The Story of Yueyang Tower is an essay written by Fan Zhongyan, a writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, on September 15th (1046 65438+ 10/7) at the request of Teng Zongliang, a close friend of Yuezhou, to rebuild Yueyang Tower.
By writing about the scenery of Yueyang Tower and the different feelings brought by rainy days and sunny days, the article reveals the benevolent heart of the ancients who "don't like things, don't grieve for themselves", and also expresses his patriotic feelings of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later".
The article goes beyond the narrow scope of simply writing about mountains and rivers, and combines the gloomy changes of nature, the lack of rain and shine, and the "feeling of seeing things" of "moving poets", thus focusing on discussing political ideals and expanding the realm of the article.
Full-text narration, scenery description, lyricism and discussion are integrated, and the combination of static and dynamic, contrast between light and dark, concise words and harmonious syllables make it an innovation of miscellaneous notes to compare scenes with couplets.
Full text appreciation:
This article shows that although the author lives in rivers and lakes, cares about the country and the people and is persecuted, he still does not give up his indomitable will. At the same time, it is also an encouragement and comfort to his demoted comrades. Yueyang Tower is famous for its lofty ideological realm. Ouyang Xiu, another contemporary writer, said in an inscription written for him that he was interested in the world since he was a child, and he often recited to himself: "A scholar should worry about the world first, and enjoy the world afterwards."
It can be seen that Fan Zhongyan's life code of conduct is "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later" mentioned at the end of Yueyang Tower. Mencius said, "Being rich is good for the world, and being poor is good for the world." This has become the creed of many literati in feudal times.
When Fan Zhongyan wrote this article, he was demoted from his official position and "stayed away from the rivers and lakes" from now on. He could have taken an independent attitude and ended up in leisure and happiness, but he put forward the principle that an upright scholar-bureaucrat should stand firm and do his own thing well.
It is commendable to think that personal honor and disgrace are indistinguishable, "don't be happy with things, don't be sad for yourself" and "worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later" to encourage yourself and your friends. The spirit embodied in these two sentences, the quality of suffering first and pleasure second, is undoubtedly instructive.