Xu Xun

Xu Xun

Xu Xun (985-1030), a native of Mumian (qianduntou), Ruian County, was born in Wuqing. Since childhood, he lived with his father in Ouning (now Jianou County, Fujian Province), and later moved back to his hometown. Xu Xun is intelligent and knowledgeable. In the fifth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1012) of the Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial examination work "Zhuding Xiangwu Fu" ranked the first in the history of Wenzhou. At the beginning, he was an official writer and served in Jixian Academy. Xiangfu eight years (1015) was promoted to Zhili Shilang. In the first year of Tiansheng (1023), he was transferred to Zhejiang Province. At that time, there were many floods in Suzhou. He built stone dikes and built bridges, which were convenient for the people. He was praised by the imperial court for his service. In August of the fourth year of Tiansheng (1026), he sent an envoy to Khitan. In April 1030, he was granted the title of Hanlin bachelor and acting magistrate of Kaifeng. Less than half a year later, he died suddenly. He was only 46 years old and was buried at the foot of Xianju mountain in Taishun. The picture shows the statue of Xu Xun and the imperial edict.

Life of the characters

After the famous family

Since the Tang Dynasty, officials and families in the Central Plains have moved to Jiangnan to avoid the war. Xu Xiang, the ancestor of the Xu family in Taishun, was originally from Wuzhou (now Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province) and moved to Angu (now Ruian City, Zhejiang Province). In the first year of Tang Baoli (825), he settled in baizhangmuyuan (now the former palace of Taishun), and insisted on farming and reading his descendants, which laid the foundation for the prosperity of Xu family's literary style in the future. Xu Xian, the sixth grandson of the Xu family, was born in 931, the sixth year of emperor mingzong of the later Tang Dynasty. He was a Bachelor of wenyuange in his 20s. In 987, Xu Xian moved to Xianju Village (now Taishun Xianju Village) with his family and son. After the Xu family moved to Xianju, the style of writing was at its peak, and there were many talented people. Especially in the Song Dynasty, the Jinshi included Xu Qing, Xu Juan, Xu Yuande, Xu Yuanchang, Xu Rong, Xu Liang, Xu Tianyou, etc.

Provincial champion

Xu Xun, who spent his childhood and youth in Taishun, followed his father to study in Ouning, Fujian Province (now Jianou County, Fujian Province), and started his official career in Ouning,. Xu Jianzhong, 28, was the number one scholar in renzike in 1012. He is the first number one scholar in Wenzhou history. Because he was the number one scholar in Ouning, most people thought Xu was a Fujian man, so the records of Wenzhou ancient books are unknown. After he won the first prize in the provincial examination, Xu took part in the palace examination in the fifth year of Xiangfu in Dazhong, and won the first prize in one fell swoop. Xu Xun is knowledgeable and good at writing poems and Fu. There is a famous sentence in his Fu of casting Ding Xiang Wu, which was written during the Tingshi period, that is, "the foot is only upright, and you can hear the inclination of Gongfu; xuannai is a superior residence, and you can really gain the prestige of the king and his subjects." It means: the tripod is flat and upright, and I haven't heard that the gourmet food in the tripod is tilted and fallen; the Dynasty's permanence depends on the majesty and credibility of the kings and ministers. according to Ouyang Xiu's Guitian Lu, song Zhenzong was very fond of using words to select scholars, and also attached great importance to appearance, temperament and unique talent. Every time I give the Jinshi, I will summon three or four of the best writers to stand in the hall and observe carefully. Then I will give the number one scholar to the person who is open and aboveboard. But sometimes he will be moved by the famous sentences of the ages and send the number one scholar to each other. Xu Xun is one of them.

Harnessing Taihu Lake

In the first year of Tiansheng (1023), Renzong ascended the throne. The flood in Suzhou destroyed the outer pond of Taihu Lake. Song Ting ordered the transportation of the two Zhejiang roads to Xu Xun, Huainan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jinghu, and Zhao Hedu to control the flood. On the basis of investigation, Xu et al. Built a West dike. The levee is 90 Li long, from the north of Shijing (24 Li south of Pingwang in Suzhou) to the south of chimen (between Fengmen and Panmen in Suzhou). A total of 18 bridges are built on the levee to facilitate pedestrians. At the same time, he also enlisted 1200 Kaijiang soldiers (Kaijiang battalion was set up in the fifth year of Dazhong Xiangfu, and Wujiang Tang Road was built specially), and built a pond bank with a length of more than 100 li from the south to Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. As a result, 26000 refugees were recruited back and hundreds of thousands of acres of good farmland were reclaimed. He actively built water conservancy projects, strengthened embankments, dredged rivers and canals, and discharged many floods into the sea. He was praised by the imperial edict.

Return to one's hometown

After he won the first prize, he was appointed as the examiner of Kaifeng Prefecture in November 1018. He was demoted to Hongzhou (today's Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province) tax supervisor for stealing the sealed examination papers. In the first year of Tiansheng, Xu Xun was the transportation envoy of the two Zhejiang routes; in August of 1026, he was sent to Khitan as a living man and zhizhigao; in October of 1027, he was ordered to go to Huazhou (now Huaxian County, Henan Province) to offer sacrifices to the Yellow River. Xu Xun, who was too keen on fame, was envied by his colleagues and could not be promoted for a long time. In April of 1030, Empress Dowager Liu granted Xu Xun the title of Hanlin Bachelor (Note: zhengsanpin). She knew Kaifeng Prefecture and died of sudden illness in September. She was only 46 years old. He was granted the title of Marquis of Jinning, the only one among 119 number one scholars in Song Dynasty. Buried in his hometown, the tomb is at xiashatun, Taishun mountain. More than 70 years later, Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty gave him the title of "Mr. Chonghui".

Character evaluation

Song Zhenzong: Emperor Xu Xun, the number one official of the imperial edict, made the following statement: if you want to steal, you must be well-informed and knowledgeable; if you want to be an envoy, you should be simple, poor and virtuous; if you don't want to be good, how can you be obedient? Xu Xun, a first-class Jinshi in the science and Technology Department, has a high reputation. He is well-known and dominates the world. He has a great reputation in Wei and Wei dynasties. He is not only respected in China, but also relied on by the Chinese government. This is a special mission to honor you. You must give me a brief order and declare my prestige, so that you can respect the whole nation. I'd like you to order me not to be profane. I'll come to Qimao in person! In August of the fifth year of Dazhong Xiangfu.

Chinese PinYin : Xu Shi