Father of the Classical Prose Movement, the beloved sage of Drunkard's Pavilion who nurtured a golden generation.
Fatherless at four, young Ouyang Xiu lived in deep poverty with his uncle. Unable to afford ink or paper, his mother taught him to write on sand using broken reed stems. Discovering a discarded volume of Han Yu in a dustheap, the boy was electrified, dedicating his life to literary revolution.
“A single mother in extreme poverty using tree branches to teach her son to write on dirt, raising a boy who would become the nation's premier scholar.”
A penniless orphan learning to write on sand with reeds.
Fatherless at four, young Ouyang Xiu lived in deep poverty with his uncle. Unable to afford ink or paper, his mother taught him to write on sand using broken reed stems. Discovering a discarded volume of Han Yu in a dustheap, the boy was electrified, dedicating his life to literary revolution.
The brilliant young prodigy igniting the Song classical prose revolution in Luoyang.
Serving as aide in Luoyang, he was embraced by patron Qian Weiyan. Alongside friends Yin Zhu and Mei Yaochen, he hiked sacred mountains by day and debated literature by night, launching a fierce revolt against baroque, soulless prose.
Publishing the fiercest open letter in Chinese history, declaring a corrupt censor 'utterly shameless'.
When reform pioneer Fan Zhongyan was framed and exiled, the court quaked in silence. Censor Gao Ruone cowardly kicked Fan while he was down. Enraged, Ouyang Xiu published 'Letter to Censor Gao', publicly denouncing him: 'You do not even know that shame exists in the human world!' Infuriated, the Prime Minister exiled him to the remote gorges of Yiling.
The Old Drunkard's heart lies not in the wine, but in the beauty of rivers and mountains.
Exiled again for supporting the Qingli Reforms, he became Governor of rural Chuzhou. Refusing self-pity, he enacted lenient governance. On Mount Langya he built the Old Drunkard's Pavilion, penning his timeless masterpiece 'Record of the Old Drunkard's Pavilion', unifying Confucian benevolence with Daoist transcendence.
The greatest chief examiner in Chinese history, single-handedly discovering Su Shi and his entire generation.
In 1057, Ouyang Xiu served as Chief Examiner. Confronting the bizarre, pretentious prose style dominating the capital, he ruthlessly failed every student who wrote empty jargon. Reading young Su Shi's anonymous essay, he wept with joy. That legendary exam hall produced Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong, Zhang Zai, and Cheng Hao—a golden generation that became the foundation of Chinese philosophy and literature.
The Hermit of Six Ones sailing on West Lake, finding serene perfection in his twilight.
Retiring as Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent in 1071, he settled beside the West Lake of Yingzhou. He styled himself 'The Hermit of Six Ones' (10,000 books, 1,000 stone rubbings, one zither, one chessboard, one pot of wine, and one old man). He died peacefully in August 1072, aged 66.
1010 · A penniless orphan learning to write on sand with reeds.