The Study Of Liang Shi

Liang Shi was a scholar-officer in the Northern Song Dynasty.He served as an official for more than 40 years and served in four dynasties: Zhenzong,Renzong,Zhezong and Shenzong.In the Zhenzong Dynasty,due to Zhenzong’s preference for literature,the difference between literature and martial became more and more obvious at that time.At that time,Liang Shi was able to enter the official career with his father’s posthumous works.In the Renzong Dynasty,the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao and Western Xia kingdoms competed with each other.After Yuan Hao betrayed the Song Dynasty,Liang Shi was sent as an envoy to Khitan,which opened the political and foreign policy of using barbarians to control barbarians.Later,he was sent to Yanzhou to discuss the etiquette of courting Yuan Hao with his colleague Pang Ji.Since then,the social crisis in the Northern Song Dynasty has continued to deepen,and the phenomenon of "redundant officials","redundant soldiers" and "redundant expenses" has become increasingly prominent.Liang Shi was sent by the Song court to Kunyan and Qin Feng to pacify the vassal division,and eliminated redundant officials and soldiers to save costs.Liang Shi was able to enter the Erfu by virtue of his contributions in the frontier and the recommendation of Lu Yijian.In the later period of his official career,his thirst for power continued to deepen,and he destroyed the ancestral law in order to become prime minister.He was eventually impeached and dismissed by Tai Jian.Liang Shi’s official characteristics are both changing and contradictory.From his aggressive and high-spirited attitude in the early days of his official career to being cautious and prudent,and obeying the laws of ancestors,he finally became extremely thirsty for power,and did not hesitate to break ancestor’s law for the sake of his own future.The transformation of Liang Shi’s official characteristics should also have certain objective and subjective reasons.First of all,in the Song Dynasty,officials could not enter the central institution without going through the state and county.When Liang Shi was an official in the prefecture and county,he did a lot,and he worked hard to benefit the people.On the one hand,it is because he can accumulate qualifications by virtue of his work in the state and county,and through his governance achievements,he can attract the executives to recommend him.Liang Shi won the favor of Lu Yijian with his efforts in the early days of his official career.On the other hand,Liang Shi,who had just entered the official career,was only in his early twenties,when he was full of energy and a new-born calf who was not afraid of tigers.Taking Liang Shi’s participation in the Suoting test as a turning point,his behavior began to be cautious.After he served in the Taijian,he was even more cautious in his words and deeds,taking the "law of the ancestors" as his truth.As an Taijian official,he remained silent,impeaching trivial matters.First,probably because Liang Shi went from the local to the central administration,the political environment changed,and the political relationship between officials became complicated.Secondly,Liang Shi’s father Liang Hao and his elder brother Liang Gu,although talented,died young,and their family could not give Liang Shi much political support and reliance.Therefore,Liang Shi,who entered the central institution,must be cautious in his words and deeds,and try to avoid disputes with other officials due to political differences.Although Liang Shi was so cautious,during the Qingli New Deal period,Liang Shi,a neutral conservative scholar-bureaucrat,was still pushed and impeached by reformists Ouyang Xiu,Cai Xiang and others.Liang Shi was therefore pushed to the opposite site of the reformists Ouyang Xiu,Cai Xiang and others.At the same time,it is probably also due to the early death of Liang Shi’s father and brother,and that Lu Yijian and Ren Zhongshi also left the power center one after another during the Qingli period.This change made Liang Shi without the support of his superiors and the protection of his close relatives,which may also be one of the reasons why Liang Shi desired power in the later period of his official career.He changed his usual prudent way of doing things.He colluded with the eunuchs and made use of the military general Di Qing to become the prime minister.Another major change in the Renzong Dynasty was that the status of Taijian became more and more important.It is not uncommon for prime ministers to leave the court due to the impeachment of Taijian.Liang Shi was impeached by the imperial censor Ma Zun and others for his treacherous deeds in the Erfu office.Liang Shi’s official life was indeed criticized by others,but his contribution is also worthy of our positive evaluation.