Is the outcome of Wang Anshi’s reform good or not?

Wang Anshi’s reform was a failure.

Lu Buwei's "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" highly praised "change" and believed that when the times develop to a certain period, reform is needed. Otherwise, progress will not be possible and it will be corrupted and regressed.

So from any perspective, the purpose and original intention of the reform are good.

But it is an indisputable fact that Wang Anshi was criticized by many people.

Now I will list the reasons why Wang Anshi was scolded.

1. He failed.

If he succeeds, everyone will only remember him for his good deeds. History books will only say that he fought against all opinions, persisted in reform, was not afraid of difficulties, and finally succeeded. But he failed. Didn't you see that Shang Yang was eventually killed, but the reform was successful. Later generations said that because of Shang Yang's reform, Qin became powerful and finally wiped out the six countries.

2. The emperor did not persist to the end.

Reform will definitely touch the interests of conservatives. Without the support of emperors or kings, it is impossible to change. Shang Yang in Qin and Wu Qi in Chu both got the support of their monarchs and were able to succeed in reform, but After the two monarchs died one after another, they lost their protective umbrella and were killed. Wang Anshi's backer, Song Shenzong, could not withstand the pressure and directly terminated his support for him.

3. Improper employment.

There have been many high-level reforms in history, either successful or failed, but the more important point is that you cannot carry out reforms alone. You must at least have a group to do it together. Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi in the Northern Song Dynasty cooperated When it came to reform, both of them were men of noble character and great talent. However, when Wang Anshi carried out the reform, he did not screen talents. Many of the people he selected were sneaky and opportunistic people who used the guise and name of the reform to gain fame and wealth. It would be strange to let such people implement reforms and succeed.

4. Theory is not connected with practice

Shang Yang’s reform was successful because Shang Yang himself practiced it and traveled to Qin for more than a year. He knew the sufferings of Qin and knew what it needed most. Change. Wang Anshi carried out reforms based on his passion and assumptions. Even the farmers who would benefit most from his reforms were opposed and protested by him. Do you think this reform can be successful?

Now let’s talk about the Su Dongpo case. Su Dongpo and Sima Guang were both famous officials in the Northern Song Dynasty. These people all opposed Wang Anshi’s reform. Note that what we are talking about here is opposition to Wang Anshi's reform, not opposition to the reform. We may say that Sima Guang is a conservative, but when he wrote Zizhi Tongjian, he highly praised the excessive and rich reforms, which shows that he personally supported the reforms. But it depends on who will change and how? Su Dongpo also opposed Wang Anshi's reform, but his main objection was the Green Crops Law, which was not completely rejected. He also suggested replacing several people. These people were officials with bad conduct and moral corruption. However, Wang Anshi stubbornly believed that Su Dongpo was in conflict with him. make trouble. In the end, those people who were trolled by Su Dongpo used the Wutai Poetry Case to attack Su Dongpo, which resulted in Su Dongpo being almost killed. Fortunately, he was rescued from death by many parties. Later, he lived a life of being relegated to various places and wandering around. Although he criticized Wang Anshi's reform, he did not criticize Wang Anshi. He only carried out political criticisms based on different political views and never abused Wang Anshi. The two were friends in private, and Wang Anshi also vigorously rescued Su Shi in the Wutai Poetry Case.

As for our history textbooks, just take a look at them. You have to discover what the real history is like by yourself. History is a mystery.