How inspiring was Song Lian’s life

Song Lian was known as the “leader of the founding literati” by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. What are some of his life experiences worth learning from and emulating? Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will bring you a detailed article introduction.
One The ‘child prodigy’ studies hard and abandons the main character to join Mingjun
Song Lian was born on October 13th, 1310 in the third year of Emperor Wu of the Yuan Dynasty
On November 4th, due to his mother’s pregnancy at only seven months old, Song Lian fell ill during his childhood. Fortunately, with the careful care of his grandmother Jin and mother Chen, Song Lian was able to smoothly pass through his childhood.
However, Song Lian, who was born prematurely, was intelligent and had a super strong memory. He entered elementary school at the age of six and read the Tang Dynasty’s Li Han’s book “Mengqiu” in one day. Afterwards, he could remember two thousand words a day and could write poetry at the age of nine. He is known as a “prodigy” by people.
This prodigy cherishes the “talent” given by heaven very much and wants to enrich and strengthen himself by studying hard, striving to become a useful talent in the future. But because his family was very poor and didn’t have money to buy books, Song Lian had to borrow them from others, copy them himself, and return them on the agreed date.
Once, Song Lian borrowed a book and became increasingly fond of it as he read it. He decided to copy it down, but the deadline for returning the book was approaching, so he had to copy it overnight. In the depths of winter and the twelfth lunar month, the water in the inkstone pool had frozen into solid ice, and his fingers could not bend or stretch, but Song Lian still did not relax in copying books.
Song Lian’s mother said with heartache, “Child, it’s already midnight and it’s so cold. Let’s copy it at dawn. They’re not just waiting for this book to be read.” Song Lian said, “No matter if they don’t wait for this book to be read, they have to return it by the deadline. This is a matter of credit and a sign of respect for others. If you don’t keep your word and do things, and break your promise to others, how can you possibly gain their respect
The next day, Song Lian returned the borrowed book to the person as scheduled. It is precisely because he kept his promise that most people were willing to lend him books, so Song Lian was able to read various books and gain rich knowledge.
Once again, Song Lian was going to a distant place to seek advice from a scholar and had arranged a meeting date. However, on the day of departure, it was snowing heavily. When Song Lian picked up his luggage and prepared to set off, his mother was surprised and said, “How can we travel far in such weather? Besides, the teacher’s place has already been covered in heavy snow and the mountains are sealed off. Even with this old cotton jacket, you can’t withstand the cold of the deep mountains
Song Lian firmly said, “Mother, if you don’t set off today, you will miss the day to pay respects to your teacher. If you miss the appointment, it will be disrespectful to your teacher. No matter how strong the wind and snow are, I have to go on the road.” When Song Lian arrived at the teacher’s house, the teacher was moved and praised, “Young man, keep your promise and be eager to learn. You will surely have success in the future
Song Lian persisted in studying diligently throughout his life, ‘From childhood to old age, he never went to study for a day and became proficient in all aspects of learning.’. He had studied under renowned Confucian masters such as Wen Ren Mengji and Wu Lai, and was proficient in the Five Classics. Song Lian, who was well read in poetry and literature, also possessed a keen political sense.
In the ninth year of the Zhizheng reign of Emperor Shun of Yuan (1349), he valued Song Lian’s talent and summoned him to become a compiler of the Hanlin. However, he believed that the Yuan Dynasty had declined and was no longer worth serving, so he refused to accept the invitation on the grounds of supporting his parents. In the 20th year of the Zhizheng reign (1360), on the recommendation of Li Shanchang, Song Lian, Liu Ji, Zhang Yi, and Ye Chen were summoned by Zhu Yuanzhang to Yingtian Prefecture. He wisely chose Zhu Yuanzhang and began to make contributions to the Ming Dynasty.
II Integrity and Honesty in Being a Person
As mentioned earlier, Song Lian was diligent in his studies and treated others with honesty throughout his life. In addition, he was also able to be an honest person. When Song Lian talked about things in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, he was able to remain simple and without any privacy. Even if it was his own family affairs, he would answer Zhu Yuanzhang’s questions one by one. He once said, “A ruler is like a father, like heaven. Can he be deceived
Another time, when Song Lian was drinking with a guest, Zhu Yuanzhang secretly sent someone to investigate. The next day, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Song Lian if he had drunk alcohol yesterday? Who is the guest in the seat? What is the food? Song Lian answered truthfully. After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, “Indeed, you did not deceive me.” As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang increasingly believed that he was an honest person.
Song Lian’s honesty is also reflected in his ability to objectively evaluate others, rather than blindly following others and going with the flow. Once, the principal Ru Taisu submitted a memorial of over 10000 words. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious because he didn’t have a good impression of this person, so he didn’t take a closer look and even asked the courtiers for their opinions. Someone pointed to Ru Taisu’s memorial in order to echo the emperor and said, “This is disrespectful, and the criticism there is illegal
When Zhu Yuanzhang asked Song Lian for his opinion, he said, “He is just loyal to Your Majesty. Your Majesty is opening up a wide range of opinions, how can we hold him accountable?” Soon after, Zhu Yuanzhang carefully examined Ru Taisu’s memorial and found that there were indeed contents worth adopting. So, all the courtiers were rebuked and said, “If it weren’t for Jinglian (Song Lian’s character), I would have almost wrongly blamed the person who advised me
III Achieved various achievements and became the leader of the founding literati
It is precisely because Song Lian persisted in studying hard, being honest and trustworthy throughout his life that he gained the trust and favor of Zhu Yuanzhang, and was revered as a teacher of the “Five Classics” and appointed as the Crown Prince Zhu Biao to deliver lectures. He was also ordered to major in the History of the Yuan Dynasty, and at that time, the etiquette of the court was mostly formulated by Song Lian. Finally, he was appointed as a Hanlin Scholar to inherit the imperial edicts and be aware of the regulations.
In addition, Song Lian was also a famous politician, writer, historian, and thinker during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. He and Liu Ji were both renowned for their prose writing and were known as the “masters of their generation”; Along with Gao Qi and Liu Ji, they are known as the “Three Masters of Poetry and Prose in the Early Ming Dynasty”; He is also known as one of the “Four Masters of Eastern Zhejiang” along with Zhang Yi, Liu Ji, and Ye Chen; He was praised by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang as the “leader of the founding literati”.
Song Lian, the leader of the founding literati of the Ming Dynasty, inspired us with his life experience: diligence in reading and integrity in being a person are the two cornerstones for people to achieve success. Whether a person is naturally intelligent or not is not important, the key is to follow Song Lian’s example and persist in diligent reading to enrich one’s knowledge; By adhering to honesty and integrity, you will surely achieve success, become a useful talent, and make outstanding contributions to the country and the people.