Cai Jing and Cai Xiang: One is the head of the "Six Thieves" and the other is a loyal country and a good minister, and the difference is very big
Cai Jing's brother Cai Xiang: An excellent politician in the Northern Song Dynasty, with excellent calligraphy, the difference between the two is very large
Cai Jing (1047-1126), the "Cai Taishi" in the classical literary masterpieces "Water Margin" and "Jin Ping Mei", was a famous traitor in Chinese history and the first of the "Six Thieves" in the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty. His brother Cai Xiang was a confucian courtier who was loyal to the state and benefited the people in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Cai Xiang (1012-1067), courtesy name Junmo, was a resident of Puyang, a native of Fujian. He was a Northern Song Dynasty politician, calligrapher, botanist, and writer. He once served in Kyoto as a guan ge school surveyor, a privy councillor, a longtu ge straight bachelor, a duanmingdian bachelor, and also served as a fujian road transport envoy and the governors of Zhangzhou, Xi'an, Kaifeng, Quanzhou, Fuzhou, Hangzhou and other places, and was a figure with political ambitions and reform ideas.
Profiting the country, do not care about the troubles in the future
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu and others carried out a political reform, known in history as the "New Deal of the Qing Calendar". Cai Xiang is an active participant in this change.
Cai Xiang was a straight minister, known for his outspokenness. In the third year of Emperor Renzong's reign (1036), when Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, and others were "sitting on the throne", he indignantly composed the "Four Sages and One Unshao Poem". As soon as the long poem came out, Kyoto scholars rushed to write it, and the book sellers made a lot of profits. The envoys of the Khitan State came here, and they also heard the news of buying poems to return home, and hung them in the Youzhou Pavilion. It can be seen that Cai Xiang's popularity is very high and the influence of long poems is great.
In the third year of the Qing calendar (1043), Cai Xiang moved to the Zhizhi Temple, and he wrote to Emperor Renzong, pointing out that "it is difficult to listen to advice, it is difficult to listen to advice; it is difficult to listen to advice, and it is difficult to use advice." He actively introduced Fan and Han. In April of that year, Emperor Renzong accepted his opinion and deposed Xia Zhen and made Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi the Privy Councillors. Then he went on "Begging Wang Juzheng to Use Fan Zhongyun". In August, Emperor Renzong appointed Fan as the Governor of the People's Republic of China. He also wrote to him: "Your Majesty strikes and uses Qi and Zhongyun, the scholar he is in the dynasty, the folk song is on the road, and the drinking is called for joy." And if you retreat from one evil and enter one sage, how can you close the world? If you retreat from an evil cult, you will retreat from your kind, and if you retreat from a virtuous person, you will retreat from your class. All evils retreat at the same time, all the sages advance at the same time, and there is no peace in the sea! ”
With the strong support of Cai Xiang and others, Fan Zhongyan played the "Answering Hand Edict Chen Ten Matters" and began this reform with the rectification of the rule of officials as the center. At first, Emperor Renzong issued several edicts, but because they violated the interests of the big bureaucrats and large landlords, they were opposed, and the "New Deal for celebrating the calendar" was short-lived and failed. However, Cai Xiang actively introduced Fan Zhongyan and other reformers, directly criticized the conservative faction, and actively participated in the New Deal with the fearless spirit of "benefiting the country and ignoring future troubles."
Bridge building greening, benefit the place
Ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, on Cai Xiang must first mention the Wan'an Bridge (Luoyang Bridge), which is the first large stone bridge in the mainland. Its completion is a major contribution of Cai Xiang.
Guwan Andu, at the junction of Quanzhou and Hui'an County in Fujian Province, where the Luoyang River and Quanzhou Bay converge, and the north and south banks are five miles apart, making the traffic extremely inconvenient.
Since the late Tang Dynasty, Quanzhou has become a famous foreign trade port in China. Wan'andu is fujian's key point to Guangdong. Traffic problems cannot meet the needs of economic development. Later, Cai Xiang asked Kaifeng to move the capital to Quanzhou. During his tenure, he presided over the construction of the Wan'an Bridge. What is particularly valuable is that he practiced and "donated one hundred and fifty stones" of his only two hundred stones to the field. The total length of the bridge is 360 meters, a total investment of 14 million yuan, but without the national treasury, all rely on fundraising. He brainstormed and scientifically solved the problem of bridge construction and solid foundation, and his modern approach called "raft foundation" (that is, the piers are pointed at both ends and large in the middle, so as to reduce the impact of the sea tide and river currents), which is a major breakthrough in the history of bridge construction. The West has adopted this method for nearly a hundred years. He also planted oysters all over the piers to cement the bridge foundation.
After the bridge was completed, he ordered 700 miles from Fuzhou to Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. It can prevent soil erosion and cover the road, so that pedestrians can avoid the suffering of sun exposure. It became a supporting project for the Luoyang Bridge.
Because Cai Xiang built a bridge and greened it, it was convenient for the people to write the "Daosong Song" and recited it to this day. People also built "monuments of virtue" to commemorate his exploits.
A master of calligraphy, he is alone in the world
Cai Xiang, along with Su Dongpo, Huang Tingjian, and Mi Fu, was a giant of the Song Dynasty's book world, known as the "Four Houses of the Song Dynasty".
The "History of Song" says: "Xianggong Yushu was the first at that time, and Emperor Renzong especially loved it." Su Dongpo, Ouyang Xiu, and others highly praised Cai Xiang's calligraphy. Su Dongpo believes: "Ducai JunmoShu, who is both talented and deeply learned, has a corresponding heart and hand, and is infinitely perverted, so he is the first in this dynasty." Ouyang Xiu praised in the poem "Xueshu": "Su Zi returned to Huangquan, and his penmanship was absolutely extinct." Lai has Cai Junmo, and his reputation is late. The drunkard does not measure up to his strength, and every desire to pursue his mistakes. Mei Yaochen also praised "Jun mo shan shu can be a book" and "famous Qi Jin Wei Wang and Zhong". Ming Dynasty Li Dongyang Songzhi "A generation of Junmo is the main alliance, drunken calligraphy has a true commentary." ”
Cai Xiang's truth, deeds, grass, and affiliations are all satisfactory. His writing was the best, followed by Xiao Kai, followed by cursive. Its own "flying cursive" body name is high. More than 200 of his ink inscriptions are extant. Its most famous calligraphy treasure is the first to be the "Record of Wan'an Bridge" stele that has been recited through the ages. The text totaled more than 150 words, which were erected in two pieces, and only one piece remained, and then the relevant departments of Quanzhou City carved another stele to make up for it. The Records of the Imperial Song Dynasty says, "Cai Gong Wan'an Bridge Record, the best large character carved stone." "Many generations have used this as a model for learning calligraphy.
Lipu tea record, the development of specialties
Cai Xiang was also a famous botanist during the Northern Song Dynasty. His "Lychee Spectrum" and "Tea Record" were authoritative botany and monographs on tea at that time, which were valuable academic legacies he left to future generations.
During Cai Xiang's reign, he extensively collected materials, observed and studied for a long time, summed up practical experience, and in the fourth year of Jiayou (1059), he wrote the world's first monograph on lychees, "Lychee Spectrum", which has seven chapters: the original beginning, the standard is particularly different, the Zhi Jia Yu, the Ming service, the prudent care, the time legal system, and the different types. Introduce the main varieties and cultivation methods of lychee in Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan and other places. It also introduces the main methods of processing dried lychees and dried lychees such as red salt, white sunning, drying, honey frying, etc., which are of considerable economic value, which shows one of the spots in the development of the commodity economy in the Northern Song Dynasty. It has made great contributions to the cultivation of plants on the mainland and is a precious economic historical material of the mainland, and has now been translated into English and French and other languages.
Cai Xiang was also the first tea tasting expert in the mainland (Chen Rafter's "General History of the Tea Industry"). He is not only good at judging tea, but also good at making tea. The Shangpin Xiaolong Tuan (Dragon and Phoenix Tuan Tea) in the Song Dynasty tribute was created by him, "Where twenty cakes weigh one pound, their value is two or two gold." "The rich family treasures as a family treasure, and when a distinguished guest comes, it is only when it is taken out to play." Because he has rich experience from tea tasting to tea making, the book "Tea Record" written by him has been highly valued by people and has been passed down to this day.
The "Tea Record" is divided into two parts, "Tea Theory" and "Instrument Theory", and also discusses the method of cooking tea, which is written to make up for the deficiencies of Lu Yu's "Tea Classic" and Ding Wei's "Tea Diagram".