A Study On The Northern Song Dynasty Scholar Wei Xiang

Wei Xiang,a local official in the middle period of the Northern Song Dynasty,was mainly engaged in political activity from the later period of emperor Renzong to the initial period of emperor Huizong.He had such virtues as "honesty and integrity',and was a typical representative among the middle and lower classes of officials under the background of "ruling via Confucianism" in the Northern Song Dynasty.This thesis,specific to the case study on Wei Xiang,attempts to have a more diversified recognition on the local officials seeking after engaging in politics and academy.Wei Xiang was not born in an official family,but he liked studying as a child.Afterwards,he was chosen as an official through imperial examinations,and served as the highest executive official in Tijusi department in the periods of emperor Renzong,emperor Yingzong,emperor Shenzong,emperor Zhezong and emperor Huizong with the official experience of more than fifty years,and thus was a witness of significant events in the middle period of the Northern Song Dynasty.At the initial stage of an official,Wei Xiang was committed to serving the country as his major dream and did things actively.However,with the competition between different parties becoming fiercer later,his confidence and entrepreneurial spirit suffered serious strikes,so he sought after inner cultivation of mind in turn.Wei Xiang participated in local politics as a local official in most of his political career and made great achievements.He paid more attention to instruction,discriminated cases clearly,opened barns for saving the lives of people,suppressed bandits in Fujian and adopted other people-oriented measures,and thus obtained the people's support widely.In daily life,Wei Xiang focused his attention on mind cultivation for self-control,was good at poetry and literacy,and made friends with such talented persons as Zhu Boying.Sun Shukang,Yan Changdao,Deng Wenbo,etc.On September 23th in the fourth year of Chongning period(1105),Wei Xiang died at Quzhou Official Mansion where his son Wei Shoulong served at the age of 73.Chen Shixi who lived with Wei Xiang in the same period made the comments that:"He is unprejudiced and selfless,made obvious achievements,set a good model for others in virtue and quality,and had ancient oracle's behavior styles",and Sikutiyao made the comments that:"Although Wei Xiang did not make as outstanding achievements as Ouyang Xiu and Mei Yaochen,he was also an outstanding talent for a while then".QianTang Wei's Collected Works(hereinafter referred as QianTang Works)were major works written by Wei Xiang.In the book,not only were there political articles written by him as an executive official,but also there were articles written by him and his hometown friends in daily life.The book not only recorded his political ideal,political aspiration and attitudes to life when facing difficulties and hardships,but had many descriptions with respect to officials and social conditions in the middle stage of the Northern Song Dynasty,and thus had important referential value in the study of the officials and society in the Northern Song period when Wei Xiang lived.Wei Xiang lived a devious life in his political career,and was an epitome of many officials who devoted themselves to seeking after official ranks at that time:Although he passed through the imperial examinations and participated in politics,Wei Xiang went through ups and downs many times and had difficulty in obtaining a very high official position;though he met many setbacks,Wei Xiang still had faith in such Confucian theories as honesty and integrity,having no aspiration for lucre and living a virtuous life during poverty.Therefore,by means of the study on Wei Xiang,not only can we make clear the effects of the Northern Song Dynasty's politics and"ruling via Confucianism" on local officials,but also the political and cultural shaping conducted by the officials in the Northern Song Dynasty can be reflected,thereby making supplements for relevant shortcoming in political research of the Song Dynasty.