Wang Anshi, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, presided over the reform with the support of Song Shenzong. Song Shenzong succeeded to the throne in the first month of the fourth year of Zhiping (1067). At that time, Wang Anshi had resigned to mourn his mother. Just as the mourning was over, Song Shenzong wanted to recruit Wang Anshi to become an official in the court. He found Han Wei, the minister of Yiying Palace, and expressed his thoughts. Han Wei had frequent contacts with Wang Anshi and knew Wang Anshi relatively well. Han Wei said: "Wang Anshi advances and retreats according to the Tao. If he just sends someone to recruit him to the court, he will definitely refuse. However, his son Wang Yu may express his sincerity through Wang Yu to persuade Wang Anshi." ?As a result, Wang Anshi still rejected Song Shenzong on the grounds of illness. However, Song Shenzong took a step back and appointed Wang Anshi as the prefect of Jiangning. Wang Anshi accepted. In April of the first year of Xining (1068), Song Shenzong once again summoned Wang Anshi to Beijing, and Wang Anshi finally agreed to the request.
The bust of Wang Anshi
It is a bit strange that Song Shenzong admired Wang Anshi so much. In fact, Wang Anshi's official position was not large. Since Wang Anshi passed the Jinshi examination in the second year of Qingli (1042), he has successively served as Huainan Jiedu judge, Yinxian county magistrate, Shuzhou Tongpan, Qunmu judge, Duzhi judge and other positions. These are all local officials. In the sixth year of Jiayou's reign, Wang Anshi served as Minister of the Ministry of Industry in the capital, and concurrently served as Zhijixianyuan and Zhizhigao. This was the largest official position Wang Anshi held before the reform.
In the second year of Xining (1069), Song Shenzong appointed Wang Anshi as the counselor of political affairs. Wang Anshi's official position was promoted several levels in the short two or three years after Song Shenzong came to power. What's even more strange is that when Song Shenzong promoted Wang Anshi in this way, there were very few objections in the court. Most of the courtiers' attacks on Wang Anshi came after the reform.
Reliefs of Wang Anshi's Reform
However, before being appreciated by Song Shenzong, Wang Anshi did a lot of work to prepare himself for success, allowing him to quickly enter Song Shenzong's Dharma eyes.
1. Wang Anshi’s literary status is very high and his friends are very broad.
Wang Anshi is one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and his literary achievements are very high. The Song Dynasty was an era when literature and art flourished. Literati usually communicated and made friends through works such as poetry, calligraphy, and painting. Wang Anshi's works are mainly poetry and prose. In order to realize his political ideals, he closely linked literary creation and political activities. The content of his works mainly exposes current ills and reflects social contradictions, and has a strong political color.
Wang Anshi and the Statue of the People
Wang Anshi and Han Wei, Han Jiang, Lu Gongzhu, Wang Gui and others passed the Jinshi examination in the same year, and had literary works, so they were considered close friends. . In addition, Wang Anshi made outstanding political achievements while serving as a local official, and was recommended by Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo and others. It can be seen that these people still appreciate Wang Anshi.
"Shao's Hearing and Seeing Record": When Anshi was in Renzong, he discussed establishing Yingzong as the prince, but he was not in harmony with the Duke of Han and Wei, so he did not dare to enter the dynasty. Although Anshi was highly educated and well-educated in literature, he was from a distant place and was not convinced by the scholars of China and Korea. Instead, he had close friendship with the Han and Lu brothers. The imperial courts of Han and Lü were so powerful that if all the people in the world did not come from Han, they would come from Lü. Han brothers, Zihua and Anshi were in the same year of high school; Zhiguo (Han Wei) was particularly academically advanced and was recommended to the library by ministers. Uncle Lu Hui also became a Jinshi in the same year as Anshi. Zihua, Chiguo, and Huishu all competed for fame in the court, and Anshi's reputation began to flourish. And for a while, they became famous and virtuous like Sima Jun. They were all good to each other. First, during the Zhiping period, Shenzong was King Ying, and Zhiguoyi was good. Every time he lectured on the meaning of the scriptures, Shenzong praised him for being good, and Zhiguo said: "It's not what I said, but what my friend Wang Anshi said." ?When Shenzong came to the throne, he summoned Anshi for great use.
Wang Anshi's statue
Wang Anshi's father Wang Yi and Fan Zhongyan were Jinshi in the same year and had a very good relationship. In the eighth year of Qingli Dynasty (1048), Wang Anshi was appointed as the magistrate of Yin County. He made a special trip to visit Fan Zhongyan to express his admiration for Fan Zhongyan. After Fan Zhongyan's death, Wang Anshi wrote "Essays on Tribute to Fan Yingzhou Zhongyan" to commemorate Fan Zhongyan. In his memorial text, Wang Anshi highly praised the Qingli New Deal presided over by Fan Zhongyan. Perhaps it was at that time that Wang Anshi had the idea of ????reforming the Song Dynasty.
It can be seen that although Wang Anshi is not a big official, his wide network of contacts is also amazing. Wang Anshi's friendship with Han Wei was of great help to him. Han Wei was the lecturer of Yiying Palace and the teacher of Song Shenzong. Song Shenzong often listened to Han Wei's lectures before he succeeded to the throne. Whenever Han Wei had a unique political opinion, Han Wei would tell Song Shenzong: "This is what my friend Wang Anshi said." ?Wang Anshi also attracted the attention of Song Shenzong.