Fan Zhongyan was a prominent Chinese statesman, poet for the Northern Song Dynasty strategist, educator and leading essayist. The lines from his representative work, On Yueyang Tower, that "One should be the first to bear hardships and the last to enjoy comforts." Had exerted great influence on people of later ages.

Fan Zhongyan was born in 989 A.D., which is today named Jiangsu Province. His father died when he was 3 and he led a poor life. Nonetheless, he studied diligently. He went to another city to study as a teenager. He was so poor that he could only afford to boil porridge every day. When it cooled down, he cut it into three parts as three meals to serve with pickles.

One day a friend came to visit him and found this out. He took pity on his hard working friend and tried to leave him some money, which was firmly refused. The second day, the friend sent over a delicious meal and Fan Zhongyan could do nothing but accept.

A few days later, his friend came visit again. To his great astonishment, he found the fish and chicken and other nice meals he sent over were still there, but smelled. The friend was hurt. Fan Zhongyan explained: "Don't get angry. It's not that I don't want to eat them but I dared not. If I had them, I fear I would never again able to get down the porridge next time."

When people asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Fan Zhongyan answered he either wanted to be a doctor who can cure people of their disease or be a Prime Minister who could help run the government well.

Later, Fan Zhongyan did become the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty.  During his long political career, he was always anxious about the rise and fall of the nation and the joys and sorrows of the people.

He tried to reform education as well as government. He set up schools to train talented people that the government needed and he helped many talented scholars come to the fore.

Fan Zhongyan also tried to reform literature. He deeply wanted literature to reflect the real life and opposed beautiful but empty languages, which has greatly influenced the writing styles of later generations.