When poor, cultivate yourself alone; when successful, help the whole world. The likes of Fan Zhongyan were paragons of Confucian spirit! In the middle period of the Northern Song, the empire was plagued by the severe “Three Redundancies” and relentless natural disasters. It fought the Western Xia and paid tribute to the Liao to secure peace, while the regime teetered on the brink of collapse.
At this moment of internal and external crisis, Fan Zhongyan, later hailed as “a model for all under heaven,” emerged. He rallied Ouyang Xiu, Fu Bi, and other scholar-officials who put the worries of the world before their own, saving the declining Northern Song and bringing the Confucian spirit of caring for the country and its people to its height.
Fan Zhongyan, posthumously honored as “Wenzheng,” devoted his life to the country and its people;
Ouyang Xiu, a literary giant of his age, was a peerless judge of talent;
Fu Bi, a senior minister who served three reigns, never lost the bearing of a gentleman, even in adversity;
Open this book and discover the true spirit of Confucianism!
When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven. This reveals the great Confucian scholar, his integrity, and the history behind him.
This truly excellent book has given me a deeper understanding of Song Dynasty culture and history, and has also provided a more comprehensive view of its famous officials, clarifying many historical mysteries.
Rich in content and with a prominent main storyline