Wei Xi

Wei Xi

Wei Xi (from March 2, 1624 to November 17, 1680) was named BINGSHU, Ningshu, yuzhai and shaoting. Jiangxi Ningdu people. He was a famous essayist in the late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty. Together with Hou Chaozong and Wang Wan, they are called "three masters of prose in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties". Wei Xiang and his brother, Wei Li and the United States, the world known as the "three Wei.". The three Wei brothers, together with Peng Shiwang, Lin Shiyi, Li Tengjiao, Qiu Weiping, Peng Ren and Zeng can, are called the "nine sons of Yi Tang".

Wei Xi's thesis advocates practical application, accumulation of theory and practice of knowledge. He is good at planning, discussing and other styles of writing with a broad mind. At the same time, he also has some experience in the creation of other styles, and has written works of millions of words. Most of his articles praise national integrity and personnel, showing strong national consciousness. He is also good at commenting on the deeds of the ancients, and has some opinions on the merits and demerits of the ancients. He has written 22 volumes of Wei Shuzi's anthology, 8 volumes of poetry, 3 volumes of rilu, 10 volumes of Zuozhuan Jingshi, 1 volume of bingmou, 1 volume of the art of war, and 12 volumes of Bingji. His prose works include biography of Qiu Weiping and biography of Da tie Zhui.

Life of the characters

Study in early years

Wei Xi was born on the 13th of the first month of the fourth year of Tianqi (March 2, 1624) in Ningdu County, Jiangxi Province. Father Wei Zhaofeng, the word Shengqi, No. Tianmin. He is good at giving, but he is in a hurry. At the beginning of Chongzhen period, Chen maode recommended Zhaofeng and called on filial friends to be honest. Soon after, he was elected as a Confucian teacher. Through governor Ye Chengzhang, he played a role in the imperial court, and the emperor ordered him to recruit. Zhao Feng "attaches great importance to the qualification of the time, and the multi-party members of the imperial court, though they have their own aspirations, can't do it, and can't do it.". At that time, scholars called Zhaofeng "Zhengjun". Wei Xi was weak since childhood. He studied with his father and studied in the countryside. He was intelligent and eager to learn. He was well-known and had a strong memory. He was an outstanding talent. "At the age of 11, he was a Buyi disciple and ranked first as Cao.". He is generous and self-confident. He is willing to solve problems for others. He also likes to talk about military affairs with others. Sun Jing'an commented on him in the records of the adherents of the Ming Dynasty that "he is good at painting, making decisions in advance, and making decisions in the later". His foresight and insight not only won the trust and respect of his peers, but also laid the foundation for his future life and plan to live in seclusion in Cuiweifeng. Wei Xi had great ambition in his youth. When he was 14 years old, he studied under Mr. Yang Yishui of Tongli and devoted himself to the imperial examination. He hoped that he would become a useful talent in the country one day. According to Yang's epitaph, Xi was the latest among his disciples. Mr. Shi took charge of himself with his son Zhengzi. He often met Mr. Zhengzi. He was very happy. He was very strange. He had to say everything about everything. However, the change of Jiashen in 1644 disillusioned him, and he was only 21 years old. He deeply lamented the country's demise and blamed the change of Jiashen on the imperial examination. So he abandoned the imperial examination, followed his brother-in-law Qiu Weiping to study ancient Chinese prose, and then embarked on another road of study.

According to Shan Kangqing

In July of the second year of Shunzhi (1645), as the generals of the Southern Ming Dynasty who came down to the Qing Dynasty led troops into Jiangxi, Jiangxi people's struggle against the Qing Dynasty surged forward. The northern part of Jiangxi Province was plundered by Zhang Xianzhong's troops long before the fall of Beijing. As a result, its military strength was weakened and its position was shaken. When Zuo Liangyu's army continued to cross the border and the Qing army pursued Wuchang, it almost completely collapsed. In the third year of Shunzhi, the counties in the north of Jiangxi were conquered by the Qing army one after another, and the war moved to the south of Jiangxi. Nanan and Ganzhou in the south of Jiangxi Province were the areas with the most intense struggle against Qing Dynasty. Wei Xi once said, "all the twelve subordinate cities in Ganzhou bear mountains and obstacles, forcing Fujian and Guangdong. Therefore, they used to be called multi thieves. When the world is in a little trouble, ants gather and swarm, uncovering the meaning of the pseudonym, which is innumerable." Therefore, the farmers in this area have a strong spirit of resistance. After the Qing army entered Jiangxi, they bravely took on the mission of resisting the Qing Dynasty and organized various armed forces. There were dozens of uprisings against the Qing Dynasty, covering Ruijin, Shicheng, Xingguo, Longnan, Ganzhou, Ningdu and other places. These teams echoed the peasants' struggle against the Qing Dynasty in Fujian and Guangdong.

In October of the third year of Shunzhi, after six months of siege, the war in Ganzhou was extremely fierce. After the Qing army invaded Ganzhou, Yang Tinglin, Minister of the Ministry of arms and Bachelor of Dongge in the Longwu Dynasty of the Southern Ming Dynasty, was defeated and killed himself in the Tang Dynasty. In Ningdu area, the hungry people and the anti Qing armed forces rose together, they occupied the urban and rural areas, and the struggle was fierce.

Ningdu is located in the mountainous area of Southern Jiangxi Province, with inconvenient transportation and closed information. When the news of emperor Chongzhen's self hanging spread to Ningdu, Wei's father and son "went to the public court to cry every day, they couldn't eat well, and they couldn't sleep well.". Later, the Qing army entered the pass and seized the power of Beijing. Wei Xi, together with Zeng Yinglin and other local officials and gentry, actively planned to set up troops to serve the king. Wei Zhaofeng, his father, first went bankrupt and helped to recruit soldiers to maintain the local social order in Ningdu. Social unrest, thieves swarmed, so that many people of insight hope to form a village through unity and mutual help to protect themselves. There is a Jinjing mountain in the western suburb of Ningdu City, which is surrounded by dozens of odd peaks. There are 12 famous ones, among which Cuiwei peak ranks first. Cuiwei peak is composed of many huge stone pillars. Due to thousands of years of weathering, the four sides of the cliff "cut up more than 100 Zhang", the mountain is steep, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is an ideal place to live in seclusion. Therefore, Wei Xi, who "things will go wrong, his finger paintings will be bright, and he will have latitude and longitude, and he will think about the problems and prevent them from happening in Henan. It is early to see them." he chose the "first peak of Jinjing mountain", which is far away from the hustle and bustle. They sold their property, hired people to dig stone steps to the top of the mountain, built flat houses on the top of the mountain, dug pools to store water, and planted vegetables and grains. His fellow countrymen Zeng can, Qiu Weiping and Li Tengjiao also contributed money to help.

In the third year of Shunzhi, the Qing army attacked Southern Jiangxi, and the situation in Ningdu suddenly became tense. In order to avoid war, Wei Xi and several friends lived in seclusion in Cuiwei peak. Wei Xi also sent people to guard at the gate, and formulated strict regulations for entering the mountain, such as strangers must be accompanied by the mountain stronghold personnel and not to take a knife to the mountain, closing the gate after dusk, etc., so that the mountain stronghold is safer and free from the invasion of war and war. After that, Ningdu suffered several wars. In 1650, after the Qing army captured Ningdu County, which was occupied by the peasant army, it slaughtered the city, and Cuiweifeng was able to finish alone. To a certain extent, the construction of Cuiweifeng shows Wei Xi's far sighted military ability as a military strategist. "Ganzhou Fu Zhi" evaluates Wei Xi as "the most discerning of ancient and modern gains and losses, pointing out current events, being cheap and profitable, and having a unique eye".

Study tour

Gu Yanwu, a great Confucianist in the late Ming Dynasty, once said: "if you study alone and have no friends, you will be humble and difficult to succeed. If you stay in one place for a long time, you will become accustomed to learning without self-consciousness If you don't go out of the house or study, you are a man who faces the wall and can't help the world. ". Wei Xi, who is generous and upright, knows the importance of making friends. He and his brother Xiang and brother Li are teachers and friends of each other. The three brothers are famous for their articles and are called "Ningdu Sanwei". His brother-in-law Qiu Weiping is very knowledgeable, especially proficient in ancient Chinese and Western arithmetic. In addition, before he lived in seclusion, he had already made friends with a group of like-minded people, such as Li Tengjiao, who was "a Confucian, sincere and loving man"; Zeng can, a classmate who was "a heroic and sincere friend of life and heart"; Peng Ren, who was "righteous and courageous"; Peng Tuwang, a Nanchang scholar with rich political experience and extraordinary bearing, who was "emotional when encountering things"; and Peng Tuwang, who made friends with a wide range of people, with great ambition ”After living in seclusion in Cuiwei peak, they often sat around to read history, discuss the book of changes, and named the reading place "Yi Tang". People call them "the nine sons of Yitang". Wei Xi's friends include Cheng Shan Qizi headed by Xie Wencun, Ji Shan Qiyin headed by song Zhisheng, Guangdong Beitian Wuzi headed by Chen Gongyin, and Fang Yizhi, Qu Dajun, Jiang Chenying, Yun Richu, Gu Zuyu, Shi Runzhang, Wang Wan, etc. His purpose of making friends is to "learn from each other" in his academic research, so as to draw on other people's strong points and draw on their wisdom; on the other hand, he has a hidden and far-reaching political intention, that is, to make friends in many ways who "will be able to accept great responsibilities for the country in the future, help the people, and help the world". Once the world changes and the time comes, he can unite to carry out the great cause of national restoration. Wei Xi likened seeing Peng Tuwang and Lin Shiyi to "seeing the sky through the covering of fat acyl chicken, taking the frog from the well and throwing it into the river." Moreover, he hopes to establish a secret anti Qing fuming group based on Cuiweifeng with the help of the influence of Lin Shiming's descendants.

Wei Xi, who never forgets the restoration of Ming Dynasty, naturally took military science as an indispensable part of his life. He paid attention to military science and compiled military strategy and the art of war in 1667. In Bing Mou, Wei Xi summarized the military strategies of Zuo Zhuan as 32 kinds, each named with one word; in the art of war, he summarized the military strategies of Zuo Zhuan as 22 words. After a brief explanation of each strategy and art of war, he cited several examples of war in Zuozhuan to explain them word by word. Due to the short space, he did not discuss them in detail. Wei Xi's military works contain some simple military dialectics, which is in the same continuous line with Sun Tzu's art of war. Wei Xi wrote a number of political essays on economic and social affairs, such as zhikece, jietiance and yanhuance, which proposed the improvement of the imperial examination, Tianmu and official system at that time. At that time, Duyi hall took the practical learning of the ancients as its purpose, advocated the promotion of reading and managing the world, and was led by Xi. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Fang Yizhi, one of the four young masters, sighed when he arrived at Cuiwei peak, "the true Qi of Yi Tang is unique in the world."

In the early Qing Dynasty, the Qing government issued a "shaving order" in the second year of Shunzhi. At this time, Wei Xi and other nine sons of Yi Tang had to live in seclusion in Cuiweifeng to protect themselves. But after a long time, they realized that they lived in seclusion in Gannan, and they were not known by people. They would "close their families and seal themselves up" inevitably. Wei Xi thought that learning

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