Ouyang Xiu - Official Career

Official Career

After passing the jinshi exam, he was appointed to a judgeship in Luoyang, the old Tang Dynasty eastern capital. While there, he found others with his interest in the ancient prose of Han Yu. Politically, he was an early patron of the political reformer Wang Anshi, but later became one of his strongest opponents. At court, he was both much loved and deeply resented at the same time.

In 1034 he was appointed to be a collator of texts at the Imperial Academy in Kaifeng where he was associated with Fan Zhongyan, who was the prefect of Kaifeng. Fan was demoted, however, after criticizing the Chief Councillor and submitting proposals for reform in promoting and demoting officials. Ouyang than submitted a critique of Fan’s principle critic at court. While he earned a demotion to Western Hubei for his troubles, he won praise as a principled official and led to his being a central figure in the growing reform faction.

Threats from the Liao Dynasty and Xi Xia in the north in 1040 caused Fan Zhongyan to come back into favor. He brought Ouyang with him by offering him a choice position on his staff. Ouyang’s refusal won him further praise as a principled public servant who was not willing to take advantage of connections. Instead, Ouyang was brought to the court in 1041 to prepare an annotated catalogue of the Imperial Library.

1043 was the high point in the first half of the eleventh century for reformers. Ouyang and Fan spurred the Qingli Reforms. Fan submitted a ten-point proposal addressing government organization. Among other things, these included increasing official salaries, enforcement of laws, eliminating favoritism, and reform exams to focus on practical statecraft. The reformers, however, were only in ascendancy for two years as the emperor rescinded these decrees of what also became known as the Minor Reform of 1043. Ouyang was a victim who was then demoted to a succession of magistracies in the provinces. Fan and Ouyang were considered to have formed a faction, which by definition was deemed subversive to the government, though Ouyang countered that Confucius himself said that good persons in society would naturally flock together in furtherance of their own goals.

After serving briefly in Chuzhou, Anhui in 1049, he was recalled to the court to serve in an advisory capacity. However, the death of his mother in 1052 forced him to retire for more than two years to carry out his filial obligations.

After returning from his mandatory retirement, he was recalled to court and appointed to be a Hanlin Academy academician. He was also charged with heading the commission compiling the New Tang History, a task not completed until 1060. He also served as Song ambassador to the Liao on annual visits and served as examiner of the jinshi examinations, working on improving them in the process.

In the early 1060s, he was one of the most powerful men in court, holding the positions of Hanlin Academician, Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs, Vice Minister of Revenues and Assistant Chief Councillor concurrently.

Ouyang’s power aroused jealousy. Upon the ascension of the Shenzong emperor in 1067, the name of Wang Anshi came to the attention of the emperor. Ouyang’s enemies had him charged with several crimes, including incest with his daughter. Though no one believed this charge credible, it still had to be investigated, causing him irreparable harm. Consequently, the emperor sent him to magistrate positions in Anhui, Shandong, and Anhui. While a magistrate in Shandong, he opposed and refused to carry out reforms advocated by Wang Anshi, particularly a system of low-interest loans to farmers.

In 1071, formal retirement was granted five years before the standard retirement age.