Ouyang Xiu, also known as Yongshu, Zuiweng, and Liuyi Jushi, was a famous politician of the Northern Song Dynasty. Due to his birthplace in Jizhou, Jiangxi, which was originally part of Luling County, he identified himself 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 Great Masters of 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 Ancient Literature” by later generations.
Ouyang Xiu was one of the earliest literary leaders in the history of the Song Dynasty to create a literary style. He led the reform movement of poetry and literature in the Northern Song Dynasty and inherited and developed Han Yu’s theory of classical Chinese. In terms of history, he majored in the New Book of Tang and independently wrote the History of the New Five Dynasties. The collection of Ouyang Wenzhong has been passed down through generations.
Ouyang Xiu’s literary and martial arts have long been established in history, needless to say. Even Su Shi, a prominent figure in the Song Dynasty’s imperial court, admired Ouyang Xiu greatly: “Three times passing under the Pingshan Hall, half a life filled with the sound of bullets. Ten years without seeing the old immortal, dragons and snakes fluttering on the walls. He wanted to hang the prefect of literature, but still sang of willows and spring breeze. He stopped talking and said that everything turned around empty, and when he didn’t turn around, he dreamed.” “He talked about the great road like Han Yu, talked about things like Lu Zhi, remembered things like Sima Qian, and wrote poetry like Li Bai
However, this figure, who laid the foundation for the cultural prosperity of the Song Dynasty, was once embroiled in scandals and appeared to be somewhat ruined. To this day, opinions are still divided.
So, how did Ouyang Wenzhong, the Duke of Daode Literature, get caught up in the scandal scandal? It also causes trouble in writing. Putting the hat of ‘style problem’ on him, which almost cost the life of the Qing Qing, is a famous song called ‘Looking at Jiangnan’.
Song Qian Shizhao’s “Qian’s Personal Chronicles”: “After Yang Xiu, it was said that he stole his nephew. In the” Table “, it is said that he lost his husband and had no trust, and returned with his orphan daughter. Zhang was only seven years old at this time, and the Inner Hanbo smiled and said,” Seven years old is the time to learn how to make money. “Ou Ci said,” Jiangnan willows, with small leaves that have not yet turned into shade, endure the hardships of thin silk, and the orioles pity the tender branches and cannot sing, leaving them to wait for the deep spring. In the 14th and 15th centuries, he leisurely held a pipa to search for it, and picked up the money in the hall and walked down the hall. When we met at this time, we were already paying attention, let alone until now? “Other records are similar.
Money picking was a game played by little girls at that time. The so-called ‘nephew thief’ here does not mean stealing a nephew to sell for money. It means Ouyang Xiu and his niece have had an affair. Ouyang Xiu’s niece is not his own niece.
In the book “Memoirs of the Song Dynasty,” it is recorded: “Zhang Shi, the nephew of Duke Hui, was the daughter of his brother-in-law Guizheng. She was not born in Europe and was a young orphan. She devoted herself to her family and married her nephew Sheng. Sheng left the Qianzhou household and took over as a substitute for the famous servant Chen Jian, while Zhang communicated with him. When the incident occurred, he was stationed in the right army patrol of Kaifeng Prefecture. Zhang was afraid of the crime and attempted to relieve himself. His language quoted the current situation of Duke not marrying, and his words were often ugly
Ouyang Xiu’s younger sister became widowed shortly after her marriage. After Ouyang Xiu’s brother-in-law passed away, she left behind a daughter who was born to Ouyang Xiu’s brother-in-law’s ex-wife. Ouyang Xiu pitied his widowed sister and brought her and her niece Zhang to his side to raise them.
My niece grew up and married Ouyang Sheng, the distant nephew of Ouyang Xiu. I don’t know if it was due to a strained relationship or some other reason, but it was Zhang’s affair with his servant Chen Jian that was discovered and taken to the Kaifeng government. This niece, who is not related by blood, suddenly said in the government that Ouyang Xiu also has a feud with her.
Song Zengmin’s “Duxing Magazine” Volume 8 records: “The officials used their boudoirs to falsely accuse and humiliate him. General Zhang earnestly requested clarification, and Emperor Shenzong issued a decree to the officials, saying: ‘Is Spring Cold safe? I have personally approved the previous events and questioned the reason for this, and I want you to know.’ He also issued a decree, saying: ‘Spring Warmth has not been seen for a long time, is it safe? For several days, I have been slandering you with words and causing great evil. I am still in my arms at dawn and have not been relieved. Therefore, I have repeatedly approved and questioned your past situation, but there has been no response. The day before, I saw your words to clarify, so I quoted them myself. Today, I have ordered them to be sent down, but they are still sent out. Bangchao Hall makes both internal and external knowledge false. When the truth is clear, people’s words are also blocked. The minister regards the matter as it was before and does not mind the preface.” He also removed the word “block” and changed it to “explain”. Chen Han is now from the family of the Duke of Tibet
The term ‘boudoir’ refers to the place where women reside, and also refers to the privacy of the boudoir. It seems that Emperor Shenzong did not take Ouyang Xiu’s scandal seriously, but Qian Mu’s father, also known as Qian Xie, who was a member of the Imperial Secretariat, refused to let go.
