Su Shi, the most famous literary figure in the Northern Song Dynasty, was a rare all-rounder in the history of ancient Chinese literature. He was familiar with prose and poetry, had profound attainments in calligraphy and painting, and writing lyrics was his strong point. Looking at the history of the two Song Dynasties and more than 300 years, if Su Shi claimed to be the second in the world of poetry, no one would dare to claim the first place, and Li Qingzhao and Xin Qiji were also slightly behind. It seems to be the common fate of literati to never meet their talents. Perhaps it is this kind of encounter and suffering that is most likely to inspire their inner talents and leave behind classic works that future generations will never tire of reading.
Some people admire Su Shi's talent, and his heroic writing style of "The river goes eastward, and the waves are swept away, and the romantic figures of the ages" can be compared with the poet Li Bai; others appreciate Su Shi's optimistic attitude towards life, no matter what he encounters No matter what difficulties, we can always make peace with them as they come. Literati usually give people the impression that they are rather old-fashioned and like to talk about words. Su Shi is different. He often jokes with his friends and also writes limericks in great enthusiasm. For example, the two poems introduced below are easy to understand and contain no uncommon words. They are humorous and entertaining. Hilarious.
Let’s first take a look at the first limerick, which is called “A Tree of Pear Blossoms Pressing Begonias.” Don’t think that this is a poem describing pear blossoms and begonia flowers. Su Shi has a cheerful nature and likes to make friends. He has friends from all over the world and people of all ages. Zhang Xian is several times older than Su Shi, and the two are veritable friends who have been together forever. There is a joke that goes like this: Men are very specific. They like 18-year-old girls when they are 20 years old. They still like 18-year-old girls when they are 30 years old. Even if they are 60 or 70 years old, they still like 18-year-old girls. Zhang Xian is a typical representative.
Zhang Xian is a suave person with rich emotional experience, which makes people envious, jealous and hateful. One day, Su Shi received an invitation from his good friend Zhang Xian. It turned out that Zhang Xian was going to marry a concubine and invited Su Shi to have a wedding banquet. Based on their relationship, Su Shi declined everything and happily went to attend Zhang Xian's wedding. first wedding. When I arrived at the place, I discovered that Zhang Xian's concubine was actually only eighteen years old, while Zhang Xian was already eighty. Although this situation was not uncommon in ancient times, it also surprised Su Shi. He thought that his best friend was an old cow eating the young. Grass.
On the wedding day, Zhang Xian expressed his gratitude to his relatives and friends for coming, and toasted one by one. When he came to Su Shi with a wine glass, he asked Su Shi to compose a poem, and everyone agreed. As the saying goes, hospitality is hard to deny, so Su Shi composed a poem casually: "Eighteen brides and eighty-year-old men, with pale hair and red makeup. The mandarin ducks are twined under the quilt at night, and a pear tree presses the begonia." The people present laughed from ear to ear and praised Su Shi was so talented that Zhang Xian was not angry, thinking that Su Shi praised him for being strong and healthy in old age. From then on, "a pear tree weighs a begonia" has become an eternal saying.
Let’s take a look at Su Shi’s second limerick, “To Wu Deren and Chen Jichang.” This poem is relatively long, and most of it is written to Wu Deren, but four lines are specifically written for his good friend Chen Jichang. Chen Jichang was the son of an official. His father was a minister of the Ministry of Industry. He had a wealthy family and was as wealthy as a prince. He had good land and beautiful houses all over the country. He was truly a young man.
In his early years, Chen Jichang did not do his job properly, spending money like water on drinking and flirting with girls. As he grew older, he began to slowly become calm and sensible. He bought a residence in Huangzhou and lived a semi-reclusive life. Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou because of the Wutai Poetry Case. Because he liked Buddhism, he met Chen Jichang and became like-minded friends, often discussing Zen and poetry together.
Chen Jichang is hospitable and generous in entertaining friends. Every time a guest comes to visit, he will find many young and beautiful singers to sing and dance. His hospitality is eye-opening. One time, Chen Jichang, Su Shi and others were drinking, and a singer was dancing next to them. Chen Jichang's wife was very jealous, but she couldn't get angry directly, so she banged the wall with wood to express her dissatisfaction.
Everyone is not a fool. Su Shi and others found excuses to leave. This made Chen Jichang very embarrassed, but he did not dare to get angry with his wife because he was a strict wife. A few days later, Su Shi wrote "Send to Wu Deren and Brief Introduction to Chen Jichang", four of which are: "The layman Longqiu is also pitiful. He talks empty talk and sleeps all night. Suddenly he heard the roar of a lion in the east of the river, and he dropped his stick and felt confused." and sent it to His good friend Chen Jichang ridiculed his wife for being tougher and also implied that he was afraid of his wife, thus leaving behind the idiom "Hedong Lion's Roar".