Sima Guang and Wang Anshi

Recently I was listening to Daewoo’s storytelling "Talking about the Song Dynasty". The story is very exciting, and the storyteller is also eloquent and full of witty remarks, making the originally boring history full of ups and downs and full of fun. But let’s ignore that for today, let’s talk about the two characters in the book, Sima Guang and Wang Anshi.

Anyone who has been to elementary school knows the story of Sima Guang smashing the vat, so I won’t repeat it here. There are many people who know that Sima Guang wrote "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". If that doesn't help, you can quickly find out who Sima Guang is by searching on Baidu.

Baidu’s profile explains his achievements and character in this way, which is similar to what we see in textbooks or many extracurricular stories. But in "Talking About the Song Dynasty", the author deeply analyzes that period of history through specific examples one by one, allowing us to see a different history and a different Sima Guang, which is quite different from the evaluation given to him by Baidu. In and out.

Let’s look at who Wang Anshi is. Friends who have finished junior high school should also know that Wang Anshi’s reform failed. However, this is also a statement in the textbook. According to "Talking About the Song Dynasty" no the same. In fact, Wang Anshi's reform was not a failure in the true sense, but it was Sima Guang who changed the reform from success to failure. Note that I said failure here, not failure.

Wang Anshi paid homage to the prime minister twice, and each time he devoted himself to the implementation of the new law. The new law implemented by him and Song Shenzong lasted for fifteen years, opening up financial resources for the people, filling the national treasury with food, and providing peace and stability to the southern and northern regions. The expansion of territory created a prosperous situation during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty. However, because the new law touched the vested interests of the landlords and scholar-bureaucrats at that time, after the death of Song Shenzong, the new law and Wang Anshi were smeared and undermined by the opposition headed by Empress Dowager Gao and Sima Guang.

Sima Guang is a hypocrite and a real villain. For the sake of party struggle and selfish interests, he ignores the real benefits that the new law brings to the people. Even if Su Dongpo, who was as opposed to the new law as he was, presented facts and gave examples to illustrate the various benefits of the new law since its implementation, he remained unmoved. He only cares about the interests of his own class, and does not hesitate to destroy the decree of the recently deceased Song Shenzong, does not hesitate to cede territory to compensate Xixia, and does not hesitate to discredit Wang Anshi's personal interests. He uses his popular status to rewrite history and confuse right and wrong. It is really shameful.

Some people may say that this is just a partisan dispute and different political opinions. However, the author cites several examples to show that Sima Guang did not do business for the sake of business, but acted to vent his personal anger. This is really inconsistent with his status as a great scholar.

Sima Guang is indeed talented. His "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" is still a rare historical masterpiece in ancient and modern times. The world compares him with Sima Qian in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. But upon closer inspection, his character is vastly different from that of Sima Qian.

Sima Qian was upright throughout his life and wrote history realistically. He was not afraid of the pressure of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, wrote history truthfully, and dared to write the historical facts of the same dynasty. And Sima Guang was smooth enough as a person, as an official, and as a history writer. He only dared to write about the history before the Northern Song Dynasty, and did not dare to mention it at all after Zhao Guangyin established the Northern Song Dynasty. This was exactly the same as his usual official methods.

The author concluded that talented people do not necessarily all have virtues. Once a talented person loses his virtue, he will be more destructive to society. This is true in history and is true in modern society.