Lin Zexu (August 30, 1785-November 22, 1850), whose courtesy name was Yuanfu, and his courtesy name was Shaomu and Shilin. His late name was Qicun Laoren, Qicun Chusou, Qicun Chusou, Seventy-two Peak Chusou, Pingquan Jushi, Lishe Sanren, etc., was from Houguan County, Fujian Province. He was a politician, writer, thinker, and national hero in the late Qing Dynasty in China.
Lin Zexu was a Jinshi in the 16th year of Jiaqing (1811). He served as the Hanlin editor, Jiangsu Censor, Donghe Governor, Jiangsu Governor, and Huguang Governor. In the 19th year of Daoguang (1839), when the imperial envoy went to Guangdong to ban smoking, he sent people to conduct open and secret investigations, forcing foreign opium merchants to hand over opium and destroyed the confiscated opium at Humen. The incident is considered the fuse of 's first Opium War . Shortly after the war broke out, Lin Zexu was framed and dismissed and sent to Xinjiang to guard the border. In the 25th year of Daoguang, (1845) was re-appointed and served as the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, the Governor of Shaanxi, the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and was appointed as the Prince Taibao. In the 30th year of Daoguang (1850), Lin Zexu died of illness in Puning, Chaozhou while being ordered to suppress the God worship association. He was awarded the title of Prince's Tutor and was posthumously named " Wenzhong ". There are works such as "Lin Wenzhong's Book of Government" that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Lin Zexu traveled through the places throughout his life and had outstanding achievements in his governance. Although they are fighting against Western invasion in Guangdong and Guangxi, they are open to Western culture, science and technology and trade, and advocate learning and using them better. The " Sizhou Zhi " compiled by him and the " Haiguo Tu Zhi " compiled by Wei Yuan were inspiring to the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty and even the Meiji Restoration in Japan.
Historical evaluation:
Wu Yuexiao praised in "Chengpingquan Jushi Lin Shaomu Zexu": The North Diva is a star, the middle-class pillar, reluctantly for the people to look forward to the people, rain comforts the people.
Late Qing scholar Li Yuandu In "A Brief Story of Lin Wenzhong", said: Gong (Lin Zexu) is dedicated to everything in political affairs, and especially those who are concerned about the world's chaos, the greatest of them are to handle barbarian affairs and suppress Guangdong invaders, and they all end up fasting... However, treating others with forgiveness, receiving others with sincerity, and all of them are happy to use it.
China's proletarian dictatorship revolutionary Mao Zedong once said that our democratic revolution "has been revolutionized for more than a hundred years since Lin Zexu."
American historian Fei Zhengqing Editor-in-chief " Cambridge Chinese late Qing history " commented on Lin Zexu: His experience is innocent. He has the strong confidence of a man who has never made a mistake. He is very moral in dealing with people and has a strong sense of responsibility.
Anecdotes:
Name is from
There are many statements about "Zexu" in Lin Zexu's name and its origin:
According to Shi Hongbao " Fujian Miscellaneous Notes " Volume 4 "Name of Lin Wenzhong Gong", when Lin Zexu was born, the new Fujian Governor Xu Sizeng "passed his door", so his father named him "Zexu" (learning and imitating Xu Sizeng ); his name is Yuanfu, and he intended to hope that Lin Zexu would be as bright as Xu Sizeng's career and a prosperous official career.
According to the poem "After the Photo of Lin Yanggu's Crane Feeding in the Year of Lin Yanggu" said that on the night of Lin Zexu's birth, Lin Binri "sees a phoenix flying in his dream", which immediately reminded him of a talented man from the Southern Dynasty, such as "Stone Qilin in the Sky". He thought his son was Xu Ling's back, so he named his son "Zexu", with the word "Shaomu" and "Shilin". This statement is obviously far-fetched and not trustworthy.
According to Volume 12 of Chen Kangqi's "Yan Going to the Countryside" Volume 12, Lin Zexu was born in the Xu family and raised in the Lin family, so he was named Lin Zexu. This theory has been examined as an unfounded theory by Chen Kangqi . Among these statements, "Min Miscellaneous Notes" should be used to describe them more accurately. Because Xu Si was once famous for "loving scholars is like desires", such officials who love scholars will naturally be easily admired by ordinary scholars.
modified the deep meaning of the poem
Lin Zexu's son-in-law Shen Baozhen , when he was young, he had not achieved fame and fortune, and he was unruly. There was a poem about the crescent moon saying: One hook is enough to the world, why do you have to be full of light and full of tremendous light? Lin Zexu read it and thought that although the son-in-law's poem was good, it was a little inappropriate, so he changed the word "bi" to "kuan" for him. Shen Baozhen's poems express his aspirations through the moon, which makes him look noble and narrow-minded.Lin Zexu changed it to "What's more, the brightness is full of tremendous light", which is very different in poetry. When the fame is not yet achieved, he accumulates talents and knowledge to help the world. Once he is in a high position, he can show his skills and achieve the great cause of governing the country and maintaining national stability. Moreover, compared with the previous and next sentences, the poem implies the profound meaning of "If you live in a high temple, you worry about the people, and if you live in a far away world, you worry about the king."
The good thing about collecting books
Lin Zexu was particularly fond of collecting books when he was in politics. After being promoted to the Jinshi, he lived in Wenzaoshan. In his early years, he was determined to "the East Wall Book Mansion, the West Garden's calligraphy and painting forest. Praise poems and hear the state's affairs, and tell the easy to see the heart of heaven" and devote himself to collecting all kinds of books of the previous dynasty and contemporary times. The library has "Seventy-Two Peaks Tower" and "Yunzuo Mountain House", which are specially used to store books and accumulate more than 30 pillars. When he was exiled to , he was given a large cart of 7 and 20 boxes of books. Before leaving, I wrote a poem saying, "Even if the horse horns are born in three years, it must be tied with thousands of rolls of bullock waist ." There is a copy of "Yunzuoshanfang Bibliography" that has been passed down from generation to generation. The seals include "Lin Shaomu's treasure seal", "Hedong Festival Commander, Jiangzuo Zhongcheng", "Forget all favors and disgraces", "Reading in the East, and looking at the grass in the West", "Encourts of Wu, Yue, Qin, Chu, Qi and Liang" and so on. The original collection of books, the "Seventy-Two Peak Building", was washed away by floods in 1948, and later the Fuzhou Municipal Government allocated funds to rebuild it.
Buddhist layman
Lin Zexu was influenced by Buddhism when he was young, which affected the formation of his thought of "not seeking happiness for himself, but hope that all living beings will be free from suffering." Lin Zexu's wife Zheng Shuqing is a devout Buddhist disciple. His behavior of keeping fasts and reciting scriptures and believing in Buddhism has had a great impact on him. During his tenure as an official, Lin Zexu also had contacts with people in the Buddhist community. Among Buddhist monks, there are two who can be sure of the diary and poems based on Lin Zexu's diary and poems. One is Juchao, the abbot of Dinghui Temple in Jiaoshan, Zhenjiang, who was first met in the second year of Daoguang (1822), and praised his "poetry is also elegant", and the other is Yanqi, the abbot of Huating Temple in Xishan, Kunming, during his tenure in Yunnan and Guizhou. It is said that among the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Lin Zexu respected the most. In addition to praying for incense and rain to Guanyin, he also built a Guanyin Temple in the Supervisory Office during his tenure as the governor of Huguang, and held incense and offering sacrifices every day.
Source: Biography of historical figures and stories
