Ye Shi later became a scholar. At the beginning, he was awarded the title of supervisor and judge with Zhenjiang prefect. It happened that his mother died of illness and stayed at home. After filial piety, she was appointed as our ambassador in Wuchang. He is a patriotic politician. When Xi Chun was a doctor in imperial academy for fourteen years, he wrote to Emperor Xiaozong, saying, "I think that the righteousness of today's people and the righteousness of ministers should be enlightened by your majesty. This is a great event. The revenge of Erling has not been reported, so half of Xinjiang has not been recovered. " Because since the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, it has faced sharp ethnic contradictions and class contradictions. The land annexation in China is serious, the peasant uprising is constant, and the ethnic contradictions are particularly prominent. Northern Jurchen nobles perished in the Northern Song Dynasty, lost Hui and Qin emperors, left the Central Plains, and fought against half of the Southern Song Dynasty. This is what Ye Shi said: "The revenge of Erling has not been reported, so half of Xinjiang has not been recovered." The constant invasion of the southern nomads seriously endangered the survival of the Southern Song Dynasty countries, and the lives, property and social production of the southern people were also damaged from time to time. Ye Shi was a staunch occupier from beginning to end. He believes that it is impossible to save the country without the war of resistance, but he opposes unprepared risks. In order to revitalize the Southern Song Dynasty, he put forward measures to streamline the army, reduce financial expenditure, reduce taxes, ease class contradictions, reform politics and strengthen efficiency, so as to enhance national strength and restore the central yuan industry. Unfortunately, his suggestion was not adopted.
In the second year of Jubilee (1206), the government of the Southern Song Dynasty carried out the Northern Expedition and began to win militarily. Wu, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan, defected, and the Jin people concentrated their forces on attacking the southwest of Huaihe River. Song Jun was defeated, and the south was very nervous. Ye Shi was appointed as the magistrate of Jiankangfu (now Nanjing) and made a position along the river, and arranged defense on the front line despite illness. One day, Jin Bing Pioneer arrived at the north bank of the Yangtze River, and Jiankang shook. Ye Shi recruited militia and cooperated with the loyalist to sneak attack on the river at night, which made the Jin people unable to gain a foothold and forced them to retreat. He sent troops to pursue the victory, lifted the siege of Youzhou and calmed the situation around Jiankang.
Ye Shi has made great contributions to academic thought. At that time, there was a wind of empty talk about righteousness. He adheres to the theory of "doing practical things and showing achievements". Disagree with Zhu and Lu Jiuyuan's theory of human nature. He once sharply criticized Zhu's argument that "righteousness does not benefit, not merit". He believes that "justice is not profitable, and Ming Dow is not a job. At first glance, this language is excellent. On closer inspection, the ancients did not claim to be meritorious, so their morality was bright. The later Confucian scholars' practice of (Dong's) learning of Chinese calligraphy is not utilitarian, and moralists are just useless empty words.
Ye Shi believes that Tao cannot exist independently without heaven, earth and utensils. He attached importance to practice, inherited Xue's and Xue's materialistic views, and gradually formed materialistic thoughts. On the most fundamental issue of philosophy, he clearly believes that the objective world is the unity of matter. He said, "If a husband is formed between heaven and earth, everything is also." At that time, the ideological circle had a heated discussion on the issue of "knowing things and knowing things". He affirmed that people's knowledge comes from the objective world, and thought that only by examining the objective things around them in detail can we get a correct understanding.
At the same time, he is also a famous writer in the Southern Song Dynasty. His prose is very good, and he speaks English. There are more than 800 poems in Ye Shi Ji, which has been published. Many people asked him to write an epitaph because his writing style was very famous at that time. This kind of article was supposed to put in a good word for the dead and win face for future generations, but he actually wrote it. He wrote an epitaph of Wang Bo, which contained the original text "Zuoyou was in power, and * * * held the theory of the country", which was Qin Gui's eternal sinner, meaning that Wang Bo was also guilty of the traitorous policy at that time. Wang Bo's grandson Wang Gang doesn't like this. He asked Ye Shi to change it several times, but it was not allowed. It was not until Ye Shi's students edited Selected Works after his death that they were asked by the Wangs to delete sentences. Ye Shi doesn't like copying other people's articles in his writing. He once told a student, Zhang Qiqing (a native of Taizhou, a writer at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty): For example, although people treat people with things, although the table is full of gold and silver utensils, it is inevitable that something will go wrong. Only ceramic tile cups are listed at home, but they are looking for them at home.
During the Jubilee Northern Expedition, Han Biaozhou was killed by the capitulators, and all the officials who supported the Northern Expedition were dismissed from office and exiled. At this time, Wenzhou officials were dismissed and exiled: Xu, Xue Shuxiang, and others, and Ye Shi was also dismissed by the Senate. At this time, he was 59 years old, retired from politics and wrote books and gave lectures in Wenzhou. Because of his great fame, many people from all over the world come to study. Liu Zai, a famous scholar at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, said: "Ye Shuixin is in Yongjia, and outdoor activities are often full." His works are many, including the famous 50 volumes of Xue Xu, which he wrote at home in his later years. 1976 was published by Zhonghua Book Company, and Ye Shi Ji, a collection of Shui Xin's 29 volumes, with addenda. 16 Shui Xin Bie Ji was published by Zhonghua Book Company on 1960 and recently reprinted.
Shi Ye
Ye Shi experienced the four dynasties of Gaozong, Xiaozong, Guangzong and Ningzong in the Southern Song Dynasty, and his political and academic activities were mainly from Xiaozong to Ningzong. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Southern Song Dynasty has been facing sharp ethnic and class contradictions. Emperor Zhao Gou only wanted to keep half a small court. For the invasion of northern Jurchen nobles, he always adopted a policy of humiliation and even acted as a vassal, losing huge amounts of gold and silver every year. As a result, the exploitation of the working people in Jiangnan has been greatly intensified. The broad masses of working people in the south of the Yangtze River are living in dire straits under years of war and heavy tax exploitation. Therefore, peasant uprisings against the dark rule of the Southern Song Dynasty continued to occur. In the fourth year of Emperor Gaozong Jianyan (A.D. 1 130), a famous peasant uprising led by Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao broke out. At the same time, peasant uprisings of different scales also took place in Fujian, Jiangxi and Hunan. On the one hand, Zhao Gou brutally suppressed these peasant uprisings, but at the same time, he further compromised and made peace with the Nuzhen nobles. He used Qin Gui, the capitulator, to kill Yue Fei, the general of the Anti-Japanese War, and insisted on making peace even in the case of resisting Victor King. This kind of perversion met with fierce opposition from the anti-Japanese factions up and down the imperial court. Amid the anti-Japanese calls, Zhao Gou was forced to abdicate in 1 162, and was transferred to Zhao Shen for mourning. After Xiaozong succeeded to the throne, he wanted to restore the lost land in the north, but the struggle between the main war faction and the main peace faction within the ruling group was always fierce. From Xiaozong to Ningzong Zhao's expansion, he organized two northern anti-gold wars, but both failed in the end. In short, since the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, there has been an obvious main battle or struggle between the ruling clique, ordinary officials and intellectuals around ethnic contradictions. In this struggle, Ye Shi always stood in the position of the main battle, personally led the military and civilian struggle against gold in Huaibei area, and won some battles.
Ye Shi's life can be roughly divided into three periods: one is the period of studying before the age of 24; Second, the 34-year political career from Lin 'an at the age of 24 to being deposed at the age of 58; Third, he lived in Shuixin Village at the age of 58 until his death, and spent sixteen years in academic research. Ye Shi was born in a poor intellectual family of "poor room III" (Epitaph of Du Mother and Complete Works, Volume 25). As a teenager, due to the floods in Wenzhou and Taizhou, I moved around 2 1 with my parents and lived a ups and downs life. His father makes a living by teaching, while his mother needs to knit some coarse cloth to supplement her family. However, despite such a hard life, Ye Shi worked hard to learn Confucian classics from an early age, so as to maintain the door style of "the home of Confucianism" (ibid.). When Ye Shi was fourteen, Chen Fuliang, a famous scholar in Yongjia, was hired by the Lins in Ryan to teach the children of the Lins. Because of classmates, Ye Shi had to associate with Chen Fuliang. Around the age of twenty, Ye Shi made a special trip to visit Xue, another famous scholar in Yongjia area at that time, to exchange knowledge with him. Xue and others have a considerable influence on the formation of Ye Shi's thought. We will introduce this in detail in the next section.
At the age of 24, Ye Shi went to Lin 'an (now Hangzhou), the capital of Beijing, to make a living because his family life was really poor and there was no one to support him, and his political career began. Ye Shi was very concerned about the political chaos and the prosperity of the country when he was at school, so he wrote a letter to the Tang Dynasty in the second year after he arrived in Beijing, and analyzed the political situation in detail. In his view, the main political problem at that time was that the imperial court had the custom of "fearing war without courage". As long as those "MPs" are still sleeping with soldiers, everyone will be furious. Even if they are "invading people's skin and bones", they can "get carried away, value peace" and "be shameless". He pointed out that this weak situation was caused by the court's long-term policy of seeking only peace. He analyzed that since Song Taizong invaded Taiyuan, "it must be Yan State, which won't work", and Song Zhenzong's single-source alliance "strength can break the Khitan, but it's just a gratuity", which began to cause this trend. After Song Renzong adopted the policy of "defeating the enemy without fighting", "Senior Minister was the best policy at that time; Bachelor's degree and doctor's degree have reached the point where "nothing can change", so that they have suffered the shame of Jingkang and lost all the land in the north, but "survived bravely." "Ye Shi believes that this situation must be changed, and the people must be" made to have no intention to love war and have no fear of war ",so that they can" make meritorious deeds outside, but do nothing inside ". At the same time, he cited historical examples and said: "The winner is the loser's teacher; Gou Jian's bullying led to the demise of the country, so I believe that the weak situation at that time can also be completely changed. The problem is to take correct measures to eliminate the accumulated unfavorable factors. So he put forward a series of reform measures and suggestions. Such as: "Call for abandoning one's name and depose the inexperienced minister who talks big"; "the theory of harmony, the theory of interest cronies"; "Don't demand to relieve the people's strength"; The Road to Guangwu; "Farming is due to the field of the chariot, and replacing the army to lose" and so on. In order to implement these measures, he believes that the ruler must also do three things: honesty, reward and punishment. The so-called sincerity, that is, "when issuing orders, no matter how big or small, we must think about the big plan of giving birth to the people, and we cannot rely on the joys and sorrows of one body"; The so-called reward, that is, "love the merits of others, seek the goodness of others, lift above others, and forget their ugliness"; The so-called punishment, that is, "punishing people's mistakes, knowing people's evil, combining with the stamp of escape, leaving it precious" (for the above quotations, see Shang Xi Fu Shu and Shui Xin Collected Works, Volume 27). So I'm too lazy to quote the main contents of Ye Shi's letter "Shangxifu Shu" here. First of all, Ye Shi's analysis and suggestions are related to current politics. Second, the political views expressed by Ye Shi in this letter run through his political and academic activities throughout his life.
Shi Ye
In the fifth year of filial piety in Xichun (A.D. 1 178), Ye Shi was twenty-nine years old, ranking second among the scholars. He was awarded a promotion at Pingjiang Festival, but his mother's death prevented him from going to his post. Later, he was awarded the judge of Wuchang Festival, and later was awarded the official position of Zhejiang West Punishment Department. There are many intellectuals in western Zhejiang who discuss current politics and academics with him, which is quite prestigious.
In the fourteenth year of Xichun (1 187), Ye Shi was thirty-eight. Because of Gong's recommendation, he was awarded a bachelor's degree and transferred to a doctor's degree after entering politics. This year, he wrote to Emperor Xiaozong, and pointed out at the beginning: "I think that the righteousness of today's people and the righteousness of the ministers should be enlightened by your majesty. It's just a big event: the revenge of the Second Mausoleum (referring to the return of Emperor Qin) has not been reported, so half of Xinjiang has not been recovered. This great event has aroused public indignation all over the world, and courtiers are deeply responsible. Knowing without saying, or talking endlessly, is not an unofficial meaning. " (The Miscellaneous Works of Shangdian and Shui Xin Bieji, Volume 15) In this letter, Ye Shi's basic rule of "Re-swearing, Being timid and Founding the Country with Gold Coins" is consistent with that of Shaoxing (Song Gaozong), but it is incomparable, and the book life is supreme, accompanying the official. At the same time, he seriously put forward the reform idea of "reforming the country, reforming the discussion and reforming the talents" in order to raise "great events". According to Ye Shichuan, the history of the Song Dynasty, Xiaozong was deeply moved by his performance and was "sad for a long time". Later, Ye Shi was appointed as Dr. Tai Chang and the auditor of the records office, and the deacon recommended 34 people, including Chen Fuliang, Lu Jiuyuan and Emperor Wen of Sui.
Guangzong Shao Xiyuan (A.D. 1 190), Ye Shi was forty-one, and should play six things in a letter. He first clarified that "the meaning of governing the country" refers to "weakness must be strong; When it is divided, it must be mixed; When you are ashamed, you must think about revenge; When the disadvantages are not good, we must think about it; ..... ",and then analyzed in detail the six major political, economic and military problems at that time, namely, the national situation was not good, the scholars were not good, the people were not good, the soldiers were not good, money was not good, and discipline and law were not good. In the following five years, Ye Shili was the official minister, Shang Shulang, the magistrate, Shang Zuoguan, Guo Zisi Ye, Tai Fuqing, and the general manager of Huaidong Army.
In the first year of Qingyuan (A.D. 1 195), Ye Shi was 46 years old. At that time, the voice of the court against Taoism in Zhu Cheng was very high. Zhao Ruyu, the prime minister who supported Taoism, was dismissed from office and replaced by Han Caizhou, the prime minister who opposed Taoism. Because Ye Shi wrote in the 15th year of Xiaozong (A.D. 1 188) that he opposed the impeachment of Zhu by the assistant minister of the Ministry of War and defended Zhu He's Taoism, he was regarded as a school of Zhu Daoism, so he was dismissed by the imperial envoy. Soon, he was reinstated as a judge in Hunan, which changed his understanding of Quanzhou. Three years later, in 1 198, Li feixue (Taoism) rebelled and joined the party, and Ye Shi's name was among them.
In the second year of Ningzong Jiatai (A.D. 1202), the party ban was lifted, and Ye Shi was reinstated as assistant minister of the Ministry of War, and later as assistant minister of the Ministry of Industry and official department. During this period, Han Biaozhou was in power, advocating the war of resistance and moving northward to recover lost territory. Ye Shi supported Han Tuozhou's anti-Japanese war, but worried about his attempt to win by luck. So, he wrote to Ningzong one after another and put forward the policy of "preparing for the future, holding on to the future and fighting" (Emperor Zazi II of Shangningzong and Shui Xin's Collected Works, Volume 1). He thinks it is necessary to enrich and consolidate the border defense along the Huaihe River and Hanshui River, so that it can be "solid and self-controlled", and then "an enterprising plan can be implemented" (ibid.). However, Ye Shi's suggestion was not accepted by Han Biaozhou. As a result, due to insufficient preparation, all the troops organized by Han Biaozhou were defeated. Fearing the pressure of public opinion, Han Yizhou appointed Ye Shi as the magistrate of Jiankang Prefecture and the governor along the Yangtze River to control the states north of the Yangtze River. After Ye Shi took office, he reorganized the bureaucracy, reorganized the army, won the battle with the nomads from the army, and recovered Chuzhou. Later, Ye Shi carried out the policy of opening up wasteland, reclaiming wasteland and building docks in the Huaihe River area, resettled and organized the diaspora people, and implemented the policy of "combining agriculture with the army" to cooperate with the government forces in defense and combat. Under his organization, 47 forts were built, especially the three forts along the Yangtze River, which made them "anxious for each other and connected with each other from beginning to end". (The Three Fort Wharf at Guabu, Dingshan, Complete Works of Shui Xin, Volume II) Therefore, the border defense in Jiangbei area of the two provinces has been greatly consolidated. This can be said to be the greatest achievement of Ye Shi's life.
But at this time, due to the attack and planning of the pacifists, Han Yazhou was killed in the third year of jubilee (AD 1207), and Ye Shi was also impeached by Lei Zhong Cheng Xiaoyou to respond to Han Yazhou's fighting and was dismissed from office. From then on, Ye Shi ended his political career and returned to his hometown to engage in academic research. In the sixteen years of his later years, he devoted himself to studying the classics of various schools, trying to sum up some experiences and lessons theoretically through the investigation of various schools in history and past dynasties. Therefore, Ye Shi's 50-volume Preface to Xi Xue Ji Yan, written in his later years, reflects his historical view and views on hundred schools of thought in past dynasties, and is an important historical theory and academic ideological criticism in ancient China.