一笔勾销 — “A single stroke cancels/wipes out”

Fan Zhongyan (courtesy name Xiwen), a native of Wu County (present-day Suzhou), was born into poverty. His father died when he was two years old. His mother, Lady Xie, compelled by circumstances, remarried into a Zhu family in Changshan County, Zizhou (present-day Zibo, Shandong). From then on, Fan Zhongyan was renamed Zhu Shuo. His position in the Zhu family was understandably difficult as he was brought by his mother from the Fan family, but the young Fan Zhongyan was unaware of his true identity.

Fan Zhongyan was diligent and eager to learn, seeking advice from scholars whenever he could. As he grew older, he increasingly yearned to achieve great things in a broader world. In the fourth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1011 AD) during Emperor Zhenzong's reign, at the age of twenty-three, Fan Zhongyan bade farewell to his mother and traveled thousands of miles to Ying Tian Fu (present-day Shangqiu, Henan), the southern capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, to study at Ying Tian Academy. During his studies, he was so absorbed that he forgot to eat and sleep, studying day and night without wasting a single moment for several years. His life became increasingly impoverished; sometimes, he would eat only one meal a day and never took off his clothes to enjoy a comfortable sleep.

One of Fan Zhongyan's classmates, the son of the Southern Capital's Administrator, deeply admired Fan Zhongyan's diligent spirit and told his father. The Administrator was very moved and asked his son to send some good wine and food to Fan Zhongyan. Unable to refuse the kind offer, Fan Zhongyan accepted. However, he did not enjoy the meal but left the food untouched until it spoiled. His classmate's son was puzzled and asked Fan Zhongyan why. Fan Zhongyan replied, "I am grateful for your father's kindness, but I am accustomed to eating porridge and do not find it bitter. If I indulge in delicacies now, how could I endure hardship later?"

Where there's a will, there's a way. Four years later, Fan Zhongyan successfully passed the imperial examination and soon took office as the Judicial Supervisor of Guangde Prefecture. He then brought his mother home and restored his original surname.

In the first year of Kangding (1040 AD) during Emperor Renzong's reign, the Western Xia invaded, and the border was in crisis. Fan Zhongyan volunteered to take on the crucial task of defending the border against the Western Xia in Shaanxi and Gansu. With his effective military command and care for his soldiers, the army and civilians united, achieving frequent victories against the Western Xia's attacks. Consequently, the Western Xia dared not invade easily again. Through Fan Zhongyan's efforts, both sides formally negotiated peace.

Due to his meritorious service in defending against the Western Xia, Fan Zhongyan was recalled to the capital to serve as Vice-Chancellor, where he began to make great strides in politics. He joined forces with Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu, and others to carry out reforms, initiating the "New Policies." Fan Zhongyan implemented the "New Policies" vigorously, with extremely strict evaluations and appointments of officials. He personally took the rosters of officials from various regions and examined their performance one by one. He showed no mercy to those who were idle and incompetent. When he found someone "in their position but not attending to their duties," he would cross out that person's name with a single stroke from the roster, expel them from officialdom, and select more capable individuals to replace them.

Fu Bi, who always respected Fan Zhongyan, was somewhat concerned by his merciless approach to rectifying official corruption and advised him, "It's easy to cross out a person's name with a single stroke from the roster, but doing so will cause that person's entire family to weep bitterly!" Fan Zhongyan resolutely replied, "It's better for one family to weep than for them to harm thousands of households and cause thousands of households to weep!" Unfortunately, because the reforms infringed upon the interests of aristocratic officials, they met with strong opposition and failed within less than a year. Fan Zhongyan was demoted to serve as the Pacification Commissioner of four circuits in Shaanxi.