Fan Zhongyan was a renowned statesman of the Song Dynasty
Fan Zhongyan's official career was a rocky road. He was first dismissed for opposing Emperor Renzong's decision to depose Empress Guo, then reassigned as prefect of Muzhou and Suzhou. When Suzhou was hit by a great flood, he organized the people to dredge Lake Tai's waters into the sea. Recalled to court, he served as Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel and acting magistrate of Kaifeng. But after he criticized Chancellor Lü Yijian for unfair appointments, Lü struck back, and Fan was once again stripped of his post and sent to govern Raozhou.
When the Western Xia rebelled, Fan Zhongyan was recalled to serve as Tianzhangge Attendant and Governor of Yongxing Army, later reassigned as Shaanxi Transport Commissioner. As many stockades in Yanzhou fell to Western Xia forces, Fan volunteered for the post of Revenue Vice Minister and Governor of Yanzhou. Upon arrival, he reviewed the troops, intensified training, and fortified defenses, bringing peace to both Qiang and Han peoples. For a long time afterward, Emperor Zhao Zhen largely adopted Fan's strategies for Shaanxi. However, due to Chancellor Lü Yijian's grudge against him, the emperor's trust waned. Fan then requested a border post, serving successively as Pacification Commissioner for Hedong and Shaanxi, Pacification Commissioner for Shaanxi's Four Circuits, Governor of Binzhou, and also Governor of Dengzhou, Jingnan, Hangzhou, and Qingzhou.
Fan Zhongyan's famous saying is: "Worry before the world's worries, rejoice after the world's joys." When serving as a capital official, many sought his guidance on the Six Classics, especially the Book of Changes, and he often used his salary to aid wandering scholars, while his own family sometimes lacked food and warmth.
Fan Zhongyan's lifelong achievements were closely tied to his diligent studies from childhood. As a boy, his family was poor, so he lived in a temple to study, reading day and night without rest. During harsh winters, when exhaustion set in, he would splash cold water on his face to refresh his mind before continuing. His daily life was extremely frugal: he always cooked two liters of millet into porridge, let it congeal overnight, then cut it into four pieces with a knife—eating two pieces for breakfast and two for dinner, accompanied by a few slices of pickled vegetables. This is the story of "cutting congee and dividing pickles," where "pickles" refers to simple preserved vegetables used as a side dish.
The idiom "cutting pickles and drawing porridge" later came to describe one who endures hardship and studies diligently.
Source: *History of Song*, "Biography of Fan Zhongyan"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "断齑画粥" came to describe one who endures hardship and studies diligently.