«——【Preamble】】 ——»
The study of Jiangnan scholars in the Yuan Dynasty has been a hot issue in the field of Yuan history for a long time. Whether it is from the macro aspect, or the discussion of specific cases, or the investigation of scholar groups, have they achieved very rich results?
«——【The middle and lower classes of society】——»
In terms of "the situation, status, family and imperial examinations, social networks, and eunuchs of the Confucian scholars in Jiangnan", there are relatively profound discussions, and "some case studies on the Confucian scholars in Jiangnan in a specific region and the case studies of some specific Confucian scholars have also achieved satisfactory results."
In the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, among the Jiangnan scholars, especially the middle and lower class scholars, Ren Shilin was a more representative one. At present, the most important achievement of Ren Shilin's research in the academic community is Zhang Lijun's master's thesis.
Shi Miaoyan's "Examination of the Literati Group of Zongyang Palace in Hangzhou in the Yuan Dynasty" is a relatively important essay involving Ren Shilin, and the article is active in Yuan Dade. During the Reign of the Emperor, the literati group of Zongyang Palace in Hangzhou was examined, and it was pointed out that the core figures of this group were Du Daojian, Zhao Mengpin, and Ren Shilin.
The change of Ren Shilin's mentality is taken as the object of investigation, and it is related to the era in which he lived, and he further peeks into the spiritual world of the Jiangnan scholars in the middle of the Yuan Dynasty represented by Ren Shilin, in order to be helpful to the study of the Jiangnan scholars in the Yuan Dynasty.
The content of "The Biography of Ren Shilin" is very brief, mainly introducing the achievements of Ren Shilin's "Zhongyi": from the Yuan Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the literati of all dynasties also praised Ren Shilin, and Ren Shilin's friend Zhao Mengpin called his text "Shen Hou Zhengda, one is based on reason, and does not use it as a mouthpiece for tricky people." ”
After the implicit setback to the third year of the Yuan Dynasty (1337), Xing Tai praised Ren Shilin in the preface to Ren Shilin's anthology. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Wang Jiazhen of the Qing Dynasty also praised it in the "Later Preface to the Songxiang Anthology", Shuai Chu referred to Dai Biaoyuan, Mu'an referred to Yao Sui, and Daoyuan referred to Yu Ji.
All three of them are famous Confucian writers in the Yuan Dynasty. In Wang Jiazhen's view, the person who can be as famous as Dai Biaoyuan and open Yao Sui and Yu Ji is Ren Shilin. It can be seen that Ren Shilin was also a Confucian in the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, and the so-called four Ming, Song and Yuan dynasties and five families were not false.
In addition to the above praise, the Siku Pavilion also pointed to the inscription written by the responsible Shilin, which shows that later generations are not all praises for Ren Shilin, and also criticize him for deliberately imitating and overcorrecting. In the sixteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1279), the Southern Song Dynasty finally collapsed, and the Yuan Dynasty completed its unification.
In the old years, Hao Tianting recommended him to be the head of Anding Academy, but he was not able to go to the appointment and dismissal, which shows that he did not serve the Yuan Dynasty in his life. As a Song relict who has lived in the Southern Song Dynasty for more than 20 years, and has spent most of his life in the New Dynasty, Ren Shilin's mentality in his life is very complicated.
Xu Zifang divides the history of the mentality of the literati of the Yuan Dynasty into three stages: cultural anti-conquest centered on advocating Chinese law and reforming bad customs, and devoting themselves to the world to seek new value choices in life by diluting tradition. This is a representation of the mentality of the first generation of literati.
The mentality of the second generation of literati was that the literati in the north and south made different life choices in the face of the Yuan dynasty due to the differences in the traditions they accepted, and the pain and contradictions caused by the change in the policy focus of the rulers towards the suppression of the Han Chinese.
The third period of development is the relatively unified value orientation formed by the literati of the Yuan Dynasty after the reopening of the imperial examination by Yuan Renzong. If Ren Shilin is judged by the division of the above three stages, he is more in line with the literati mentality of the second stage.
During this period, the Yuan Dynasty had completed unification, but had not yet opened a department, and at the same time adopted a policy of clamping down on the Jiangnan scholars. In this era of distrust and reuse, Ren Shilin was unwilling to be a resistor against the cultural counter-conquest of the new dynasty
But he is not willing to be a Song remnant who has been doing nothing all his life, and at the same time, he is poor and miserable, and he always needs to plan for his livelihood. As a result, his life was filled with bitterness, melancholy, contradictions, and struggles.
«——【·Literati mentality·】——»
Ren Shilin has a strong Song relics complex. He lived in the Southern Song Dynasty for nearly half his life, and he can't say that he has no feelings for Shengguo, not to mention the abolition of the imperial examination at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty.
Ren Shilin admired these two people, and they were both Song relics, and the anthology listed Xie and Wu Siqi at the top, which was obviously related to Ren Shilin's attitude towards them, and Xie had followed Wen Tianxiang to participate in the anti-Yuan struggle.
After the death of the Song Dynasty, he lived in seclusion and did not Shi Ren Shilin compared the birds to express the grief of Xie Ao after the death of the country, Wu Siqi lived in seclusion in Puyang after the death of the Song Dynasty, and called himself all the sons. Someone persuaded him to go out of the Yuan Dynasty, Lai did not connect with the world, and Fang Fengmin, Xie Ao, and Fang Tao were friendly.
Du Ben, Yang Zai, Liu Wen and others, who have a close relationship with Ren Shilin, although they are not Song relics, they have deep feelings for the deceased Song Dynasty. Du Ben was a famous hermit in the Yuan Dynasty, and was recruited many times by Emperor Wuzong, Wenzong, and Emperor Shun, but none of them took office.
In his preface to Ren Shilin's anthology, he explained that Du Ben had followed the Southern Song Dynasty relics to study, and Ren Shilin was one of the widows he consulted, and Du Ben had a very close relationship with Ren Shilin. Yang Zai's poems are tragic and generous, praising the loyal deeds of Xie Fangde and others who resisted the Yuan Dynasty at the end of the Song Dynasty.
Liu Wen is a descendant of Liu Qi, a famous general in the Southern Song Dynasty, and his poems are heroic and passionate, and he is deeply appreciated by Ren Shilin. It can be seen that Ren Shilin's admiration for Xie Ao and Wu Siqi, and his friendship with Du Ben, Yang Zai, Liu Wen and others are all expressions and manifestations of their remnant complexes.
It is precisely because of Ren Shilin's remnant complex that in the late Ming Dynasty, he was even portrayed as a loyal and righteous person. Of course, this is just Wu Minglei and Jiang Xueyong's personal description and shaping of Ren Shilin, and Ren Shilin in reality.
As the Yuan Dynasty's rule in the Jiangnan region deepened and his ambitions became unrealizable, his heart was full of contradictions, bitterness and even complaints, and this mentality was a reflection of his expectations and expectations for his career and fame.
Although Ren Shilin has a relatively strong remnant complex, he spent the second half of his life in the Yuan Dynasty. Compared with those Southern Song scholars who followed Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu to resist the Yuan Dynasty, or those who gained fame in the Southern Song Dynasty, Ren Shilin's feelings for the Southern Song Dynasty were much more indifferent.
In the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, with the passage of time, the older generation of Song relics gradually passed away, and the Jiangnan scholars at the time of the Yi Dynasty had more expectations and greetings for the Yuan Dynasty. As one of them, Ren Shilin is no exception.
Although Ren Shilin greatly admired Xie Ao, who followed Wen Tianxiang to resist the Yuan, in "The Biography of Xie Ao", he did not have any words to criticize the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, obviously consciously fading the color of his remnant complex.
Obviously, he did not want to offend the imperial court, on the contrary, he still had a positive attitude towards the official career, not only praising the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, but even when he sang the praises of loyalty and righteousness, he could change his words and not forget to praise the local officials.
In the first year of the Great Dynasty (1308), the grandson of Xianyang King Saidianchi Gansiding, who was then Pingzhang of Jiangsu-Zhejiang Province, was ordered to send grain by sea to help Dadu, in order to commemorate this feat, Ren Shilin wrote two articles successively
Ren Shilin wrote these two articles at the invitation of Wu Ma'er, and only then did he put forward an invitation to write a monument and a record. Therefore, in the inscription, Ren Shilin not only praised the merits of Umar's seaborne grain, but also counted Umar's various political achievements.
Ren Shilin was determined not to go out of the room, in order to be worthy of the villagers, but in the end he still broke his promise. In the middle and late stages of Dade. Inspired by the Yuan Dynasty's search for talents in Jiangnan, as well as his own association with Jiangnan literati
Ren Shilin left his hometown of Fengyuan and went to Hangzhou, the center of the southern literati gathering and traveling at that time, and the former capital of the Song Dynasty. This is a very important choice made by Ren Shilin in his life, and it is also an important manifestation of his change in mentality.
«——【·Conclusion·】——»
Probably Ren Shilin was already disappointed in his future at home, so he decided to give it a go to Hangzhou, which is full of opportunities, maybe he can get a half-official position, maybe he can get an errand, or he can improve his prestige and status among the Jiangnan scholars
All kinds of opportunities can change your embarrassment. From Fenghua to Hangzhou, Ren Shilin was obviously unwilling and struggling with his fate, and he was making efforts and progress for his future.
Information sources:
Research on Ren Shilin and His Collected Works of Mr. Songxiang