Ouyang Xiu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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歐陽脩 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 A contemporary drawing of Ouyang Xiu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 1, 1007 Mian Prefecture, Song | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | September 22, 1072 (aged 65) Ying Prefecture, Song | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Calligrapher, classicist, epigrapher, essayist, poet, politician | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 歐陽脩 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 欧阳修 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ouyang Yongshu (courtesy name) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 歐陽永叔 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 欧阳永叔 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Zuiweng (art name) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 醉翁 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Drunken Old Man" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Liu Yi Jushi (art name) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 六一居士 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Wenzhong (posthumous name) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 文忠[note 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Cultured and Loyal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ouyang Xiu (Chinese: 歐陽脩; pinyin: Ōuyáng Xiū; Wade–Giles: Ou-Yang Hsiu; 1007 – 1072 CE),[1] courtesy name Yongshu, also known by his art names Zuiweng (醉翁) and Liu Yi Jushi (六一居士), was a Chinese historian, calligrapher, epigrapher, essayist, poet, and politician of the Song dynasty. He was a renowned writer among his contemporaries and is considered the central figure of the Eight Masters of the Tang and Song. He revived the Classical Prose Movement (first begun by the two Tang dynasty masters two centuries before him) and promoted it in imperial examinations, paving the way for future masters like Su Shi and Su Zhe.
Ouyang Xiu's interests as a writer were remarkably diverse. As a historian, he was put in charge by Emperor Renzong of Song of creating the New Book of Tang, which was completed in 1060 CE. He also wrote in his spare time the Historical Records of the Five Dynasties, the only book in the Twenty-Four Histories to have been written in private by a single author. As a poet, he was a noted writer of both the cí and shi genres. But it was his prose writings like Zuiwengting Ji that won him the greatest acclaim. Treatises from Ouyang's voluminous œuvre range from studies of flowers to literary criticism and political commentaries.
Politically, Ouyang Xiu was one of the major proponents of the Qingli Reforms of the 1040s. When lead reformer Fan Zhongyan fell from power in 1045 CE, Ouyang was also demoted to posts away from the capital. He returned to the central government only in 1054, and gradually moved up the bureaucratic ladder again, until in 1060 he was made the assistant councilor of the state. He retired from politics in 1071, after vehemently (and unsuccessfully) opposing the New Policies of Wang Anshi, whose career he very much helped.
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