Fan Zhongyan (August 29, 989-1May 20, 052), of Greek origin, Han nationality. Suzhou Wuxian people. An outstanding thinker, politician and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Fan Zhongyan lost his father when he was young, and his mother remarried Changshan Zhu, so he changed his name to Zhu Yue. In the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (10 15), Fan Zhongyan studied hard, awarded Guangdejun's manager to join the army, welcomed his mother back to raise him, and changed his name.

Later, he served as Xinghua county magistrate, manager of Secret Pavilion School, chief judge of Zhou Chen, and well-known in Suzhou. And has been repeatedly criticized for his rude remarks. In the first year of Kangding (1040), together with Han Qi, he served as Shaanxi deputy envoy, appeasing and soliciting, and adopting the policy of "long-term farming" to consolidate the northwest frontier defense.

For three years (1043), Li Qing participated in the discussion of state affairs and launched the "Qingli New Deal". Soon, when the New Deal was frustrated, Fan Zhongyan was demoted to Beijing and learned about Zhangzhou, Dengzhou, Hangzhou and Qingzhou.

In the fourth year (1052), it was changed to Yingzhou, and Fan Zhongyan took office for illness and died on the way, at the age of 64. The King of Chu posthumously conferred the title of Minister of War, posthumous title "Zheng Wen", known as the Duke of Fan Wenzheng.

Fan Zhongyan's political achievements are outstanding, and his literary achievements are outstanding. His thought of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later" and the integrity of people with lofty ideals have a far-reaching impact on future generations. There are a number of Fan Wenzheng official documents handed down from ancient times.

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Fan Zhongyan made up his mind in his early years and dared to say and do it. "Ning Ming died, but he was born in silence." This is his belief in correcting mistakes.

After becoming an official, Fan Zhongyan clearly saw the disadvantages of the system of enjoying peace in the Song Dynasty and constantly made suggestions to the court. These suggestions are in line with reality, and they are all powerful drugs to cure disadvantages, which embodies Fan Zhongyan's wise vision as a politician and his feelings of worrying about the country and the people.

As early as the third year of Tiansheng (1025), when he was still a small Dali Temple, the humble Fan Zhongyan dedicated the Empress Dowager and Injong to Zhang, and presented a Book of Current Affairs, in which some suggestions were put forward, such as providing disaster relief with rich customs, preparing for foreign invasion, re-selecting museums to raise talents, and appreciating Taiwan Province's suggestion to clear the way.

In the fifth year of Tiansheng (1027), during Ding Mu's worry, Fan Zhongyan "had no intention to care about the worries of the world" and gave the imperial court a thousand-word book, The Book of the Dynasty. In view of the disadvantages of poverty and illness, he put forward six reform ideas, such as "consolidating the foundation of the country, strengthening the people's strength and preparing for the military."

It is said that Prime Minister Wang Zeng was greatly appreciated after receiving Wan Yan's book, and immediately instructed Yan Shu to recommend Fan Zhongyan to take the bachelor's college entrance examination.

Fan Zhongyan lives alone and pursues the principle of "speaking first" to serve the country. Every time he speaks with medical stone, he commits many dangerous words and repeatedly derogates.

In the eighth year of Tiansheng (1030), Fan Zhongyan published Begging for the Empress Dowager, demanding that Empress Zhang Xian "take back power and give it back to God", so that Renzong, a "prosperous spring and autumn period", could lead officials to worship the empress dowager's shroud, angered Empress Zhang Xian, and was banished to the river middle government (now yongji city, Shanxi).

Fan Zhongyan's words and deeds also made Yan Shu, who had recommended him, worry about bringing trouble to himself. He called Fan Zhongyan and severely reprimanded him. Therefore, Fan Zhongyan wrote a long letter to Yan Shu, saying, "There is nothing to hide and no shame in remonstrating. Killing him is good for you. " It embodies his consistent spirit of preferring death to surrender.

In the second year of Ming Dow (1033), Empress Zhang Xian sailed a crane westward. After Injong took office, he hoped to make a difference and promoted a group of officials who were suppressed when the Queen Mother listened to politics. Fan Zhongyan was also called by Chen Zhou (now Huaiyang County, Henan Province) as an admonition officer.

The duty of the remonstrator is to make suggestions. Soon, Renzong prepared to depose Queen Guo because he had an affair with Shang Yang's second concubine. Fan Zhongyan and the imperial envoy led the admonition to the door of the hanging archway, and after the Guo was finished, it could not be abolished. As a result, he was escorted out of Beijing and exiled to Zhou Mu (now jiande city, Zhejiang).

Even in such a mess, Fan Zhongyan repeatedly persuaded Renzong in Zhou Mu Xie Shangbiao: "It is common for people and ministers to commit crimes; Face-to-face dispute, the grand ceremony of the country. "

In the winter of the second year of You Jing (1035), Fan Zhongyan was promoted from Suzhou to be a foreign minister of does, and imperial academy was sentenced to Beijing. After Fan Zhongyan came back, he was more anxious about this matter. At that time, Lv Yijian was the prime minister, quite dictatorial.

Fan Zhongyan painted the promotion of some important officials as Renzong in Guan Bai Tu, pointing to the promotion order of Guan Bai listed above, saying: "One is overstepping, the other is moving to the left, so it's public, so it's private, which means prime minister".

This made Lv Yijian, one of the most important officials, angry and angry. But in front of Renzong, he appealed to Fan Zhongyan for exceeding his authority, recommending his cronies and alienating his ministers. This time he resigned from Raozhou (now Poyang, Jiangxi).

After being demoted three times, Fan Zhongyan showed no signs of convergence. His almost stubborn persistence stems from his maverick character, from his feelings of worrying about the country and the people, and from his spirit of selfless service to the country.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Fan Zhongyan

China News Network-Fan Zhongyan: First Minister of Northern Song Dynasty