After being released from prison, Su Shi was demoted to deputy envoy of regiment training in Huangzhou (now Huanggang City, Hubei Province) (equivalent to the deputy captain of the modern private self-defense forces). This position was quite humble and had no real power. At this time, Su Shi had become disheartened after this battle. After taking office, Su Shi felt depressed and visited Chibi Mountain outside Huangzhou City many times.
He wrote eternal masterpieces such as "Chibi Ode", "Later Chibi Ode" and "Nian Nujiao·Chibi Nostalgia" to express his thoughts and feelings when he was exiled. In his spare time, Yu Gong led his family to reclaim a piece of sloping land in the east of the city and farm to help supplement their livelihood. It was at this time that he came up with the nickname "Dongpo Jushi".
Extended information
Su Shi’s achievements
Calligraphy
Su Shi is good at writing running script and regular script, and is the same as Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu and Cai Xiang. Known as the "Four Families of the Song Dynasty". He has studied the masters of Jin, Tang and Five Dynasties, and then integrated the creative styles of Wang Sengqian, Xu Hao, Li Yong, Yan Zhenqing, Yang Ningshi and other famous masters to form his own style. He once claimed: "I have no creativity in writing" and "I come up with new ideas and do not follow the ancients".
Huang Ting insisted that he: "In his early years, he was not as good at using pen as his elder brother, who was gradually more natural." This shows that Su Shi experienced many ups and downs in his life, which caused ups and downs in his calligraphy style. His extant works include "Chibi Ode", "Huangzhou Cold Food Poems" and "Jidao Wen in Honor of Huangzhou".
Painting
Su Shi is good at painting ink bamboo, and pays attention to spiritual similarity in painting. He advocates that there is emotion outside the painting, and the painting must have sustenance. He opposes similarity in form and the constraints of procedures, and advocates that "poetry and painting should be the same as the original." , Heavenly craftsmanship and freshness", and clearly put forward the concept of "literati painting", which laid a certain theoretical foundation for the future development of "literati painting". His works include "Scroll of Ancient Trees and Strange Rocks", "Scroll of Bamboo and Stone in Xiaoxiang", etc.
Reference source: Baidu Encyclopedia-Su Shi (Northern Song Dynasty writer, calligrapher and painter, one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties)