Transformation and Transformation: On the Formation of the Trilogy of Historical Narration in the Late Northern Song Dynasty

The "reform" centered on Wang Anshi, the "reform" centered on Sima Guang, and the "metamorphism" centered on Cai Jing constitute the mainstream trilogy of historical narration in the late Northern Song Dynasty. "Wang Anshi Reform" and "Yuanhu Reform" are widely used as conventional historical expressions. They are also used to express changes. Why do people rarely say "Xining Reform" and "Yuanhu Reform" today? What is the meaning difference between " Reform" and "Genghua"? Do these universally accepted fixed expressions obscure certain aspects of history?

In the struggle surrounding the new law in the Xifeng period, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were fundamentally opposed; in the party disputes after Shao Sheng, Sima Guang and Cai Jing were sharply opposed; and in the "new law degeneration" Wang Anshi and his follower Cai Jing are diametrically opposed. Although Wang Anshi and Sima Guang have different positions, they are also regarded as models of personal morality. Although Wang Anshi and Cai Jing have the same position, they are regarded as different in personal morality. Personal morals and political positions are entangled in historical interpretation. Is there any logical contradiction?

In recent years, many people have put forward new views on the development of clues to the late Northern Song Dynasty history . However, the formation process of the mainstream narrative in the history of the late Northern Song Dynasty still needs to be reviewed in depth.

王安石

"Whoever controls the present, who controls the past" . This sentence is most appropriate to describe the compilation of the history of the Four Dynasties in the late Northern Song Dynasty. This paragraph of historical records has fallen into a vortex of opposition and contradiction from the beginning. The first systematic compilation of the history of the Shenzong Dynasty was in the sixth year of Yuanhu. At that time, there was a fierce dispute between Lu Dian, who insisted on the position of the new party and Huang Tingjian, who insisted on the position of the old party. The final text is completely compliant with the political ideas of the old party. Afterwards, the "Records of Shenzong" compiled during the Shaosheng period obeyed the political ideas of the New Party, especially the two brothers Cai Jing and Cai Bian participated and played an important role.

Wang Anshi’s first official biography was completed when Cai Jing mentioned the compilation of "Zhezong Shilu". Among them, Wang Anshi was the "sage" produced during the Southern Song Dynasty Shaoxing period, and the "Zhezong Shilu" and "Zhezong Shilu" were re-edited. Later, he completed the "Records of Huizong", "Records of Qinzong" and "History of the Four Dynasties". The Southern Song Dynasty Shichen roughly inherited the views of Yuantuo Shichen, reflected on the collapse of the Northern Song Dynasty, and took a critical stand on the New Law and the New Party, which profoundly influenced the compilation of various historical books since the Southern Song Dynasty.

1. The finalization process of the formulation of "Wang Anshi Reform"

At present, people's choice between the two formulations of "Wang Anshi Reform" and "Xifeng Reform" There are many discussions about whether the leader of the new law is Song Shenzong or Wang Anshi. The general trend of is to affirm the leading role of Song Shenzong in the Xifeng dynasty. Many people advocate replacing “Wang Anshi with the Xifeng Reform”. Reform ". But what does the "reform" mean here? Previous studies have not fully discussed this issue.

The term "reform" is derived from the political views of Shang Yang, the legalist of Qin. Wang Anshi's appreciation of Shang Yang is often expressed in words and in poetry. Wang Anshi was also criticized by people at the time as imitating Shang Yang. Wang Anshi put forward the proposition of "changing the evil laws of the world" in the famous "Book of Ten Thousand Words". He advocated stressing the law of the ancestor and changing the law of the ancestors. At that time, those who criticized him accused Wang Anshi of “reform” from the standpoint of defending the “law of the ancestors”. As a historical event, Wang Anshi is indeed closely related to the "Reform", but as a historical term, the "Wang Anshi Reform" has an independent formation process. This process actually started with Qian Yuanyou and was completed in Shaoxing

The New Party's narrative of the history since Shenzong in the late Northern Song Dynasty is: Song Shenzong and Wang Anshi met once in a thousand years, the monarch and the ministers met each other, created the law and established the system, but unfortunately encountered Sima Guang and other "Yuanyou treacherous parties" changed the law, and Zhezong introduced the Shenzong law after being in power. Cai Jing and others also used the inheritance and development of Shenzong law as the slogan; the historical narrative re-established by the historian of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty is: Song Shenzong strives for excellence , But Wang Anshi changedThe new law was not the original intention of Shenzong. Minister Yuan Tuo abolished the new law according to Shenzong's original intention. Later, "treat ministers" Cai Jing, Cai Bian and others described Wang Anshi's new law instead of Shenzong's law, which harmed the country and the people and led to the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The political opposition between the new party and the old party ultimately produced two opposing narratives about the history of the late Northern Song Dynasty. Therefore, the original meaning of "Wang Anshi Reform" is "Wang Anshi Reformation". The "Shenzong's creation of laws and systems" is based on the standpoint of affirming Song Shenzong's merits. From Shao Sheng to Xuan He is the official mainstream view, and it has been lost after the Southern Song Dynasty. Wang Anshi’s law of chaos and Song Shenzong’s creation of law are based on different summaries of the same incident from different positions, but the imperial power logic behind the two is indeed opposite and complementary.

2. The Southern Song Context of the "Yuanhu Genghua" narrative

"Genghua" is the proposition of the Han scholar Dong Zhongshu. Dong Zhongshu believes that after the Han Dynasty inherited the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty, the reason why the Han Dynasty could not be governed well was that it should be changed without changing. There is a difference between law and Confucianism in the ideological roots of "reform" and "change". Before the Song Dynasty, "Shangyang Reform" was widely used as a fixed term, but there was no historical event named after "Genghua".

During the Northern Song Dynasty, “reform” has never become a political slogan, and it is not even an important political discourse. When Zhezong was in power and the Huizong New Party was in power, Simaguang was considered to be the law of the chaotic god. Shenzong’s law is the highest political standard . Sima Guang’s abolition of the new law is to change the Shenzong law. Those who criticized Sima Guang and Yuanhu's politicians criticized Sima Guang's "reform" from the standpoint of defending the "Shenzong Law". Even in the Southern Song Dynasty, the term "Yuanku Reform" was still used, but it was not necessarily a critical position.

In the context of the Northern Song Dynasty, the meaning of "Fa" is very clear. The "Fa" in the "Wang Anshi Reform" refers to the "Ancestral Law", which is mainly based on the position of the old party; "Sima" The "fa" in the "optical reform" or "Yuantuo reform" refers to the "shenzong law", mainly based on the position of the New Party. "Law reform" is a discourse with specific connotations produced during the fierce political struggle at that time. After the Southern Song Dynasty, Fa Zuzong became the most important political principle, and Shenzong could almost be regarded as expelled from the "ancestral home" on some occasions, and was not included in the list of ancestors to be imitated. The most important is Farenzong. The expression of "Sima Guang Reformation" is no longer appropriate, and the term "Yuantuo Changed" came into being.

"Genghua" as a clear political proposition appeared at the end of Shaoxing. Qin Hui died in Shaoxing twenty-five years ago, Zhang Xiaoxiang published "On the General Principles of Power to Change the Scraper", which was affirmed by Gaozong. The term "Genghua" appeared frequently in the book-making of the appointment or removal of officials in the following years. At that time, officials discussed changes in politics. Song Gaozong created a large-scale political movement to rectify the dictatorship of Qin Hui, which meant that it was up to the chaos and peaceful anti-unjust, false and wrongful cases, so later there was the saying that "Shaoxing was changed". Later in Song Ningzong, there was "Jiading reformation", and Lizong time there was "Duanping reformation", both of which clearly used "reformation" as the political slogan. " Change" is a reform proposal that does not touch the ancestral law.

The political circles of the Southern Song Dynasty frequently appeared "modification" policies, and the Southern Song Dynasty scholar-officials used "modification" to describe the Yuantuo politics they admired. During the Southern Song Dynasty "Duanping Reformation", "Yuantuo Reformation" was regarded as a political model. Until the Yuan Dynasty official revision of the "Song History" the term "Yuanku Genghua" appeared many times, and the "Yuanyou Genghua" volume in the "Song History Chronicles" compiled by the Ming Dynasty was positive and affirmative. It can be seen from this that the argument of "reformed Yuanku" was originally a projection of the political ideas of the Southern Song Dynasty "reformed" in Yuantuo's history, and later historians followed this argument.

The "reform" and "modification" that people use today have lost their original meaning. In modern times, people from the reformists vigorously clamored for "reform", the meaning of "reform" turned positive, and the meaning is equivalent to "reform", and reform means social progress, and "reformer" is about politicsThe character's praise, the formulation of "Wang Anshi Reform" won Qing Mi . However, after Yuanhu's government no longer had a typical meaning, the meaning of "good governance" in the word "Genghua" in "Yuanyou Genghua" naturally disappeared. With the formation of the two terms "Wang Anshi Reform" and "Yuankuanghua", the other two important formulations "Song Shenzong's creation of legal system" and "Yuantuo Reform" were basically forgotten.

From a historical point of view, the formulation of "Shenzong's creation of laws and systems" is very obvious to the political significance of Zhezong Huizong's second dynasty. If "the law of ancestors" is regarded as the "legal system" of the pre-mid Northern Song Dynasty," The formulation of "Shenzong Law and Legislation" shows that "Shenzong Law" is actually the "New Law System" of the late Northern Song Dynasty. really failed the "Yuanku Reformation" rather than the "Xining Reformation", which is important for understanding the late Northern Song Dynasty The historical process is of academic significance. In the past research, the philosophy of "change" is often emphasized, thinking that Wang Anshi seeks change, and Sima Guang advocates conservative and unchangeable, thus delineating reformist and conservative . However, by returning to the historical context and paying attention to the disagreement of "law", we can understand the true meaning of "law reform" and "change".

3. The modern background of the new law "metamorphism" theory

The historical narrative of "changes one by one-metamorphosis" regards Wang Anshi and Cai Jing as completely The two opposing sides, this is the biggest difference from the traditional view of history. Regardless of whether Cai Jing's Shaoshu object is identified as Song Shenzong or Wang Anshi, Cai Jing's politics can be traced back to the Xifeng period. The "deterioration" theory of the new law is completely different from the historical narrative of the new and old parties in the Northern Song Dynasty. Although there were discussions in the Song Dynasty that treated Cai Jing and Wang Anshi differently, there was no systematic discussion of the "deterioration" of the new law. The "metamorphism" theory of the new law became an important part of the narrative of the historical mainstream of the late Northern Song Dynasty. In fact, it is closely related to the new trend of thought since modern times.

Since modern times, in the exchange and collision of Eastern and Western cultures, the "Wang Anshi Reform" has become an international topic, which has attracted wide attention worldwide. Many thoughts and theories in modern society have had an impact on the new interpretation of this historical topic. As far as China is concerned, some of these ideological theories originate in China, and some come from outside the territory, such as nationalism, socialism, and liberalism. The local and foreign thoughts have formed a certain degree of combination and even variation: The local traditional thoughts seek innovation and change under the impact of foreign cultures, and the so-called "new Confucianism" and "new legalists" have appeared, and the thoughts and theories outside the territory have In the Chinese context, different degrees of "Chinese characteristics" are presented. As far as the world is concerned, the interpretation of the "Wang Anshi Reform" also has its own characteristics based on the problem consciousness of different countries and different times.

Liang Qichao

Liang Qichao used the position of "model of great man" to defend Wang Anshi's wrongdoing, and made great contributions to the formation of the image of Wang Anshi "great man" in modern times. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi mainly used the negative image 载千 in the Annals of History. Liang Qichao completely reversed this situation with his unique magical pen, and had a profound impact. It is worth noting that, in response to the traditional saying that "the disaster of Jingkang" "Although it was born in Cai Jing, it was brewed in Anshi", Liang Qichao argued that "the one who caused the Song is only Cai Jing", and that Cai Jing and Wang Anshi "do not match each other." and". This line of argumentation had a great influence on later historians.

However, it was the Japanese scholar who first brought Wang Anshi into the field of modernization. As early as the end of the Edo period in Japan, the heretical thinker Haibao Qingling denied Wang Anshi’s tradition and first gave Wang Anshi’s new law a high evaluation. In the late Meiji era, the introduction of Western learning to make new judgments on Wang Anshi’s new law became a new kind of the trend of. During this period, Japanese scholars' research on Wang Anshi had obvious nationalism. Later, Naito Hunan, an oriental historian of the Kyoto school, gave Wang Anshi a very high evaluation-"Wang Anshi is the embodiment of modern culture". In Naito Hunan, Wang Anshi and Cai Jing were strictly distinguished. He believed that Wang Anshi was "the most economical person among the reformers at the time", while Cai Jing was just a man who made the move, not a real "New French Party". ".

After the Reform Movement of 1898, the reformers exiled to Japan were deeply influenced by the Japanese nationalist trend of thought at that time. Takahashi Sakuei's "Wang Anshi New Law" attracted the attention of the reformers. Liang Qichao's "Wang Jing Gong" was written under the influence of Japanese scholars. He defined Wang Anshi's policy based on the Western National Socialism at the time, and also used the term "National Socialism", and compared the difficulty of its realization . Liang Qichao believes that Wang Anshi is promoting "national socialism" that has not been promoted by the constitutional state, which highlights Wang Anshi's greatness.

Class representative theory was first used to explain the old and new party disputes in the Northern Song Dynasty in the 1930s. is more typical of Tan Pimo’s proposal that Wang Anshi is the leader of the small landlord class party , while Sima Guang is the leader of the big landlord class party. Wang Anshi’s coming to power will establish a small landlord class government. The struggle between the parties of the landlord class. After the 1950s, class analysis has become the most important method in historical research, and the viewpoint of Qi Xia is the most typical in the study of Wang Anshi's reform.

The historical evolution of Qi Xia from Wang Anshi to Cai Jing is divided into the main phase of the reform and the failure phase of the reform. He believes that Wang Anshi represents the interests of the small landlord class, Sima Guang and Cai Jing are both representatives of the interests of the big landlord class, Wang Anshi represents the progressive forces, Sima Guang and Cai Jing are reactionary forces, Shenzong presides over the new law after Wang Anshi strikes out The new law after Zhezong's pro-government, and then the new law after Cai Jing became the prime minister, went from bad to worse, getting further and further away from Wang Anshi's reform direction, and Cai Jing was the biggest destroyer of the new law. In this discourse system, moral judgment in the traditional sense is combined with class analysis in modern academics.

After the 1980s, with the process of China's reform and opening up, the debate surrounding Wang Anshi's reform became very fierce. At that time, there were two opposing judgments: "Wang Anshi Reform has promoted the commodity economy" and "Wang Anshi Reform has suppressed the commodity economy." " This is mainly related to the different understandings of "commodity economy" by scholars at the time. One thinks that the opposite of commodity economy is natural economy, and the other thinks that the opposite of commodity economy is state intervention. For example, Gu Qiguang affirms that Wang Anshi's reform promotes Some scholars believe that Wang Anshi’s reform hindered the development of the commodity economy. Obviously, this opposing view is based on a different understanding of the commodity economy, and its essence is all about the issue of government business operations .

In short, since the beginning of the 20th century, under the influence of the spirit of the times of seeking innovation, change and prosperity, Wang Anshi has always had an important spiritual symbolic significance. Wang Anshi, a symbol of reform and progress, has a meaning There is always a clear boundary between the corrupt and greedy Cai Jing, because as long as Wang Anshi’s reform is affirmed, it is necessary to make a reasonable explanation for the theory of the new law subjugation.

Conclusion

Overall, the formation process of the mainstream trilogy of historical narration in the late Northern Song Dynasty includes both the traditional dispute between the old and the new in the modern sense, and the difference between the ancient and the present in the modern sense. For today's researchers, in addition to paying attention to reform dominance In addition to specific issues like this, also needs to deeply analyze the historical context of expressions such as "reform", "change" and so on. At the same time, it needs to break through the barriers of moralism and get rid of the shackles of the historical concept of heroes. focuses on system, Analysis of the relationship between policies and interests, and a reasonable construction of the process of historical evolution.