Ouyang Xiu attaches great importance to the practicality of the article. Many of his political essays are based on reality and directly serve the political struggle at that time. Although this article belongs to the historical theory, it is also based on reality, has the function of realistic warning, and embodies the characteristics of Ouyang Xiu's argumentative essays. The profound meaning of this paper lies not only in the author's getting rid of the shackles of the popular theory of destiny at that time, but also in finding out the reasons why Tang Zhuangzong lost his country from the political situation and social events in a certain historical period. More importantly, the author satirizes the past with the seriousness of historians and the acumen of politicians, taking history as a mirror, warning rulers to take history as a mirror, abstain from extravagance, get rid of accumulated disadvantages and avoid repeating the same mistakes. Behind the ups and downs of the late Tang Dynasty, the author's anxiety about reality and hope for change are clearly behind.

2. Careful and clear layout

Ouyang Xiu's prose is famous for its leisurely writing and clear twists and turns. His political theory and historical theory are always exploring topics step by step, analyzing them layer by layer, and writing them calmly and impeccably. In the first paragraph of Biography of Lingguan, the opening meaning is clear, revealing the argument: "The reason of ups and downs, although called destiny, is inhuman!" Then, it points out the tragedy of the Tang Dynasty, which began to win the world and eventually lost it, takes care of the words "prosperity" and "decline", explains the content of the discussion, explains the basis of the argument, and leads to the following. In the second paragraph, I wrote the story of Tang's conscientious revenge for his father, following the above "The Reason for Winning the World". The writing is divided into two layers: one is to describe Li Keyong's last words, which shows that it is not easy for the world; "The First Floor" tells the story that the Tang and Zhuang families are worried about the country, the people and the self-improvement in order to realize their dead father's wishes, which implies the deep meaning of "worrying about labor and rejuvenating the country". In the third paragraph, I wrote a story about the decline of the Tang clan. The style of writing is also divided into two layers: one is to describe the grand occasion of destroying the beam and winning the world; The tragic scene of the decline of monarch and minister in Tang Dynasty after Syria. The two layers closely follow the words "prosperity" and "decline", taking care of arguments everywhere and putting pen to paper. Especially in the second level, it focuses on narration and discussion, engages in reasoning, and uses two rhetorical sentences to respond to the argument that the success or failure of the first paragraph lies in people. Pragmatic backchat also helps readers get rational enlightenment. The last part summarizes the full text, draws lessons from the historical facts of the rise and fall of the late Tang Dynasty, and further expounds the truth that "personnel" plays a decisive role in the rise and fall of the country. After revealing the reasons for the rise and fall of the late Tang Dynasty, I finally summed it up with three meaningful sentences: "The misfortune of a husband often accumulates in a small place, while wisdom and courage are trapped in drowning. Why not?" From the content point of view, the three sentences contain the good intentions of learning from the past; Structurally, these three sentences are actually an extension of the center discussed above. It is not difficult to see that the layout of this article is very compact, and the whole article is elaborated, demonstrated and exerted around the center of success or failure. Clear and orderly, the ingenuity of Ouyang Xiu's layout articles can be seen.

3. Thorough reasoning and concise narration

Ouyang Xiu's argumentative essay is in harmony with the rigorous layout. In order to make the truth thorough and powerful, Ouyang Xiu attaches great importance to the strict logic between materials and viewpoints and the correct reasoning in the process of argumentation. The preface of Biography of Lingguan comes straight to the point, and then uses the historical facts of Zhuang Zong's revenge, the establishment of the later Tang Dynasty and its demise as arguments. Emperor Zhuang Zong of the Tang Dynasty vowed to avenge his father. When he broke the beam and destroyed Yan, he was all-powerful and invincible. However, once you win the world, you will be satisfied and your life will become more luxurious. In just four years, you will destroy your country. The author cites this historical fact as an argument, which is obviously convincing. In the process of argumentation, the author mainly uses the positive and negative comparison method to compare the historical facts of Zhuang Zong's "winning the world" and "losing the world" to illustrate the truth that "it is not easy to gain, but it is not easy to lose"; Taking the historical facts of the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty as a contrast, it explains the truth that "worry and fatigue can rejuvenate the country and leisure can die". Through positive and negative contrast, the argument is more distinct and prominent. In the process of argumentation, the author also quoted the old adage to enhance the argumentation. Although there are only six words in this sentence, it is a summary of predecessors' experience and reflects the objective truth. As the basis of discussion, it enhances the persuasiveness of the main argument. Although this article is a historical theory, the narrative part is concise and well written. From Li Keyong's last words, to the end of his revenge, and then to Zhuang Zongtu's death, the article not only summarizes the historical facts of the rise and fall of the late Tang Dynasty in concise language, but also writes the twists and turns of the event. The author's description of Zhuang Zong's success in the world highlights his "power", while his description of Zhuang Zong's failure in the world highlights his "decline". The narrative is concise and vivid, and the full text is written alternately, which is extremely wonderful.

4. The momentum is full of emotion

The main purpose of Ouyang Xiu's rewriting of the History of the New Five Dynasties is to "remonstrate and show the world." Because he sums up historical experience and lessons based on reality, his writing is often full of passion. Reading this article, we can easily feel the full feelings between the lines and the full momentum running through the whole article. For example, the article begins with the exclamation "alas", which sets the tone for the full text. Then the inflected word "although" is slightly turned, and the reasons for the rise and fall of the country are introduced into the aspect of "personnel", and then the rhetorical question of "isn't it personnel" is used to strengthen the exclamation, making the argument more meaningful. In the argumentation part, the author narrated the grand occasion of Zhuang Zong's winning the world, and used great pen and ink. The momentum is heroic; The tragic scene of Zhuang Zong's loss of the world turned into sadness, and the author's historical sigh of the later Tang Dynasty was also integrated into it. The inference in the fourth paragraph is full of the author's worries about reality and hopes for the Northern Song Dynasty. It can be said that the discussion of this article tends to be sharp with the convergence of the article, and the feelings tend to be saturated with the deepening of the discussion, and the ups and downs run through the whole article, making the whole article magnificent and incisive.

5. The handwriting is beautiful.

Ouyang Xiu is "attentive" in his writing, paying special attention to the choice of sentence patterns and the tempering of words. Therefore, his political and historical comments are characterized by simplicity and easygoing. In this article, the author's choice of sentence patterns is also quite clever. Sentences and rhetorical questions with exclamatory meaning are often used in this paper, which gives people the feeling of cadence, depression and endless chanting. The author also pays attention to the interlacing of long sentences and short sentences, resulting in sonorous, smooth and harmonious syllable beauty. For long sentences and short sentences, the author gives full play to the advantages of short sentences. For example, when describing the decline and fall of Zhuang Zong, the four words are neatly connected, and countless voices are used to promote festivals, so as to echo the rapid decline of Zhuang Zong. There are more than 300 words in the full text, so it can be said that there is no room for change of a word. As for the famous sentences quoted or created by the author in the article, such as "full is loss, modest is gain", "worry and fatigue can rejuvenate the country, leisure is death", "disasters often add up, wisdom and courage are trapped in drowning", which has long been hailed as "famous sayings of the ages". These sentences are profound and inspiring, and are still recited by people today, with strong vitality.

6. Function words have unique charm.

Function words such as "ye", "yi", "yi" and "zai" are often used to express mood. These function words not only add a strong emotional color to the article, but also make people feel more lasting. Luo Dajing, a poet in the Song Dynasty, said: "Ou Su only uses ordinary empty word, but it is quaint and beyond his reach."

The preface to the history of the Five Dynasties, Biography of Lingguan, is short and compact. It is described first, then discussed, and debated according to events. There are not many sentences in the article, and it is written calmly and slowly, full of emotion. Ouyang Xiu's prose contains cadence in this ease, combining incisive exposition, deep emotion and euphemistic tone. Ouyang Xiu was a famous essayist in Song Dynasty. He takes Han Yu as his ancestor, values content over form, and advocates plain and simple style of writing. He advocated a new style of writing with long-term efforts and rich creative practice, which played a great role in reversing the extravagant style of Quincy style and reviving the ancient prose movement. A large number of literary and beautiful works occupy an important position in the development history of China's ancient prose.