Duan Zihong and Wang Zhiqiang, famous officials in Ganzhou with strong reputations for honest government. Nanchang Normal University In China in the traditional era, Ganzhou had many famous generals whose loyalty and loyalty were awe-inspiring throughout the ages.

Duan Zihong, a famous official in Ganzhou with a strong reputation for honest government

Wang Zhiqiang Nanchang Normal University

In China in the traditional era, Ganzhou had many famous generals, whose loyalty was awe-inspiring throughout the ages. Under the loyalty and martyrs, Ganzhou also has a large number of capable ministers and virtuous officials. They demonstrate clean and honest moral conduct, embody the spirit of official ethics that benefits the people, and become shining beacons for future generations, guiding the children of Ganzhou. The direction of struggle inspires the future goals of future generations. The sages have passed away, but their moral character has become our spiritual calcium, and their words and deeds have also become our source of strength.

The cover of "Ganzhou Prefecture Chronicles" published during the Republic of China

Duan Zihong during the Chongzhen years, although not famous in history, left a strong mark in the "Zhangye County Chronicles". He used his moral character, It showed the honest and self-disciplined spiritual quality of Ganzhou scholars to traditional China. Reading his story today is still very moving. Duan Zihong has been upright and ambitious since he was a child. When he was born, it was already in the late Ming Dynasty. The social atmosphere was corrupt and degenerate. Many scholars studied for their own fame and wealth, and few had the idea of ​​abiding by the tradition and cultivating the ideal of Qi Zhiping. Seeing this, Duan Zihong came up with the idea of ​​being self-restrained, practicing traditional ideals, and setting a good example for the world to stir up public sentiment.

The record of Duan Zihong in the "New Zhangye County Chronicle" of the Republic of China

In the fifth year of Chongzhen, Duan Zihong was appointed as the magistrate of Yuanqu County, Shanxi. As soon as he took office, Duan Zihong encountered a major event. At that time, a rebel army was active in the area of ​​ Yuncheng , and their leader was called Wang Jiayin. Under the leadership of Wang Jiayin, the rebel army was very powerful, often plundering people, and even attacked Jiyuan County. Because the influence was too great, General Soldier Cao Wenzhao led his troops from Yangcheng to wipe out the rebel army. However, although the leader of the bandits was eliminated, a large number of rebels still escaped pursuit. These rebels either went up the mountains to become bandits, or went to rob villages, causing great harm to the people. Some of the Jiyuan rebels went to Yuanqu . They did not dare to attack the county seat, so they went to rob villages with weak defenses. The people in Yuanqu were miserable and came to Duan Zihong for help. Duan Zihong judged the deep valley where they were hiding based on the looting trajectory of the rebels, and then led the strong men to annihilate them. Under the command of Duan Zihong, the strong men who had never been on the battlefield fought with this group of soldiers and bandits. Because both sides had concerns, they fell into a confrontation. At this time, the rebels did not dare to plunder the village. Later, the supporting troops arrived and the rebels were driven out of Yuanqu.

Duan Zihong's text recorded in the "Hengqu County Chronicle" during the Guangxu Period

After Duan Zihong drove away the rebels, he began to manage Yuanqu. Yuanqu is surrounded by mountains, the land is barren, and the people's lives are relatively difficult. At that time, officers and soldiers and volunteers were engaged in a large-scale battle. The two sides were going back and forth, fighting each other. A large number of people were displaced, and countless old and weak people died in the ravines. Duan Zihong tried his best to hold up a sky for the people. He led the people to cultivate wasteland and ordered that the reclaimed wasteland did not need to pay taxes for the first three years. So a large number of people went to the mountains to open up wasteland. Within a year, people's homes had surplus food.

Cover of "Ganzhou Prefecture Chronicle" published in 1995

After solving the basic problem of food and clothing, Duan Zihong began to repair the city wall. Duan Zihong believed that if the stability of their homes could not be guaranteed, the people would have no intention of producing, and the key to ensuring the stability of their homes was to strengthen the city walls. In the sixth year of Chongzhen's reign, Duan Zihong began the work of repairing the Yuanqu City Wall. In order to encourage the construction process, he took the initiative to donate his salary and lobbied the powerful landlords in the city many times, persuading them to donate food, rice and noodles to increase everyone's income. Dry vitality. At the same time, he also set the people's quota of corvées to repair the city walls, and the government provided food and subsidies. Under his poor management, the city wall repair work progressed rapidly. In less than half a year, the city wall in Yuanqu was repaired.

Duan Zihong was recorded in the new edition of "Ganzhou Prefecture Chronicles" in 1995.

When Duan Zihong was an official in Yuanqu, history said that he had "a sound record of honest government." He refused to go along with the world and set a good example for the world with his principles of integrity.One night, Duan Zihong was preparing to rest when he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. He looked through the crack in the door and found that someone was coming to him with some gifts. He didn't even open the door, so he just let the other person leave. Duan Zihong believes that there is no difference between accepting bribes once and twice, only the difference between accepting them and confiscating them. As long as officials open the door to accept gifts, they will never be able to close it again. In Duan Zihong's eyes, officials must be cautious. If they are not careful, they will fall into a trap. People with high moral integrity have a firm will and a clear understanding, and will not lose their true feelings and drift with the crowd, nor will they lose their vigilance and act like a fool. Duan Zihong's integrity and self-discipline deeply reflect his way of being an official, which is not to ask whether his material life is good, but to ask about his own peace of mind.

Preface to "Ganzhou Prefecture Chronicles" published during the Republic of China

Duan Zihong resigned and returned home due to illness. When the people of Yuanqu knew that Duan Zihong was leaving, they took the old and the young and clung to Duan Zihong's carriage to prevent him from leaving. Duan Zihong stayed in Yuanqu for more than half a month, and then left Yuanqu after telling the people about their friendship. When Duan Zihong arrived home, he was alone and had no money left in his bag. There were only ten taels of silver and two pieces of clothing in the package. The silver was his newly-paid salary, and the clothes were brought to Yuanqu from home when he took office. The gentry in Ganzhou at that time were filled with emotion when they saw Duan Zihong's property, thinking that Duan Zihong had fulfilled his duty as an official. It can be said that Duan Zihong used his actions to show his integrity and fairness, used his deeds to set up a banner of self-denial and devotion to public service, and became a shining star in the officialdom at that time.

Rebellion of characters in "Ganzhou Prefecture Chronicles" in 1995

Not long after the rogue bandits attacked Ganzhou, Duan Zihong, who was lying on the hospital bed, was invited by the elders of Ganzhou to take charge of the military affairs of Xicheng. Duan Zihong worked hard and repelled the enemy's attacks many times. He was helplessly outnumbered and was eventually captured. After the bandits heard about Duan Zihong's deeds, they wanted to persuade him to surrender. Duan Zihong angrily scolded the bandit leader and cursed: "Only Duan Zihong dies standing up, not Duan Zihong who lives kneeling." The angry bandits killed Duan Zihong. After Duan Zihong was killed, his wife and concubines also committed suicide at home in order not to be humiliated by the rebels. In order to commemorate Duan Zihong, the people of Later Ganzhou would write down Duan Zihong's deeds in the "Loyal and Martyr Chronicles" when compiling their chronicles in the past dynasties, telling the world where they were proud.

Illustrations of "Zhangye County Chronicles"

(About the author: Wang Zhiqiang, lecturer at the School of Liberal Arts, Nanchang Normal University, PhD in Literature from Zhejiang University. In newspapers and periodicals such as " Learning Times ", " Gansu Daily ", "Gansu CPPCC", " China Local Chronicles " Published many articles on )