The Literati of Lo-yang 洛陽 under the Northern Sung

Kida Tomo'o

doi:10.14989/153725

In addition to K'ai-feng, 開封, the capital, the Northern Sung maintained three sub-capitals in the west, south, and north. Of these, only the Western Capital located in Lo-yang was established from the beginning of the dynasty. Lo-yang and K'ai-feng were almost identical in area and organization, but the two had great difference in natural and historical environment. Roughly speaking, Lo-yang was a cultural center, whereas K'ai-feng a political and economic center. This character of Lo-yang became even more pronounced after the Northern Capital was established during the reign of Jen-tzung 仁宗. Also, a keen rivalry with K'ai-feng started growing around this time. The beautiful landscape of Lo-yang attracted many literati and retired officials since the early years of the Northern Sung. During the Jen-tzung's reign, with Lo-yang emerging as a center of flourishing literary activities under such men as Ou-yang Hsiu 歐陽脩, the number of literati settling grew even further. Out of this phenomenon came the notion that Lo-yang was the Nest of Literati 士大夫之淵藪, which provided the inhabitants the justification necessary for following a route quite distinct from that of K'ai-feng. On the political side, the rivalry often took the form of pressure from K'ai-feng and resistance from Lo-yang. With the rise of Wang An-shih 王安石, the tension between the two rose to a peak. The literati of Lo-yang. notably those associated with the Lo-yang ch'i-ying hui 洛陽耆英會 e.g., Fu Pi 富弼, Wen Yen-po 文彦博, and Ou-yang Hsiu were among the most vociferous of Wang's critics. While the bureaucrats in K'ai-feng who executed Wang's policies were mostly from the south, where a spectacular economic growth had been taking place, these men were by and large northerners. And their ignorance of and distaste for economic matters, which they termed li-ts'ai 理財, are evident in their writings, usually full of hatred of K'ai-feng bureaucrats. The Lo-yang literati's contempt for li-ts'ai accounts for, more than anything else, their failure in coping with the problems of the time when they came to power under Che-tzung 哲宗. Behind the rivalry between K'ai-feng and Lo-yang under the Northern Sung lies, as it has been explained, the difference in opinion concerning li-ts'ai between their elites. To examine how this problem of li-ts'ai was understood by the literati throughout the Sung dynasty shall be a task from now.

The Literati of Lo-yang 洛陽 under the Northern Sung

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