There is no shame in the world

There is no shame in the world

Ouyang Xiu of Song Dynasty wrote in his admonition to Gao Si: "I can still see the literati with my face, and I can be called an admonitor in the court. I no longer know that there is shame in the world."

Basic definition

Idiom: I don't know there is shame in the world

source

Ouyang Xiu, a litterateur in the Northern Song Dynasty, was an official in the imperial court because he won the imperial examination. At that time, class contradictions at home and abroad intensified, peasant uprisings broke out constantly, and Xixia invaded the north. A group of Ministers headed by Fan Zhongyan advocated the reform of bureaucracy and actively resisted foreign enemies, but they were opposed by the prime minister LV Yijian and others. Fan Zhongyan was demoted to Raozhou (now Poyang, Jiangxi Province) under the slander and attack of Lu Yijian and others. Ouyang Xiu, together with many ministers, wrote to the emperor, praising Fan Zhongyan for his integrity and integrity, and asking that he be kept in the capital. But Gao ruoneh, the admonitor, said that Fan Zhongyan should be demoted. Ouyang Xiu immediately wrote a letter to Gao ruona and scolded him. Ouyang Xiu wrote in his letter: "in the past, I heard that you were an upright and learned gentleman, but I doubted it. The so-called integrity is unyielding, learned and able to distinguish right from wrong. As an admonitor, you can't speak fairly when Fan Zhongyan is demoted. I find that you are not a gentleman. Fan Zhongyan just happened to learn and has a broad knowledge of the past and the present, which is universally recognized by the government and the public. He just offended the prime minister, you are afraid of the prime minister, cherish your position, greedy for wealth and dare not say just words. When you do this, how can you meet the ministers? What qualifications do you have to go to the court and call yourself an admonitor? I don't think you know there is shame in the world! "Gao ruona and LV Yijian took revenge measures to drive Ouyang Xiu out of the capital and demote him to Yiling County magistrate. Only a few years later did Ouyang Xiu return to the capital when the imperial court started using Fan Zhongyan again.