Wang Anshi
I go by Wang Anshi (also known by his courtesy name (zi) Jiefu and Literary name (hao) Banshan) and am known as a poet and prose writer but more famously known as a governmental reformer. I have influenced China from the time I was alive and still today. I was born in Linchuan, Jianxi province, China in 1021 and died in Jiangning (which is now Nanjing) in 1086.
I had a great influence upon the people I surrounded myself with. My ideologies and theories were what I thought to be for the good of the nation but were not always accepted even though they were implemented at one point. I tried to live my life in a way that would help other people. My goal was to make life better and I tried to do that in poetry and prose.
Biography
Being born and raised in Linchuan, Jianxi province I emerged from a rising new group of southern bureaucrats that held a strong utilitarian bent. We challenged the more conservative, large-landholding colleagues from the north. At age 21 I earned the jinshi (advanced scholar) degree in the civil service examinations which allowed me to serve two years as a local administrator in the south.
After serving in influential positions for 20 years I came to the conclusion that the unlimited annexation of land weakened the economy rather than strengthening it. As a result I submitted “Ten Thousand Word Memorial” to emperor Rensong.
Commentary on Biography
Wang Anshi was an ambitious man. He really had the best interest of the people at heart when he was creating his ideologies and theories for his political reform. He had the rare opportunity to be a voice for the people for a time. His influence was so profound that it has even carried an effect to the present day. On October 16, 2012 there was an article published in BBC News, Shanghai titled “Wang Anshi: The reformer beaten by the mandarins.” This article demonstrates how his influence has been carried on over the years and centuries.
Part of the article explains the difficulty and importance of the exams in the Chinese culture.
"There were a series - you have local exams, provincial exams, and then the central imperial exam, so you've got lots of people falling by the wayside at the local exams or the provincial exams, so absolutely the creme de la creme get through to even take the central imperial examinations.”
So to come fourth in the whole of China… think of the size of China. To come fourth out of thousands? Tens of thousands of people? It's absolutely massive." (Gracie, Carrie)
Wang Anshi was a very impressive man. The article continues to discuss the pros and cons of Wang Anshi’s reform. Some of the implications have continued through the centuries. The tests that he took are still in place today but a major difference between then and now is that there are more options for career paths today. There are more opportunities to be influential in society.
(Link to article mentioned above: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19962432)
What is “Ten Thousand Word Memorial”?
This document contained parts of my later policies and political theories. My proposals that were aimed at the bureaucracy were not taken into immediate action. This was mostly because I believed that more officials should be trained and recruited.
”To manage their large empire, Chinese rulers traditionally relied on a strong professional bureaucracy, an elite group of scholar-officials. However, in the 11th century the civil service system declined, and the government suffered. In 1058, Wang Anshi, a local official in a southern province, sent the emperor a list of ideas for reforming the system. Wang argued for improvements in the training, selection, and salary of civil servants. His ideas were ignored until 1069 when Wang became prime minister and could institute the reforms that eventually restrengthened the government. Wang Anshi felt that the greatest problem faced by the government was the lack of capable officials. He believed that the preparation of officials for government positions was often misguided and irrelevant. He also suggested that the government could do better in choosing officials. Selection and promotion were based on literary tests rather than on job performance. Wang also stated that bribery and corruption were the result of the low salaries of the officials.” (World History: Patterns of Interaction)
Here is the first paragraph of the document:
I, your Majesty’s ignorant and incapable servant, have been honoured with your commission to take a part in the administration of one of the circuits. I feel it to be my duty, now that I am called to Court to report on conditions in my district, to bring to your attention certain matters affecting the Government. I presume to do this on the ground of the experience gained during my period of official service, and regardless of my own inability. I shall consider it most fortunate if my suggestions receive your careful attention, and if you can see your way to adopt such as seem in your opinion to be of a reasonable character.
(Link to full document: http://images.classwell.com/mcd_xhtml_ebooks/2005_world_history/pdf/WHS05_12_324_PS.pdf)
Political Career
My political career is the most recognized part of my life history. I entered the central government in 1060 but it wasn’t until the succession of the new emperor, Shenzong, that I achieved a powerful rank close to the throne and gained the trusting imperial ear. In 1069 I was appointed as second privy counselor. It was at this point in my career that my reform (“Ten Thousand Word Memorial”) was launched into action. My ideologies and theories were unconventional by Confucian theories, but I believed that to expand economic growth, a sound state economy required not just measures of economy but also stimulation. This would allow both government and the people to benefit.
My reform measures were directed toward the moral improvement of the people, but in the end the measures strengthened the power and finances of the state. This was the result because of my own personal and political shortcomings, but another large part of this result was the rabid opposition from the conservatives. The conservatives opposed two major measures I instituted: 1) Land survey to reassess property taxes more equitably and 2) A system that made the government an active agent in trade. Officials were allowed to purchase supplies at the cheapest price and in the most convenient market, thus discontinuing the cumbersome tribute system to supply the central government. I created a fund for agricultural loans at interest to farmers who were thereby spared the exorbitant demands of the moneylenders. My ideas, after being implemented, also pumped more currency into the economy.
I also implemented a village of a militia system for local policing and for the buildup of army reserves, the replacement of corvee (unpaid labor) with a hired service system financed by a graduated tax levied on all families, and the creation of both a directorate of weapons for armament development and a horse-breeding program to obviate importation of cavalry mounts. Also in my career I was recognized by the Hanlin Academy (aka the National Academy) which trained expectant bureaucrats; emphasized professional courses in law, medicine, and military science; restructured the civil-service examinations around policy discussions and interpretation of the Five Classics, doing away with the previously required rote recitation of the classics and poetry composition; and, finally, brought government clerks under stricter supervision and provided incentives for promotion.
Decline of Influence/Retirement
With all the unsupportiveness my pride was deeply wounded. In 1074 I bowed to the pressures to resign but I returned the next year with less political power and without imperial cart blanche. Because I was unable to win sufficiently wide cooperation from high-ranking officials and because of unscrupulous or inept men in the lower bureaucracy, my policies were doomed to eventual rebuff.
All of these disappointments along with the death of my son caused me a great depression to the point that I retired in late 1076. After retirement I lived a simple, withdrawn life. I continued my literary endeavors and my scholarly pursuits (which focused on etymological study). My reforms remained intact until the emperor’s death in 1085/86, when, to my great dismay, a virulent antireform clique dismantled the system I created and that was put in place.
Over time I wrote original interpretations of several ancient works and joined the poetry and prose movement lead by Ouyang Xiu. Throughout my lifetime I wrote more than 1,500 poems. My prose was distinguished and earned fame as one of the “Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties.”
References
Gracie, Carrie. "Wang Anshi: The reformer beaten by the mandarins." BBC News: 16 October 2012. Website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19962432.
Worthy, Edmund H.. “Wang Anshi.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Web 2013.