A Comprehensive Collection of Chinese Travel Essays. Jiangxi Volume

Author: / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-08-01
Features: ⑩ The following numbers are represented in parentheses because of the Song Dynasty's "Record of the Three Virtuous Officials of Ruizhou" by Wen Tianxiang. The Three Virtuous Officials are Yu Xiangong①, Su Wendingong②, and Yang Wenjie③. The old hall was located in the south of Shui Nan④. It was destroyed by war in the Jingding Gengwu year⑤. The former governor, Fang Fengchen of Yanling, moved it slightly to the west and left before it was completed⑥. I took over from him as the governor of Ruizhou and met Fang in Shangrao. He mentioned this hall and said: "The people of Ruizhou respect the Three Virtuous Officials as if they were alive. For three years after the hall was destroyed, there was no place to worship, and their hearts were filled with sorrow and longing. Therefore, I urgently rebuilt it⑨. However, the decoration and painting were not yet finished, and the statues and furnishings were not yet ready. You should complete this work, and then write a memorial for it⑩." When I arrived in Ruizhou, remembering Fang's instructions, I quickly led the Confucian scholars to perform the sacrificial ceremony?. Fang wrote to me three times, urging the completion of the memorial?, and I could not refuse. Ruizhou, known as the Jiangxi Dao Yuan, was a small and remote place during the prosperous times of the Northern Song capital Bianjing. Therefore, Yu Jing and Su Zhe were both exiled here for crimes, almost as if they were banished. During the Chunxi period of the Southern Song, Ruizhou was closer to the imperial capital Lin'an. Yang Wanli, a native of Jiangxi, was appointed as the governor of Ruizhou, though he came from a poor county, he was no less than the area of Huaiyang. The place is the same, but the times are different. Moreover, the governor of a prefecture is different from those who are exiled. However, the people of Ruizhou proudly said: "Our prefecture is valued because of the Three Virtuous Officials. Yu Gong was accused of being a partisan of Fan Zhongyan; Su Gong was punished for saving his brother Su Dongpo and later for being associated with the Yuanyou Party; Yang Gong was punished for arguing about the joint worship of Zhang Wei Gong. If these three virtuous officials had not been punished, how could they have come to our land?" Alas, the people of Ruizhou have such a deep reverence for virtue! But can the cultivation of the Three Virtuous Officials still be analyzed? Fan Zhongyan resigned from his post because he offended the Prime Minister Lü, but he was soon reinstated. His former colleagues who were expelled for respecting and associating with him were also recalled to the court in succession. Yu Xiangong was transferred from Ruizhou to Taizhou and then requested a transfer to a more convenient prefecture in the Lingnan region, returning to Ruizhou. Isn't this what is usually said about being dismissed together but not promoted together? As for Su Gong, he had always been indifferent to worldly affairs and was quite aloof. In his "Record of the East Pavilion," he said that the joy of Yan Yuan's simple life with a bamboo basket and a gourd was unattainable. Yet, after being exiled to Ruizhou, he daily interacted with salt and wine merchants, collected taxes, and meticulously calculated every coin, never considering it an humiliation. After being exiled and forced to move three times, he retired to Ying River and shut himself away, neither complaining nor blaming, remaining composed and eliminating the pursuit of worldly pleasures. Yang Gong, on the other hand, indulged in poetry and writing, with his brush flowing freely. His works in Ruizhou were compiled into a collection, no different from the joy of writing with the scholars of Daoshan in the past. If the Three Virtuous Officials were like this, how could they be burdened by exile and distance from the court? Those who were not crushed by the blows of exile and distance sometimes became free and distant from society, living a life beyond the ordinary. But the Three Virtuous Officials were not like that. Yu Gong was appointed to Ruizhou during the Qingli period, and Su Gong was appointed during the Yuanyou period. They remained steadfast and selfless, fulfilling their duties even in difficult circumstances. This was after they had been in peril. Yang Gong served during the time when corrupt officials held power. The court repeatedly wanted to recall him, but he refused. His loyal and patriotic heart was ultimately not realized, and he died of sorrow. His stern and respectful demeanor was reminiscent of the ancient tradition of loyal and upright ministers who died to advise their rulers. Alas, this is perhaps why the Three Virtuous Officials were called virtuous officials. From what has been said before, I know that when they were in Ruizhou, they accepted their fate and settled in this land. From what has been said later, I know that when they were in Ruizhou, their hearts were still tied to the imperial court. Alas, this is perhaps why the Three Virtuous Officials were called virtuous officials. The poem says: "Gazing up at the high mountains, we follow the shining paths." Sima Qian said: "Even to drive a carriage for him would be a joy." The people of Ruizhou's reverence for the Three Virtuous Officials made me think of the admiration of the poets and Sima Qian for the virtuous. Thus, I deeply felt that Fang's efforts to rebuild the Three Virtuous Officials' Hall and ask me to write this memorial were well-founded and commendable. As for the predecessors, I could only contribute by writing this memorial.
[Annotations]
① Yu Xiangong: Name Yu Jing. When Fan Zhongyan was exiled to Raozhou, Yu Jing said that such treatment would make the world afraid to speak truthfully. Therefore, he was dismissed and exiled to Ruizhou to oversee the wine tax.
⑦ Su Wendingong: Also known as Su Zhe. He was exiled to Ruizhou to oversee the salt and wine tax to save his brother Su Dongpo.
③ Yang Wenjie: Also known as Yang Wanli. He served as the governor of Ruizhou during the Lizong period of the Southern Song.
④ Shui Nan: Refers to the south of Shu River in Jiangxi. The Shu River flows through the Ruizhou and the city.
⑤ Quanmen (huanghul): Quan refers to the walls of the city, and men refers to the gates of the city. The city is commonly referred to as quanmen.
⑥ Jingding Gengwu: Jingding was the era name of Emperor Lizong of the Southern Song (1260–1264). Jingding Gengwu should be Jingding Gengshen, i.e., 1260. There was no Gengwu year during the Jingding era.