Su Shi represents the old school, and he certainly does not dare to cross the line for radical ideas. They won't tamper with their ancestors' things, what's more, it goes against the interests of the old school. Who will do things that are not good for their own interest groups?
In fact, the real problem is that a relatively large nepotism climate was formed in the Song Dynasty. People with the same political views protect each other, and everyone recommends their trusted friends to pull their own relationships. As a result, they wasted public interests and became a big egoistic group. The so-called "sage in power, capable people in power" is a major principle of China's ancient politics.
Extended data:
Why Wang Anshi was besieged by political reform;
Young Wang Anshi loves reading, is good at writing articles, and is free from vulgarity and confident. When he was a magistrate of Yinxian County, he lent the valley to farmers, trying to alleviate the exploitation of usury, which was very effective.
After he was promoted to Judge Du Zhi, he also wrote tens of thousands of words to explain what was happening in the world and advocated political reform. In Song Shenzong, he cut a dash, became a political governor, and also set up the "Three Divisions".
This is the general body of political reform that carries out comprehensive reforms centered on rectifying finance. Xining three years, Ren Pingzhang Prime Minister. Later, he was made Duke Jing, so the world also called him "Wang".
From participating in politics to becoming prime minister, Wang Anshi successively carried out political reforms and actively promoted new laws such as young crops, equal loss, easy market, exemption from service and farmland water conservancy. During the implementation of the new law, there was a fierce struggle with the so-called die-hards represented by Sima Guang. Wang Anshi praised Shang Yang's achievements in history, saying that "today's people must be Shang Yang, and Shang Yang can make politics necessary". At the same time, he denounced Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi's retro-ism, saying that they were "vulgar and unchangeable".
In the struggle against the so-called die-hards, Wang Anshi has three famous sayings: "Heaven is not afraid, the earth is not afraid, and people's words are not smooth." This means that the variation of astronomical phenomena is not terrible, the tradition of ancestors cannot be used as a basis, and there is no need to worry about other people's comments. The slogan of "Three Shortcomings" clearly conveyed Wang Anshi's spirit of daring to break through the traditional thought.
So it caused the fear and anxiety of the die-hards at that time. Sima guang wrote to Wang Anshi again and again, trying to defend the old system and demanding that the political reform be stopped, saying that adjusting the administrative structure of the country was to seize the powers of the original officials; Sending people to various places to implement the new law is a nuisance; Sorting out the national fiscal revenue is to compete with the people for profits;
If you don't accept advice, you refuse to give it. He also accused Wang Anshi of "abandoning the way of sages and violating the heart of the world" and making the world "disturbed". Some people even say that the occurrence of drought is the result of the implementation of the New Deal, and it is Wang Anshi's fault, saying that "there must be rain in the Anshi rebellion."
In this regard, Wang Anshi does not show weakness. He replied to Sima Guang: "One was ordered by democracy to discuss statutes and build them in the imperial court to give his secretary and not invade officials;" Take the former king's administration, promote advantages and eliminate disadvantages, and not make a living; Managing money for the world is not for profit; To ward off evil spirits is not to be remonstrated. " As for "frequent floods and droughts", Wang Anshi said frankly that "Tang Yao is inevitable".
At the same time, it also uses the fact that comets appeared many times during the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin without disasters to prove that "the sky changes endlessly, the personnel changes endlessly, and the orders are up and down, far and near, unconnected and untrustworthy."
The Su Shi brothers initially supported the political reform, but later wavered. They attacked Wang Anshi from behind, scolded him, and advised him not to do "things against human feelings" but to "make the sage's way new to the world".
Due to the fierce opposition of die-hards, Wang Anshi finally had to give up and the reform ended in failure. After the death of Song Shenzong, Sima Guang and others returned to power, and Wang Anshi's political reform measures were completely cancelled. In his later years, Wang Anshi ended his official life and settled in Jiangning (now Nanjing).
After his death, Shao Bowen, a Taoist scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty, also wrote an essay "On the Discrimination of Traitors" in the name of Su Xun, and personally attacked Wang Anshi: "People who are unkind to everything are rarely big traitors." At the same time, he cursed Wang Anshi as "a man who makes mistakes in the world", which is dangerous, malicious and different. He even said, "This man has achieved, and my descendants are all the same."
In fact, Wang Anshi is neither corrupt nor perverting the law. Even the clothes he was wearing were worn out, and lice climbed onto the collar, which amused the emperor. He doesn't pay attention to eating either. He eats three meals a day and only eats the nearest dish. In a sense, he can be called a "saint".
The real problem is that a relatively large nepotism climate was formed in the Song Dynasty. People with the same political views protect each other, and everyone recommends their trusted friends to pull their own relationships. As a result, they wasted public interests and became a big egoistic group. The so-called "sage in power, capable people in power" is a major principle of China's ancient politics.
But many times, it is difficult to distinguish between good and bad, good and bad. Under the hostage of cronies, good people and bad people often form a party, good people become signs, and bad people are ready to move. This is a great paradox of the so-called saint politics.
People's Daily Online-Why was Wang Anshi's political reform repeatedly besieged?