In ancient times, the emperor usually had a nickname after his death, as a final verdict on his life's merits. Similarly, for the courtiers of higher status, especially those who have made great contributions to the country's society, after their death, the emperor will also give them a nickname as an affirmation of their life's contributions. Originally, among these many nicknames, "Wen" was the highest evaluation of courtiers. Because, according to the interpretation of the name, the longitude and latitude of heaven and earth, the moral erudition, the benevolence and love of the people, and the faithful receiving gifts. 
In other words, if you want to get the nickname of "Wen", you need not only to have the ability to go through the heavens and latitudes, but also to have first-class moral character, and to have the seven things of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith, in order to have the opportunity to get the title of "Wen". In this context, not to mention the courtiers, but the emperor, it is very difficult to get an emperor Wen. In this regard, from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty for more than a thousand years, only two "Wen Emperors" were born, King Wen of Zhou and Emperor Wen of Han. As for the ministers who have received the title of Wen, there are almost none. 
It was not until the beginning of the Three Kingdoms, with the proliferation of nicknames, that courtiers began to be awarded the title of "Wen", such as Zhang Zhao, Sima Zhao, Yuwentai and others, all of whom had a single "Wen" character. During this period, there was only Wang Dao of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, whose nickname was "literature". In the Tang Dynasty, Wei Zheng became the first famous minister in history to be called "Wenzhen", so the nickname "Wenzhen" became popular. But by the time of Song Renzong, because Song Renzong's name was Zhao Zhen, in order to avoid secrecy, Wen Zhen was changed to Wen Zheng. At this time, Sima Guang jumped out and said: "The text is extremely beautiful, and it cannot be added. In other words, Wen is a moral erudition, and it is the position of Jing Gong and the ultimate morality of the literati. After his preaching, Wenzheng was regarded as a very beautiful nickname for people and ministers from then on, and the emperor no longer gave people easily. 
In this context, in the entire Song Dynasty, only Li Fang, Fan Zhongyan, Sima Guang, Wang Dan, Wang Zeng, Cai Bian, Huang Zhongyong, Zheng Juzhong, and Cai Shen were given the title of Wenzheng;In the Yuan Dynasty, only Wu Cheng, Yelu Chucai, Liu Bingzhong, Xu Heng, Lian Xixian, and Jia Juzhen received the title of Wenzheng. As for the Ming Dynasty, there were only five ministers who got the title of Wen Zheng, including Fang Xiaoru, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, Ni Yuanlu, and Liu Lishun. The Qing Dynasty got the nickname of Wenzheng, and there were eight people: Tang Bin, Liu Tongxun, Zhu Qi, Cao Zhenyong, Du Shoutian, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzao, and Sun Jianai. In this way, there are only 29 ministers who have won the title of Wen Zheng in history. Among these 29 people, there are only 6 people who are generally familiar with Fan Zhongyan, Sima Guang, Yelu Chucai, Fang Xiaoru, Li Dongyang, and Zeng Guofan. 
Therefore, I will analyze these 6 people alone to see who is the most inconsistent with the nickname of "Wenzheng". First of all, Fan Zhongyan and Sima Guang can be called great in literature, Fan Zhongyan's "The Story of Yueyang Tower" and Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian" are both masterpieces that have been passed down through the ages;As for politics, Fan Zhongyan and Sima Guang are also recognized as very outstanding politicians. Although Sima Guang is politically conservative, the problem is that the policies formulated by others have nothing to blame for both public and private affairs, let alone the so-called catastrophic consequencesAs for personal morality, almost both of them can be described as perfect. In this sense, Fan Zhongyan and Sima Guang use the nickname "Wenzheng", which can be said to be well deserved. 
As for Yelu Chucai and Zeng Guofan, although there are some problems with their private morality, the problem is that they have made outstanding contributions to the country. Yelu Chucai successively assisted Genghis Khan's father and son for more than 30 years, laying the foundation for the establishment of the Yuan DynastyZeng Guofan is even more supportive of the building, turning the tide of the tide, so in terms of their contribution to the country, it is enough to afford the word "Wenzheng". Li Dongyang may still be unfamiliar to some people, he is the cabinet minister of the Hongzhi and Zhengde periods, and the people of the time compared Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian with the "three Yangs" of Yongle, Hongxi, and Xuande Dynasty, and called "Li Gongmou, Liu Gongju, and Xie Gongyou Kankan". In addition, Li Dongyang also made a great contribution to the elimination of the eunuch Liu Jin. Moreover, his literary achievements are also very high, and he is the core figure of the Chaling poetry school. In this sense, Li Dongyang's nickname "Wenzheng" is barely passable. 
Finally, Fang Xiaoru, in a sense, if it were not for the needs of the mythical imperial power, Fang Xiaoru would not be worthy of the nickname "Wenzheng" at all. Because, Fang Xiaoru was one of the most important courtiers of Emperor Jianwen, and as a result, Emperor Jianwen, with his assistance, was in turmoil in the empire within a year, and four years later, the imperial capital was breached, and finally Emperor Jianwen himself was killed. The key point is that during the four years of the Battle of Jingjing, Fang Xiaoru did not do anything meaningful, he did not contribute any admirable strategies, nor did he make any political innovations to turn the tide, and he did not even do it to promote outstanding talentsNot only that, even if he is a single academic achievement, Fang Xiaoru did not leave any commendable literary works. 
In this sense, Fang Xiaoru is too far from the word "Wenzheng" in terms of his ability to govern the country or his literary level. The key is that according to the official history book of the Ming Dynasty "Ming Taizong Records", after Fang Xiaoru was arrested, he directly kowtowed to Zhu Di to mourn. But Zhu Di thought that he was the culprit who instigated Emperor Jianwen's wanton behavior, so he killed him along with Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng. If according to this record, Fang Xiaoru doesn't even have the last integrity, and he is even less worthy of the word "Wenzheng";Although it was later changed to Zhu Di in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" revised by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it was Zhu Di who asked Fang Xiaoru to succeed to the throne, but Fang Xiaoru refused and scolded Zhu Di, so he was killed. Judging from this result, although Fang Xiaoru has retained his integrity, the problem is that his behavior is too far from the meaning of the word "Wenzheng". Moreover, there are too many people who behave like this in the last years of each dynasty. If we only judge according to this standard, we really lower the standard of "Wenzheng". Maybe many people will say that Fang Xiaoru was punished by ten clans because of this, isn't it not enough to be qualified?The problem is that this incident does not come from the official history, but from the folk history. 
What's more, if you are Fang Xiaoru's protégé, when Fang Xiaoru says the sentence "What is the imitation of my ten clans", will you be moved by his behavior?I think you will only scold his ancestors for eighteen generations in your heart. Because, if you want to be loyal to Emperor Jianwen, then even if you are loyal, why should you take the lives of our whole family, is this a human thing?It's like a person in reality, knowing that his defiance will lead to the killing of his entire family, and even all his relatives, but he not only ignores it, but also loudly tells the person who wants to kill him, saying that if you have the ability, you will kill all my students. You say, 'Is such a person really worthy of praise?'
Take 10,000 steps back and say, you Fang Xiaoru wants to be loyal, everyone can understand, then you can choose to commit suicide when Zhu Di enters the city, so as to not only fulfill your reputation, but also protect your family and students, isn't this a double win?Why do you want to use extreme behavior to send your relatives and friends to see Lord Yama?In this sense, whether it is in terms of governing ability, literary achievements, or even private morality, Fang Xiaoru can only be described by the word selfishness, and he is not worthy of the word "Wenzheng" at all. 
The problem is that in the era of imperial power, Fang Xiaoru's behavior was very popular with the emperor. Because, this is the legendary great loyal minister, in short, for the sake of the emperor, not to mention his own life, even the life of his whole family, the whole family, and even the life of the students, can be abandoned. This article participates in the prize event, come and join the fast track of 100 institutions with one click.