Listen to this articleThe foundation works of the literary world in the Northern Song Dynasty in China
Overview
Chinese Name: 欧阳文忠公集
English Name: Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets
Author: Ouyang Xiu 欧阳修，Zhou Bida 周必大
Originally Published: 1126 — 1204 AD (Southern Song 南宋)
Genre: Literature, poems
Brief Introduction of Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets
Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets 欧阳文忠公集 is a collection of Ouyang Xiu’s poems and essays. It was named after ouyang Xiu’s posthumous name Wenzhong 文忠. Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets of Ju Shi Sets 居士集 was compiled by Ouyang Xiu and the rest of the book is compiled by Zhou Bida of the Southern Song. It has a total of 153 volumes, volume 5 appendix. Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets is the foundation of the literary circle in the Northern Song 北宋 and occupies a very important position in the history of Chinese literature.
It is rich in content, including descriptions of natural scenery, poetry exchanges with friends, expressing feelings, argumentation, philosophy and so on. Genres are prose, paper, novels and so on. At present, the Southern Song edition of Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets in Mainland China and Tai Wan 台湾 are all fragments. Only the 153 volume of Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets in the Southern Song in the affiliated library of Tenri University in Japan is almost the same as the original preserved in the Southern Song .
The value of the prose in the Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets is extremely high, and his style is fresh, smooth and euphemistic.
Author of Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets
Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets of Ju Shi Sets 居士集 was compiled by Ouyang Xiu, and the rest was compiled by Zhou Bida in the Southern Song.
Ouyang Xiu (1007 AD – 1072 AD) was a native of Yong Feng County 永丰县, Ji ‘an city 吉安市, Jiang Xi Province 江西省. He was a statesman and writer in the Northern Song 北宋. He was the first literary leader in the history of Literature in the Song Dynasty 宋朝, leading the poetry and prose innovation movement in the Northern Song, and had great political influence.
His posthumous name was Wenzhong. He was known as Liu Yi Jushi 六一居士. He was one of the eight masters of prose in the Tang and Song dynasties 唐宋八大家之一. Ouyang Xiu loved reading since childhood. He was talented and diligent. His young poems and articles were as sophisticated as adults. Ouyang Xiu’s road to the imperial examination was rather bumpy. When he was an official, he was relegated because Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹 was implicated in the failure of reform. However, during this period, he wrote many famous works handed down to future generations, such as Zui Weng Ting Ji 醉翁亭记. After his first year, Ouyang Xiu’s official career has been very smooth. He died at the age of 66.
Zhou Bida (1126-1204) was a native of Yong He Town 永和镇, Ji’an County, Jiang Xi Province. He was a Statesman and writer of the Southern Song. When he was a teenager, Zhou Bida lived an uncertain life, but he worked hard and became a pillar of the country. When he was an official, he did not avoid dignitaries. He was very diligent in dealing with political affairs. He was a very talented politician and an accomplished writer. His works of the complete works of Yi Guo Zhou Wenzhong Gong Sets 益国周文忠公全集 that has been handed down to the world. In 1204, Zhou Bida died at home.
Excerpts From Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets
泪眼问花花不语，乱红飞过秋千去。
I tearfully asked the falling flowers if they knew what I wanted, falling flowers said nothing, it fell to the ground to fly out of the swing.
平山栏槛倚晴空，山色有无中。
The sky was clear beyond the railings of ping shan tang, and the mountains in the distance looked indistinct and hazy.
醉翁之意不在酒，在乎山水之间也。
The enjoyment of zui Weng lies not in drinking, but in enjoying the beautiful landscape.
Evaluation of Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets
“These essays which from Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets are like Han Yu 韩愈 in reasoning, like Lu Zhi 陆贽 in discussing matters, like Sima Qian 司马迁 in writing matters, and like Li Bai 李白 in writing poems”.
Su Shi 苏轼
Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Sets‘s articles are like a river flowing and bright as the sun and the moon.
Wang Anshi 王安石
