Fan Zhongyan's "Unconventional" Disaster Relief

In 1049 AD (the first year of Emperor You of Song Renzong), Fan Zhongyan, who was over 60 years old, transferred to Hangzhou and led the west Zhejiang road. There is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below, but what is waiting for Fan Zhongyan is not to enjoy happiness, but a severe test.

stabilize prices

In 1050 AD, a famine occurred in the two Zhejiang provinces of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the disaster developed rapidly, resulting in the tragic scene of "the path of the shadow. What is even more worrying is that food prices are out of control, rising rapidly to 120 Wen per bucket, more than three times the original amount. How to deal with this disaster is an examination question in front of Fan Zhongyan.

According to ordinary thinking, to put stability first, we must first use tough measures to suppress food prices, but Fan Zhongyan did the opposite. One is to take the initiative to raise the official grain price in Hangzhou to 180 pence per bucket, which is 50% higher than the market price at that time. The second is to take the initiative to inform, send people out of the city to make a public announcement, and quickly spread the big news of high grain prices in Hangzhou to the surrounding markets. It has become a consensus among the public that it is profitable to sell grain in Hangzhou. The third is to ask for grain along the river. The people who spread the news mainly travel along the river. The two Zhejiang provinces are important places for water transportation. There are many grain storage facilities along the river. The news was accurately released and received good results soon. Businessmen from far and near moved to Hangzhou day and night, transporting grain to Hangzhou day and night. Grain was increased due to price, price dropped due to quantity, and the people were stable due to sufficient, which ensured the balance of supply and demand and price in the grain market and created a solid foundation for disaster relief.

Happy to live in peace

It is not easy to properly solve the food problem, but Fan Zhongyan obviously considers more than that. Food can not stop, the people can not be idle, things still have to do, how to kill more. "Wu people like to race for Buddhist affairs", which are the two local folk customs, from which Fan Zhongyan keenly found a way to restore social production.

Fan Zhongyan has always advocated simplicity, but at this time he is uncharacteristically. He travels on the West Lake every day to live up to the good spring scenery. This move is to encourage people to go out for fun and promote business. He also encouraged the people to hold boat races, so from spring to summer, "residents go out in empty alleys" and enjoy the scenery of lakes and mountains. Fan Zhongyan also "work for relief" to build projects. The buddhist affairs in the south of the Yangtze River are prosperous and there are many temples. Fan Zhongyan called the abbot of each family to analyze the situation for them. "The wages for hungry years are cheap", and it is the right time to build a large-scale construction project. As a result, various temples have hired craftsmen to build and renovate projects. The government and the people echoed each other and began to renovate warehouses and official dormitories, employing more than 1,000 craftsmen every day.

Fan Zhongyan is well aware of the people's feelings and customs. He takes advantage of the situation and dares to act. Under his rule, Hangzhou was in full swing in the wilderness years. "It's a year old, two Zhejiang only Hangzhou Yanran, the people do not migrate", the people do not worry about food, do not worry about clothing, have work to do, have money to earn, just like living and working in peace and contentment.

The Way of the Grand Duke

In 1045 AD, after the setback of the New Deal, Fan Zhongyan was dismissed as governor and transferred to many places. In Dengzhou, he wrote the famous article "The Story of Yueyang Tower", "Worry about the world first, and be happy after the world".

It is precisely because of the responsibility of the temple and the worries of the rivers and lakes that Fan Zhongyan was able to decisively adopt an "atypical" disaster relief policy, which seemed to be positive, but attracted Shangfeng's severe impeachment. Only when he is open-minded can he be fearless and confused. He personally drafted the memorial to explain the initial considerations and practical effects of various disaster relief policies, and he has his own right and wrong.

Unselfish, the great duke has the constant. When Fan Zhongyan first arrived in Hangzhou, his close children discussed the purchase of land for him in order to enjoy his old age, but he was severely rejected. In the same year, he made a big deal to buy thousands of acres of fertile land in his hometown and set up Fan's Yizhuang. All his income was used to support and subsidize his clansmen.

Source: The Learning Times