Su Dongpo is a rare generalist figure in Chinese history, especially his strong psychological ability is second to none. To live a free and unrestrained life, you should learn from Duke Dongpo!
His poems are as concerned about the country and the people as Qu Yuan, as dry and simple as (Tao) Yuanming, as unrestrained as Li Bai, and as profound in meaning as Du Fu. They are full of profound insights into life. His lyrics are majestic as his bones and transcendent as his muscles, creating a bold style of poetry. His prose is full of momentum, flowing like water, widely cited, and natural and clear. He is the best among the eight great writers of Tang and Song Dynasties. There is a saying in his paintings that "one lamp divides the flame, illuminating the past and present", and he is the leader of the "Wenhuzhou Bamboo School". His calligraphy is free and easy, vigorous and unique, ranking first among the "Four Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties" (Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Ouyang Xun, and Su Dongpo), and also among the "Four Great Masters of the Song Dynasty" (Su Dongpo, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, and Cai Xiang). It is highly praised by future generations. In addition, Su Dongpo also had profound attainments in military, medicine, architecture, water conservancy, language, music, Zen and other fields.
However, Su Dongpo’s life was full of ups and downs. Although he was very talented, his political opponents often took advantage of him because of his carelessness in poetry or outspoken speech. As a result, he was repeatedly demoted during his nearly 40 years of official career. His life was spent in a state of unrecognized talent, and his achievements were extraordinary. What is the power that keeps him strong despite adversity? What explanation can be given from a psychological perspective?
Professor Yue Xiaodong, a famous psychologist in my country and the only one who graduated from Harvard University, has devoted himself to studying Su Dongpo for many years. He once summed up his personality charm with a couplet: the first couplet is "pain and happiness", and the second couplet is "pain and happiness". It means "Trouble but never idle", and Hengbiao means "Hard life is easy to live". And believe that this is the highest state of sound personality.
"Pain and happiness"——
The Wutai Poetry Case was a turning point in Su Dongpo's life. He was first imprisoned and then decentralized by Song Shenzong because of the villain's slander. However, he did not give up on himself or be bohemian, but pursued the meaning of life and the joy of life as much as possible, and even left many good stories. In this process, he turned his full sorrow and anger into the motivation for literary creation, artistic expression and the pursuit of life interest. He sublimated all pain into happiness, and repeatedly reached the state of happiness after suffering.
Su Dongpo’s main literary and artistic achievements were completed during the period of decentralization. In this regard, his younger brother Su Zhe has his own opinions. Once, when Su Che was talking about his brother, he said that before Huangzhou, he and his brother could compare their articles with each other, but since his brother was relegated to Huangzhou, he studied hard behind closed doors, and his articles changed like a flood. It's so ordinary, but I can't catch up with it. It highlights Su Dongpo's ability to enjoy hardships.
"The world is a big dream, and life has several cool autumns." The nightmares in his official career did not crush Su Dongpo, but instead cheered him up from sadness and pursued the value of suffering. This is the expression of spiritual sublimation!
"Trouble but not idle" -
Su Dongpo never met his talents and experienced ups and downs in his life. However, he quickly changed from the worldly mentality of "developing to Jun, Yao and Shun" to "chatting about concubines". The mentality of "creating things to travel" is born, and your hands are not busy when you are upset, but your hands are busy and your heart is happy. For example, he fell in love with cooking during his devolution period in Huangzhou, and he repeatedly innovated and came up with a variety of dishes. Some dishes are still eaten today. Chinese literati throughout the ages are as brilliant as stars, but only Su Dongpo can be rated as a national first-class chef. Also, as a layman who converted to Buddhism, superior wisdom has always guided his life.
From a psychological point of view, this is a reflection of "tough personality" and "trait optimism". "Tough personality" can make stress less scary, encourage individuals to actively face pressure challenges, improve people's coping abilities, and enhance people's self-esteem and self-confidence. The cultivation and cultivation of this kind of personality is based on the most basic optimistic personality. based. "Trait optimism" generally refers to a person's positive cognitive orientation towards people and things around him. Its core lies in the expectation of beneficial results in life. Just like the jargon in the psychological counseling circle, "You cannot change reality, but you can't change reality." Can change the perception of reality.
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"Hard life is easy to live"——
As far as psychology is concerned, the reason why Su Dongpo can face the ups and downs of life calmly is because he has a strong psychological ability. Psychologically The ability to thrive refers to an individual's ability to create or maintain a sense of subjective well-being, which enables people to be satisfied with life under any circumstances, feel that life has purpose and meaning, and be able to accept everything about themselves.
Su Dongpo did not give up on himself because of the ups and downs of his career, and did not blame others because of the ups and downs of his life. He developed a lot of optimistic qualities and optimistic thinking. This is an outstanding manifestation of his strong psychological ability. From this, he can always face it with a calm mind! Gains and losses in the world, advancement and retreat, resolve the joys and sorrows of life with passion. All this is just as he said, "There are few willows blowing on the branches, and there are no fragrant grasses anywhere in the world." ”
Because of Su Dongpo’s optimism, Chinese scholar-officials have better understood the dialectical relationship between joining the world and leaving the world, as well as the art of living contentedly with the situation, and learned how to pursue the ridicule of life and enjoy the fun of nature in frustration. At the same time, due to Su Dongpo's optimism, a large number of splendid treasures were added to China's literary and artistic treasure house, which not only brought endless enjoyment to future generations, but also illuminated the hearts of future generations.
From this point on. In a sense, the greatest achievement of Su Dongpo's life is not in his large number of literary creations, his calligraphy and painting skills, nor in his construction of the Su Causeway, but in his years of practicing hard work that made him happy. This is what he left behind. The most precious spiritual wealth for future generations is the root of people's admiration for him from generation to generation.