OU-YANG HSIU

born 1007, Mien-yang, Szechwan, China died 1072, Honan Pinyin Ouyang Xiu, courtesy name (WadeGiles romanization) Yung-shu, literary name Tsui-weng Chinese poet, historian, and statesman of the Sung dynasty, who reintroduced the simple ancient style in Chinese literature and sought to reform Chinese political life through classical Confucian principles. Ou-yang Hsiu was the son of a judge in Mien-yang, Szechwan province. His father died when Ou-yang was three, and he and his mother went to live with his uncle in Hupeh. Although the story that the family was so poor that he had to learn writing in the sand with a reed is apocryphal, they probably lived in straitened circumstances. In 1030 he placed first in the doctoral examinations and was appointed a judge at the western capital, Lo-yang. He was already known as a brilliant young writer, and at Lo-yang he befriended the renowned essayist Yen Shu and the poet Mei Yao-ch'en. These friendships not only enhanced Ou-yang's status but, more important, reinforced his strong preference for the simplicity and clarity of the ancient style. Some years before, he had read the works of Han Y, the great master of T'ang-dynasty literature, whose pure and easy ancient style, free of outworn metaphors and allusions, had greatly impressed him. Eventually, his leadership and advocacy of that style paved the way for a new literary movement. In 1034 he was appointed a collator of texts in the imperial library at the capital, K'ai-feng. Two years later, when Fan Chung-yen, a government official, was banished, at the insistence of an imperial counselor, for speaking out against certain official practices and institutions, Ou-yang did not hesitate to attack the counselor in writing. As a result, he, too, was banished and demoted to low judicial office in Hupeh and Hunan provinces, where he wrote the Hsin Wu-tai shih (New History of the Five Dynasties), a history of a period of political chaos lasting through almost the entire 10th century. Ou-yang's strong sense of fairness led him to devote separate sections to political outcasts such as martyrs, rebels, and traitors, a radical departure from previous dynastic histories. Highly recommended by Fan Chung-yen, who was back at the capital, and other high officials, Ou-yang was recalled to the capital in 1043 to become imperial counselor. When Fan and others were dismissed for forming a private group of political reformers, Ou-yang, in a notable essay on partisanship, defended associations of gentlemen as politically constructive. His courage and forthright opinions earned the respect of the emperor, Jen Tsung, and he was commissioned to record Jen Tsung's daily life and to draft edicts. His frank opinions and severe criticisms of others created many enemies, and in 1045 he was accused of and tried for having had illicit relations with his niece many years beforea charge to which his romantic life, during his days in Lo-yang, lent support. Although he was finally acquitted, his reputation was seriously impaired. He was demoted and sent to Anhwei province, where he served as magistrate of one county after another. The beautiful countryside intensified his partiality for wine. He called himself the Old Drunkard, built a pavilion of that name, and wrote an essay about it, which has become one of the most celebrated works in Chinese literature. After a term (1050) as defense commander of the southern capital of Kuei-te, in Honan Province, he was recalled to the capital in 1054 to become an academician of the Hanlin Academy. It had been more than nine years since he was exiled from the capital, and the new appointment signified a promotion. As always, his moral courage and outspoken manner did not endear him to his colleagues. He was first ordered to write the Hsin T'ang shu (New History of the T'ang Dynasty). A year later, with his work only begun, he was sent as ambassador to the Manchurian Khitans, who ruled most of Northern China. In 1057 he was placed in charge of civil service examinations. He favoured those who wrote in the ancient style but failed those who employed literary embellishments. For thus imposing his own ideas of literature on the traditional examination system, he was physically attacked by disgruntled candidates. He survived, however, and the literary style championed by him set a new course for Chinese literature. He praised and promoted brilliant young writers such as Wang An-shih and Su Tung-p'o. When the New History was finished in 1060, he was rapidly promoted to the highest councils of state, leaving a remarkable record in social, financial, and military affairs. Eventually his position at court became untenable, however, and at 60 he was approaching the end of his political career. He was falsely accused of having an affair with his daughter-in-law, a charge that injured his prestige and left him increasingly isolated in the capital. He repeatedly asked to be relieved, but instead the new emperor sent him to be magistrate successively in Anhwei, Shantung, and Honan. In Shantung he opposed the reforms of his former protg Wang An-shih, particularly a system of loans to farmers at a low interest rate, and refused to carry them out in his districts. It is clear that by this time he had become a disappointed conservative. In 1071 he was retired with the title of grand preceptor of the crown prince. He intended to make his permanent home in beautiful Anhwei, the place of his Old Drunkard Pavilion (Ts'ui-weng T'ing), but within months he died in his 66th year. The personal influence and many-faceted activity of Ou-yang Hsiu had a lasting effect. As a statesman he worked to regenerate political life through classical Confucian principles; he criticized fearlessly, and he recommended the promotion of able men who eventually led opposing parties. He was early captivated by writings of Han Y, whose opposition to Buddhism he shared, though in a more moderate form. He revived Han's advocacy of a simpler, more direct prose like that of Mencius, to replace the mannered and excessively rhythmic style then popular, and his writings in the resultant ku-wen style established a model emulated thenceforth. He emancipated the fu prose-poems from strict conventions and left superb examples of these as well as of the newer tz'u (lyrics to popular tunes) and other literary forms. In his New History of the Five Dynasties and New History of the T'ang Dynasty, he amplified the standard history form and praised or censured men and institutions through terse but exact descriptions implying moral judgment, in supposed emulation of Confucius. As a scholar he ignored later commentaries and instead sought a fresh and immediate understanding of early texts. He contributed to archaeological study and as a painter helped create the new wen-jen-hua (literati) style. His preserved writings include not only his histories but more than 150 chapters of poems, state papers, letters, and other smaller pieces. His library consisted of 10,000 books and a large collection of literary remains and archaeological records from ancient times. He was honoured posthumously with the title Wen-chung (literary and loyal). Additional reading James T.C. Liu, Ou-yang Hsiu: An Eleventh-Century Neo-Confucianist (1967; orig. pub. in Chinese, 1963), an excellent biography; Chang Carsun, The Development of Neo-Confucian Thought, vol. 1, pp. 9192, 137138 (1957), for a brief account of Ou-yang's thought; Shou-yi Ch'en, Chinese Literature, pp. 355359 (1961), for an appraisal of his literary merits and influence; Herbert A. Giles, A History of Chinese Literature, pp. 212216 (1923), for excerpts of essays.