In the eyes of ordinary people, Ouyang Xiu has always been an outstanding writer and politician, and his achievements can occupy a place in the entire history of ancient literature. However, everyone has more than one side, including Ouyang Xiu. Perhaps what we know about Ouyang Xiu is just one side. In fact, his private life has been exposed to “scandals” that ordinary people are not aware of. Someone asked if Ouyang Xiu had ever written erotic poems, but it was precisely because of this that Ouyang Xiu was once caught by the enemy. Now let’s talk about some personal things about Ouyang Xiu. You can come and learn more.
1. Ye Xiaowei has not yet become a shade
Ouyang Xiu was a highly respected Confucian figure in history. Zeng Gong once said that he was a “person who possessed morality and was able to write articles”. Su Shi said, “Ouyang Zi discussed the great Tao like Han Yu, discussed affairs like Lu Zhi, recorded events like Sima Qian, and wrote poetry and prose like Li Bai. These are not just words, but also the words of the world.” Perhaps Su Shi was a “sage taboo” and did not mention Ouyang Xiu’s “small ci”. At that time, ci was very popular, and perhaps this “poetic surplus” damaged Ouyang Xiu’s reputation.
It can be said that Ouyang Xiu’s personal style and moral writing are admirable. However, human beings have a dual personality, namely natural nature and social rationality. Therefore, Ouyang Xiu’s poetry and prose are “warm, pure, elegant, and upright, kind and benevolent, and pure as the voice of governing the world”; And his little command, although used as a small term for gaming, is also worthy of the Tang Dynasty’s “Hua Jian Ji”.
Outside of Ouyang Xiu’s public hall, there are also fragments of “life” left behind, such as the song “Sheng Cha Zi”: “The moon reaches the tip of the willow tree, and people make an appointment after dusk”, which depicts the moral image of men and women stealing and having a secret meeting, tarnishing Ouyang Xiu’s reputation. Therefore, later generations poured “sewage” onto others for the sake of Ouyang Xiu’s reputation. When Zeng Qian edited “Yuefu Ya Ci” in the Song Dynasty, he carefully selected Ouyang Xiu’s lyrics, saying, “At that time, petty people may have made beautiful songs, which were mistakenly considered public lyrics, but now they have been deleted.
Ouyang Xiu wrote a poem called ‘Looking at Jiangnan’:
Jiangnan willows have small leaves but no shade. The artificial lightness of silk endures its twists and turns, and the oriole finds the branches tender and unable to sing, keeping them for the deep spring. On the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, leisurely holding a pipa and searching. Rub money on the steps and walk down the steps. Pay attention when you meet at this time. Besides, up until now.
This word is written in a rather vague and implicit way, meaning that I have a crush on a clever and beautiful little girl, but she is still young and waiting for her to start,
It is precisely this erotic poem about a young girl’s private affairs that has been seized upon by political opponents.
2. The defendant had an affair with his niece
When Ouyang Xiu was a child, his father passed away early and his family was poor. His mother raised him and his sister, so the relationship between siblings was quite deep.
Ouyang Xiu embarked on a career through studying with great enthusiasm. His younger sister reached the age of marriage and married a man named Zhang Guizheng. Zhang Guizheng had been married once, but his wife passed away, leaving behind a young daughter. Ouyang Xiu’s younger sister was Xuxian, who became a stepmother after marrying her.
Unfortunately, my younger sister married less than a year ago, and Zhang Guizheng passed away due to illness, leaving her a widow.
Ouyang Xiu sympathized with his poor sister and took her over to live together. Naturally, this little girl from the Zhang family also came to Ouyang Xiu’s house. Although Ouyang Xiu had no blood relationship with her, she was honored as Ouyang Xiu’s niece.
This little girl was seven years old at the time, so “Ye Xiao did not take shade”. She was born smart, clever, beautiful and lovely, and also loved by Ouyang Xiu.
In a blink of an eye, this niece grew up to the age of fourteen or fifteen. In ancient times, the age of fourteen or fifteen was considered a young lady and it was time to get married. Therefore, she married Ouyang Sheng, a distant nephew of Ouyang Xiu, and went from being a granddaughter to a niece in law.
However, Zhang’s style was not upright, and he colluded with a servant named Chen Jian in the family to commit adultery. The matter was exposed and sent to Kaifeng Prefecture for trial.
The person in charge of this case is Yang Riyan, who is said to have had a deep feud with Ouyang Xiu. Under severe torture, Zhang confessed that they had an affair with Ouyang Xiu before leaving the court.
This was a very sensational news at the time. That year, Ouyang Xiu was just 39 years old, then a direct scholar of Longtu Pavilion and a literary figure.
Zhang’s’ confession ‘is too explosive, and this song’ Looking at Jiangnan ‘has become collateral evidence.
Ouyang Xiu was an upright official who offended many people. As a result, someone took the opportunity to dig up strong evidence: Ouyang Xiu not only sexually assaulted his niece, but also embezzled all the property of the Zhang family. Therefore, Ouyang Xiu was investigated.
But after investigation, it was found that there was a lack of conclusive evidence regarding the matter between the man and the woman, making it impossible to implement. However, it was determined that Ouyang Xiu had embezzled Zhang’s property (in fact, many of the property matters were not settled clearly when he took his sister home), which is much lighter than incest.
3. Arriving late for the banquet with a prostitute
This inevitably reminds people of another poem by Ouyang Xiu, “Drunken Penglai,” which describes a secret date between a man and a woman. “When I see my shy face gathering green, my tender face is even red, and my waist is graceful. The red medicine lingers on the edge, and I am annoyed. I half conceal my shyness, my voice trembles softly, and ask if anyone knows. I force my skirt, steal my eyes, and pretend to sit. I also ask if, after the matter is done, my hair will be messy and my mother will guess. I will go home now, and you will rest. As a mother, I have some needles and thread, but I have not stopped. But I will wait even longer, under the shadow of the flowers in the courtyard, and start over again. This is clearly a mature man seducing a young girl in her early stages of love. Of course, we would not be so vulgar as to link the glamorous things in the poem with the poet’s real life and implement them one by one. However, ‘copying and engraving sincerity, not avoiding obscenity and vulgarity’ is also somewhat ‘life’. Only heaven knows whether the term ‘young girl’ in this word is the same as the one in ‘Ye Xiao has not yet become a shade’. Many people believe that Ouyang Xiu was falsely accused and suffered a blow from political treachery.
Ouyang Xiu was demoted to Chuzhou due to this incident. Chuzhou is located between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, with beautiful natural scenery and rich folk customs. In Chuzhou, “young talents have new words, and red beauties emphasize drinking”, and he made some friends. Among them, there was a monk named Zhixian who built a pavilion by the brewing spring in Langya Mountain and asked Ouyang Xiu to name it. Thus, the famous “Record of the Drunken Weng Pavilion” was born, which does not mean drinking.
Although Ouyang Xiu was upright and outspoken in court, he was not free from formalities in private. Despite the prevalent trend of prostitution and amusement among the Song people, he was not immune to the customs. According to Jiang Yikui’s “Record of Yaoshan Hall”, Qian Wenxi, who stayed behind in the Western Capital, held a banquet, but Ouyang Xiu did not arrive for a long time and only brought a beautiful prostitute with him. Qian Wenxi asked why he was late. The beautiful courtesan replied, “Due to the hot weather, I slept for a while. When I woke up, I found that the hairpin on my hair was missing, so I searched for it for a while, which wasted time.” Everyone naturally understood and smiled at each other.
Qian Wenxi punished Ouyang Xiu with writing lyrics to apologize. After some thought, Ouyang Xiu wrote a song called “Immortal by the River”:
The light thunderstorm outside the willow pond is raining, and the sound of raindrops shattering the lotus. The west corner of the small building is broken by a rainbow. Resting in a daze, waiting for the moon and Watson. Swallows fly over to peek at the painting house, and jade hooks hang down from the curtains. The cool waves do not move and the wrinkles are flat. Water essence double pillow, with a fallen hairpin beside it horizontally.
Ouyang Xiu is truly a skilled writer in the literary world. Even a single erotic poem is written so delicately and subtly. When Qian Wenxi was pleased, he used public funds to accompany this beautiful prostitute’s hairpin.
4. In his later years, the defendant was accused of “secretly following his wife”
Wen people have always believed that “poetry is a subject of beauty”, “poetry is elegant and charming”, and that Ouyang Xiu has a “vulgar” side. He occasionally indulges in debauchery, “the courtyard is deep and deep”, “every inch of his soft intestine is filled with tears of powder”, “it is also romantic”, leaving a handle for his political enemies.
When Ouyang Xiu was sixty-one years old, he had already been in the officialdom for decades, and someone accused him of adultery with his daughter-in-law. At this time, Ouyang Xiu was already a political counselor, literary leader, and had a large enough official position to be famous all over the world. The famous brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe were his disciples.
So, who dares to accuse him? Censorate Jiang Zhiqi, who specializes in listening to rumors and impeaching officials.
Jiang Zhiqi reported directly to the emperor through the ministers of civil and military affairs in the court that Ouyang Xiu “did not repair his account book” and “secretly followed his daughter-in-law”, which means he had committed adultery with his daughter-in-law.
At this time, the Emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty was Emperor Shenzong of Song, who had only been in office for less than a year. He was a young emperor of twenty years old and had great respect for Ouyang Xiu, the moral master of the three dynasties.
Who did Jiang Zhiqi listen to?
Jiang Zhiqi said it was his superior, the Imperial Censor in Chief Peng Siyong.
Emperor Shenzong of Song asked Peng Siyong again and learned about the situation: Peng Siyong obtained it from his fellow villager Liu Jin, who had a personal grudge with Ouyang Xiu. However, this rumor was not fabricated by him, but heard from Xue Liangru, the cousin of Ouyang Xiu’s wife Xue.
Due to his family relationship with Ouyang Xiu, Xue Liangru is very familiar with everything in Ouyang Xiu’s family.
Ouyang Xiu’s eldest son Ouyang Fa married the daughter of the Salt and Iron Deputy Envoy Wu Chong.
This’ private servant’s wife ‘is of great significance, and Emperor Shenzong of Song had it verified for authenticity. The judge in charge of this case is Su Anshi, who has always had great respect for Ouyang Xiu. After investigation, it was found to be a false accusation.
Emperor Shenzong of Song was very angry and dismissed the censor Jiang Zhiqi and Peng Siyong one by one.
In order to restore Ouyang Xiu’s reputation, Emperor Shenzong of Song specially wrote a notice posted on the court, which roughly stated: Mr. Ouyang was recently rumored to have caused trouble and tarnished your reputation. I was very angry and asked them to provide evidence, but they couldn’t come up with anything. I punished them severely and asked Mr. Ouyang to work with peace of mind. I will clear your name.
It can be said that Ouyang Xiu had occasional scandals throughout his life, and in his later years, this adulterous daughter-in-law made him lose face.
From a normal perspective, as the saying goes, ‘If a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will surely destroy it.’ Ouyang Xiu was a literary master, a moral writer, and a politically upright and impartial person. He naturally became a target of political enemies’ attacks. However, in his later years, it was impossible for him to have an affair with his daughter-in-law, which was completely created by political enemies. Some romantic rumors are also normal. ‘Life is full of love and infatuation, and this hatred is not related to wind and moon.’.
