Ouyang Xiu (August 1, 1007- September 22, 1072), also known as Yongshu, Zuiweng, and Liuyi Jushi, was born in Yongfeng, Jizhou (now Yongfeng County, Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province).
He was a politician and literary figure of the Northern Song Dynasty, and had a great reputation in politics. Because Jizhou was originally part of Luling County, it identified itself as “Luling Ouyang Xiu”. He was promoted to Hanlin Bachelor, Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council, and Political Advisor. He was posthumously named Wenzhong and was known as Duke Ouyang Wenzhong. Dedicated to the Grand Tutor and Duke of Chu.
Together with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Su Shi, Su Xun, Su Zhe, Wang Anshi, and Zeng Gong, they are known as the “Eight Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties”, and together with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, and Su Shi, they are collectively referred to as the “Four Great Masters of Literature for All Time”, a literary leader of a generation.
Main text of the story
During his youth, Ouyang Xiu’s family was extremely poor and he traveled around in search of a livelihood and education.
One day when he was twelve years old, he hurriedly arrived at the outskirts of Xiangyang City with his backpack on his back.
Seeing that the city gate was closed, I looked up and saw an old soldier guarding the city. I bowed my hand and said, “Could you please open the door and let the students enter the city
The old soldier asked, “Who is in the city? Why are you entering now
Ouyang Xiu replied, “The scholar came from afar to seek accommodation in the city
The veteran dared not violate the rules by opening the city gate, but he recognized that he was a polite and eloquent elementary school student. With a sense of compassion, he said, “As a scholar, if I agree, I will release you into the city; if not, I will enter tomorrow morning
Ouyang Xiu replied, “As ordered
The old soldier said, “Turn on the switch early, turn off it late, let the passing passengers pass through
Upon hearing this couplet, Ouyang Xiu seemed to say it casually, but in fact, the use of overlapping characters and couplets was a hidden trick.
Then he continued, “Pairing is easy, but pairing is difficult. Please correct it first, sir.” The veteran shouted, “I want you to be right
Ouyang Xiu smiled and said, “The students have already got it right.” The veteran suddenly realized and immediately went down the city tower to open the city gate.
At this point, perhaps young friends may ask, “Couplets emphasize equal word count. Since the upper couplet has eleven characters, why is the lower couplet sixteen characters
In fact, this couplet is:
Switching on and off early, turning off and off late, allowing passengers to pass through customs,
Whether it’s easy or difficult, please correct it first, sir.
Small stories and big truths
Just a small pair is enough to show the agility and intelligence of young Ouyang Xiu, and Ouyang Xiu’s qualities of studying hard and racing against time in difficult life are even more worthy of our learning.
In addition, this story also shows us a different Ouyang Xiu. It turns out that the “literary leader” was also a young boy who “showed off” his literary talent when he was a child.
