However, one of these eight people, his article is not included in the textbook, and the teacher introduced him very little in class, so that many times people can't remember him, and often say the names of seven people, but they can't remember who the eighth person is. I wrote it down in particular, but I don't know what his masterpiece is and what his position is. He is Ceng Gong, the lowest one among the eight masters in Tang and Song Dynasties.
In the early Ming Dynasty, You Zhu compiled the articles of the above eight essayists into a book, because Su Shi. Su Xun. Su Zhe is from the same clan, so it is the anthology of Mr. Eight, and these eight people are said to have started from this time. In the middle of Ming Dynasty, Tang Shunzhi compiled Wenbian, and only selected the articles of these eight essayists, but did not include the articles of other writers, which played a great role in restraining and spreading these eight people. Not long after, Mao Kun, an admirer of Tang Shunzhi, added You Zhu and himself to the idol literature according to his own ideas, re-edited eight articles, and wrote the book "Eight People's Banknotes in Tang and Song Dynasties", so the names of the eight people in Tang and Song Dynasties were fixed and spread.
At the same time, in addition to the Eight Masters, there are four people, namely Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Ceng Gong and Wang Anshi, who are also known as the Four Masters of Ancient Chinese in Song Dynasty. So no matter from which point of view, Ceng Gong and these famous writers are at the same level and belong to the top of the pyramid, so why is his present existence so weak?
Ceng Gong, Zi Zigu, was a famous writer, historian and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty. Grandfather Zeng Zhiyao and father Zeng Yizhan were famous ministers in the Northern Song Dynasty. Ceng Gong was trained as a "gentleman" according to a standard Confucianism. Of course, he lived up to expectations. Ceng Gong himself is very clever, with excellent memory, and influenced by a good education and excellent family environment, he can recite poetry books since he was a child, and he can write an essay at the age of twelve, and he is also very proficient. The attempt to write Six Theories was almost successful and exciting, and everyone who read it was amazed at his talent.
Ceng Gong, who lived in Jing for four years in the Northern Song Dynasty (1037), went to Beijing with his father at the age of 18, and became friends with Wang Anshi because of his articles. Shortly thereafter, he joined Ouyang Xiu's school. He takes good care of his friends and actively recommends Wang Anshi to Ouyang Xiu. Two years later, at the age of 20, he entered imperial academy and wrote the article "Master Ouyang's Second Book": "Thousands of people who have passed our door are happy to live independently", which was presented as "Current Affairs".
Because of these articles, he gradually became famous in Beijing and expanded his circle of friends. I have written letters to celebrities such as Du Yan and Fan Zhongyan, and they also get together from time to time to discuss current affairs, discuss life problems with each other, show their ideals, or discuss with each other and share their new articles.
In this short period of time, these favored people spoke their own voices, promoted each other and immediately became famous all over the world. However, when all the other partners were promoted to official positions, Ceng Gong tried again and again, because he was good at planning and was lighter than dealing with the current situation. Ceng Gong was also very upset during this period.
In the seventh year of Li Qing (1047), his father died, so he had to drop out of school and go back to his hometown to serve his stepmother. He has always been filial to his parents and gets along well with his brothers and sisters. After his father's death, his family fortune gradually declined. He served his stepmother without any regrets and raised four younger brothers and nine younger sisters.
This degree lasted for ten years, and it was two years in Jiayou (1057). Ouyang Xiu presided over the examination, insisting on ancient prose and strategy, supplemented by poetry and prose. Ceng Gong, who has never slacked off for ten years, seized this opportunity, became a scholar, and was appointed as the judicial army of Taiping Prefecture, thus truly entering the officialdom. Although he is a newcomer who has just entered the official position, his ability is extraordinary. Only in Taiping Prefecture, his understanding of laws and regulations and proper sentencing are world-famous.
In the fifth year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty (1072), he was transferred to Taishou, and there was a large family named Zhou in the local area, which was regarded as a disaster village. The people are miserable, and it's no use suing the government. The government doesn't dare to intervene at all. Over time, this aristocratic family has become more and more arrogant, and the people can only dare to be angry and dare not speak.
When Ceng Gong heard about this situation after taking office, he did not hesitate to let Jiujiang "punish" Zhou's first offense, which set an example for the whole Zhou family, and the people were very happy.