sincerity and does not bully." The word "sincerity" was also used by later generations to define Sima Guang's coffin.
(2) Breaking the urn to save friends
Once, Sima Guang and his friends were playing in the backyard. There is a big water tank in the yard. A child climbed to the edge of the tank to play and accidentally fell into Tanqueray. The water tank is very deep, and it seems that the child is going to have no roof. When other children saw that something was wrong, they cried and cried in fear and ran outside to ask adults for help. However, Sima Guang used his quick wits to pick up a big stone from the ground and hit it at the water tank. Bang, the water tank broke, the water in the tank came out, and the submerged child was saved. Xiao Sima Guang is calm and smart, and he has been like an adult since he was a child. This accidental event made Xiao Sima Guang famous, and people in Tokyo and Luoyang painted it and spread it widely.
(3) Selling horses in good faith
Sima Guang wants to sell a horse, which is pure and beautiful in color, tall and fierce, and gentle in temperament. Unfortunately, he got lung disease in summer. Sima Guang said to the housekeeper, "This horse has lung disease in summer. This must be told to the buyer. " The housekeeper smiled and said, "Who is like you? How can you sell horses and tell the problems that others can't see! " Sima Guang disagreed with the housekeeper and said to him, "How much a horse is worth is a trivial matter. Telling people the truth will ruin the reputation of being a man. We must be honest in life. If we lose our integrity, the loss will be even greater. " The housekeeper was ashamed after hearing this.
(4) Low-key indifference
Sima Guang is indifferent to luxury. In "Training Thrift to Show Health", he mentioned that his elders would dress him in gorgeous clothes after hours, and he always took them off with a blush. In the first year of Bao, he was received by Injong. At the banquet, everyone put flowers on their heads and played freely, but Sima Guang sat in a dangerous position without flowers. After being reminded by his peers, Sima Guang barely put on a small flower.
Sima Guang has an old servant who has always been called a "gentleman scholar". On one occasion, Su Shi came to Sima Guang's mansion and couldn't help laughing when he heard the servant's address. He said jokingly, "Your master is not a scholar, but a prime minister. Everyone is called' Shi Jun Xianggong'! " The old servant was surprised. Later, when they met Sima Guang, they all respectfully called him "Shi Jun Xianggong" and said happily, "Fortunately, Master Su taught me ..." Sima Guang sighed, "My old servant was taught badly by quilt Zhan."
(5) Never take a concubine
In the Northern Song Dynasty, the literati lived a prosperous life, and concubinage and whoring prevailed. Sima Guang, Rainbow Anshi and Yue Fei are very few people who don't take concubines or keep prostitutes. After more than 30 years of marriage, his wife, Mrs. Zhang, had no children. Sima Guang did not take it to heart, nor did he think about concubinage and having children. Mrs. Zhang is worried to death. On one occasion, she bought a beautiful woman behind Sima Guang's back, quietly put it in the bedroom, and then went out on an excuse. Sima Guang saw it, ignored it and went to the study to read. The beauty followed her to the study. After putting on airs, she took out another book, flipped through it and asked coyly, "Excuse me, sir, what is Zhong Cheng?" Sima Guang stood ten feet away from her with a straight face and handed him a reply: "Zhong Cheng is an official, not a book!" The beauty was bored and left disappointed.
On another occasion, Sima Guang went to her husband's house to enjoy flowers. Mrs. Zhang and her mother-in-law secretly arranged a beautiful maid. Sima Guang was rude and said angrily to the servant girl, "Go away! Why did you come to see me when my wife was away? " The next day, all the guests of the Zhang family knew about it and admired it very much, saying that it was like a replica of "Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun" growing old together. Only one person smiled: "It's a pity that Sima Guang can't play the piano, but only kick the tortoise!" " When Mrs. Zhang was childless for life, Sima Guang adopted his brother's son "Sima Kang" as his adopted son.
Sima Guang and his wife live together. Luoyang Lantern Festival is famous all over the world. On the Lantern Festival, Mrs. Zhang wants to go out and watch the lights. Sima Guang said, "There are lights at home, so why go out to see them?" Mrs. Zhang said, "Not only the lights, but also the tourists." Sima Guang smiled and said, "Look at people? Strange, am I a ghost! "
(6) Bury his wife in a typical way
When Sima Guang edited Zi Tong Zhi Jian in Luoyang, his residence was very poor, so he set up another basement for research. At that time, minister Wang also lived in Luoyang, and his mansion was very luxurious. Nave has built three floors, and the top floor is called Chaotian Pavilion. Luoyang people joked: "Wang Jia drilled into the sky and Sima entered the ground." After Sima Guang's wife died, poor Sima Guang didn't think of burial, and he didn't have the money for his wife's funeral. He wants to pawn the only three hectares of barren land, put the coffin in mourning and do his husband's duty. Sima Guang has been an official for nearly 40 years, so big that even his wife is a typical burial.
As the saying goes: three years to clear the magistrate, 100 thousand snowflakes and silver. In feudal society, most people studied hard at the cold window and entered the official career in order to show off their family background, prosperity and wealth, and get the favor, shadow and descendants of future generations. In front of these people, Sima Guang's incorruptibility is even more commendable. In March of the eighth year of Jiaqing, Song Renzong gave Sima Guang more than one million yuan and countless silk treasures, but Sima Guang was unmoved. When Sima Guang was old and weak, his friend Liu Xianliang planned to spend 500,000 yuan to buy a maid for him. Sima Guang politely refused. He said: "For decades, I dare not eat meat often or wear coarse silk cloth. How dare I spend 500 thousand to hire a maid? "
(7) the collection is true.
Sima Guang's family has a rich collection of books. When he lived in Luoyang, he bought 20 acres of land and built a "unique paradise" with more than 10 thousand books on literature and history. He also established a "reading library", in which 5,000 copies of Jing Shan were opened and 2,400 copies of Writing Oracle were obtained. Good at protecting books, from Er Fu to Chongyang, every year, books are put on file to be exposed on sunny days. The console table is clean and covered with wormwood, but every household sits up and reads. When reading a book, don't hold it empty-handed, lest your hands get wet with sweat. After collecting books for decades, his books are still as good as new.
(8) Luoyang Association for the Aged
After Sima Guang retired to Luoyang, thirteen people, including Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi, admired the past of Bai Juyi's Nine Presbyterian Church, and gathered the old sages of Luoyang. He believes that Luoyang customs value age over official positions, so he built an "old-age hall" in Zisheng Hospital, calling it "Luoyang Old-age Club" and asked Huan to draw a portrait in it. At that time, he was seventy-nine, Wen Yanbo, Si and Si were seventy-seven, Wang Shanggong, a court doctor, was seventy-six, Feng Hangji, a secretary supervisor of Zhao Bing, Liu Ji and Wei Zhou, was seventy-five, Chu Jianzhong and Wang 72, a court doctor, and Zhang Wen and a bachelor of Long Tuge, a court doctor, were seventy. At that time, Xuanhui told Wang to stay in Beijing (Daming House) and wrote to Wen Yanbo who wanted to attend their rally. Wang is seventy-one. It's just that Sima Guang is not seventy years old, and Wen Yanbo has always valued him, so he invited him to join the partnership with the old example of the Tang Dynasty. Sima Guang didn't dare to be behind Fu and Wen, because he was a junior. Wen Yanbo didn't listen, so Zheng Huan passed the portrait of Sima Guang from behind the scenes, and then passed the portrait of the king to Beijing. So thirteen people attended the meeting, and they bought wine and wrote poems for fun. At that time, there were many famous ancient temples in Luoyang, with bamboo pavilions as the scenery. Sima Guang and others are all white-bearded, dignified and beautiful. Every time we get together, Luoyang people follow.