The Wutai Poetry Case
Song Shenzong reused Wang Anshi’s reform during the Xining period (1068-1077). After the failure of the reform, he engaged in the Yuanfeng period (1078-1085) Restructure. At the turning point from reform to restructuring, the Su Shi Wutai Poetry Case occurred. The case was first reported by the supervisory censor and then tried in Yushitai Prison. Yushitai has been nicknamed "Wutai" since the Han Dynasty, so the case is called the "Wutai Poetry Case".
The "Wutai Poetry Case" was a literary inquisition that occurred in the second year of Yuanfeng. The imperial censors Li Ding, Shu Quan and others excerpted sentences from Su Shi's "Huzhou Xie Shangbiao" and previous poems to slander the New Deal. Su Shi was arrested on charges. Su Shi's poems did indeed ridicule current affairs, including problems in the reform process. But this matter is purely political persecution.
Introduction to the whole story of the Wutai Poetry Case
Wutai refers to the Yushitai. During the Han Dynasty, there were many cypress trees and crows in the mountains outside the Yushitai, so people called the Yushitai Wutai. , also jokingly refers to the censors as crow's mouth.
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Su Shi opposed the New Law and expressed his dissatisfaction with the New Deal in his poems. Since he was a leader in the literary world at the time, allowing Su Shi's poems to spread in society would be detrimental to the implementation of the New Deal. Therefore, with Shenzong's acquiescence, Su Shi was arrested and imprisoned in Wutai for four months. Every day he was forced to explain the origin of the poems he had written and the origin of allusions in the words and phrases.
Since the Song Dynasty had a custom of not killing scholar-bureaucrats, Su Shi was spared death, but was demoted to Huangzhou Tuanlian.
In March of the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), Su Dongpo was transferred from Xuzhou to Huzhou on the shore of Taihu Lake in Jiangsu. He wrote "Huzhou Thank You", which was actually just a routine matter. He briefly stated that he had no political achievements to speak of in the past, and then recounted the emperor's great kindness. However, he added a few words of complaint at the end:
"Your Majesty knows that When he is stupid and unfit, it is difficult to follow Xinjin; if he is old and does not cause trouble, he may be able to shepherd the small people. "
The "Qi" in the sentence refers to himself, and he refers to himself as the opposite of "Xinjin". To say that he does not "make trouble" is to imply that the "new" person "makes trouble". Due to objective circumstances, ancient literati were always accustomed to being very subtle in their condemnation and sentence making, and readers also developed a habit of instinctively seeking the meaning between the lines. For example, the "newcomers" in the Yushitai. In June, He Dazheng, the supervisory censor, cited the words "new advancement" and "making trouble" in his memorial, labeling Su Shi as "fooling the court and being arrogant". It was obviously Su Shi who was mocking them, but they said that Su Shi was fooling the court. Substituting one thing for another is the usual skill of little people. There is also a little background here. During Wang Anshi's reform period, the conservatives and the reformists fought fiercely. The leaders of the two factions were the two prime ministers Sima Guang and Wang Anshi. Because the former's long letter to the latter contained the word "trouble", so " "To cause trouble" has become a idiom to attack the reform; "Xinjin" is Su Shi's derogatory term for the newcomers introduced by Wang Anshi. He once said in the book "Emperor Shang Shenzong" that Wang Anshi "recruited new and brave people in order to All quick results", the result is that "the number of sincere people has decreased recently, while the number of skillful people has increased." Later, it was Lu Huiqing, a "smart person" who had supported Wang Anshi, who betrayed Wang Anshi and made him dismiss from the prime minister.
The imperial court's communiqués were published on a regular basis, which was equivalent to today's official newspapers. Su Shi's writings attracted attention as usual. This expression of gratitude made those "newcomers" a laughing stock in the minds of readers. When they became angry, they would definitely retaliate against Su Shi. At the same time, it was also a step to use the new law to seek personal gain and attack dissidents.
But just relying on one or two sentences in "Huzhou Xie Shangbiao" is not enough. It just so happened that the "Qiantang Collection of Yuanfeng's Xu Zizhan Scholars" was published at that time, which provided the newcomers of Yushitai with an opportunity to collect materials. After four months of intensive study, the Supervisory Yushitai Li Xingshu ("tan" removed "wood" and pronounced "egg") found a few poems by Su Shi, and then submitted an impeachment report:
"As for harboring evil intentions, He who complains, slanders, and has no moral integrity is worse than Shi. When His Majesty gives money (referring to young crops money) to the poor in his profession, he says, "If you win a child with good pronunciation, you will be strong for half a year." "In the city"; Your Majesty has learned the law and tested the county officials in lessons, and he said, "If you read thousands of volumes without reading the laws, the emperors Yao and Shun will know no skills." Your Majesty promotes water conservancy, and you say, "If you know the plan in the East China Sea, you should teach the transformation of salt-alkali land." "Sangtian"; Your Majesty is strict about the salt ban, so he said, "Is it because I have forgotten the taste after hearing it? In the past three months, I have eaten without salt"; other things that touch things are immediate, and they respond to what is said, and all of them are mainly ridiculed.
”
The examples he cited are that the two sentences “win” and “how is it” are from “Five Wonders of Mountain Village”; the two sentences “East China Sea” are from “Watching the Tide on August 15th”; “Reading” Two sentences came from "The Story of Actors". However, after being taken out of context, the sentences were put on the line.
Immediately, Li Yizhi, the doctor of the Imperial Academy, and Li Ding, the censor Zhongcheng, came forward. They listed Su Shi's crimes and claimed that they must. He was beheaded for being rude to the court. Li Ding gave four reasons to explain why Su Shi should be sentenced to death. He said: "Su Shi had no academic knowledge at the beginning, and he gained a great reputation by accident. He accidentally studied in a different subject and ended up in a Confucian school. "It went on to say that Su Shi was eager to obtain a high position, and out of dissatisfaction, he ridiculed the powerful. Again, the emperor had been tolerant of him for a long time and hoped that he would change his ways, but Su Shi refused to obey. Finally, although the poems written by Su Shi were absurd It is superficial, but it has a great influence on the whole country. "I am preemptive in enforcing the law, and my duty is to correct people. If the crime is not tolerated, how dare I stop it?" Your Majesty, Fuwang, has cut off his will from heaven and implemented the constitution in a special way. This is not only to suppress his stubbornness, but also to uphold his loyalty and good heart. His likes and dislikes are clear, and his customs are reformed. "This Li Ding was exactly the guy who was called "worse than a beast" by Sima Guang for concealing his father's death. Su Shi also ridiculed him for being "unfilial." Although the children wanted Su Shi to die, Emperor Shenzong was unwilling to kill him and only agreed to arrest him. He also disagreed with Su Shi being imprisoned for the night on his way to Beijing.
At this time, Wang Shen, a good friend of Su Shi, who had printed Su Shi's poetry collection, heard the news and quickly sent someone to give it to him. Su Che sent a message from the south, and Su Che immediately sent someone to tell Su Shi. Huangfu Zun, the emperor's envoy sent by the imperial court, also set out at the same time, but Su Che's men arrived first. Su Shi knew the news and immediately asked for leave, leaving Zu Tongxuan to act as the prefect.
When Huangfu Zun arrived, the people in the prefecture's office were in a panic, not knowing what would happen. Su Shi did not dare to come out, so he discussed with Tongpan, who said that it would be useless to avoid the imperial envoys, and it was best to do so. To greet him with formal rank, Su Shi put on official clothes and boots and met the official Huangfu Zun.
Su Shi first spoke: "I know that offending the imperial court in many ways will undoubtedly be punished by death. It is not a pity to die, but please let me go and say goodbye to my family. "
Huangfu Zun said calmly: "It's not that serious. "The soldiers were ordered to open the official document and read it. It turned out that it was just an ordinary official document, which exempted Su Shi from being summoned to Beijing as the prefect. Su Shi was asked to set off immediately. When Su Shi returned to see his family, the whole family burst into tears. Su Shi smiled and told them a story to comfort them:
“During Song Zhenzong’s time, the emperor wanted to visit the real Confucians among the forests and springs. Someone recommended Yang Pu to come out. Yang Pu was really unwilling, but still set out for the capital under escort to meet the emperor. The emperor asked: 'I heard that you can compose poetry? ’ Yang Pu replied: ‘I don’t know. ’ He wanted to demonstrate his talents and refused to become an official even if he died. The emperor asked again: "Did your friends give you a few poems when they gave them to you?" ’ Yang Pu replied: ‘No, only Zhuo Jing composed one. ’ The emperor asked again: ‘Can you tell me what poem it is? ’ So Yang Pu read out the poem his wife had written before leaving: Don’t be greedy for wine and don’t indulge in poetry. If I catch the general today, I will lose my scalp this time. "
After hearing the story, the family members felt a little relieved.
Everyone in the prefecture's office was so frightened that they were all hiding. Only the Wang brothers and Chen Shixi held a banquet to say goodbye. But the people came out to see the prefect set off, and the county records recorded that the people were in tears. When Su Shi passed by the Yangzhou River and Taihu Lake, he wanted to commit suicide by jumping into the water. He didn't know what crime he would be charged with, and he was afraid that his case would implicate many friends. Thinking again, if he really jumped into the water, he would cause trouble for his younger brother. Otherwise, future generations would not see Chibi Nostalgia and Chibi Fu. The family burned most of his correspondence and manuscripts with friends, and the family went to Suxian, Anhui. The Yushitai sent people to search their luggage for Su Shi's poems, letters and other documents. Later, Su Shi found that only one third of his manuscripts remained.
Su Shi on July 28th. He was arrested and sent to Yushitai prison on August 18. On the 20th, he was formally interrogated.
Su Shi first reported his age, lineage, place of birth, and the year he passed the imperial examination. Previous official positions and people he recommended as officials. He said that since he became an official, he had two demerits. When Ren Fengxiang was sentenced, he was punished for not attending the autumn official ceremony due to disagreements with his superiors. Another time when he was in Hangzhou, he was fined eight pounds of copper for misappropriating public funds as a minor official. "In addition, he had no other bad records."
Initially, Su Shi admitted that the "Five Wonders of Mountain Villages" written by him during his trip to the villages near Hangzhou, "Winning children's pronunciation is good, and they spend half a year in the city" was a satire on Qingmiao Fa, "Isn't it Wen Shao's explanation of forgetfulness" "Taste, the last three months have been eaten without salt" is a satire on the salt law. Apart from this, the rest of the text has nothing to do with current events.
On the 22nd, the Yushitai interrogated him about the meaning of the two sentences in "Watching the Tide on August 15th": "If the East China Sea and the East China Sea know their own ideas, they should be taught to rebuke the land and turn it into a mulberry field." He dragged him to On the 24th, he was forced to follow Shu Danding's tone and said that he was "sarcastic about the difficulty of water conservancy in the imperial court." As for the theme of the poem "The Actor's Rules" that goes against the "emerging laws of the imperial court", it was not explained until the 28th.
By September, Yushitai had copied a large number of poems sent by Su Shi to others from all directions. More than one hundred poems were presented during the interrogation, and thirty-nine people were implicated, among whom Sima Guang was the one with the highest official position. The year after Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister (1077), Su Shi sent Sima Guang a poem called "Du Yuan Yuan": "What does Mr. Du do on his own? He is cultivated by looking from all directions. Children recite the truth of the king, and soldiers know Sima. Mr. smiles with his hands on his hands, and he becomes mute over the years." It created public opinion for Sima Guang's return to power. The Yushitai said that this poem satirized the new law, and Su Shi confessed: "This poem says that people all over the world hope that Sima Guang will be in power and edify the world, and he will ridicule Sima Guang to see that he will not be in power. He also said that all children and soldiers know their surnames, and they will eventually enter the country. He used his words but was silent, hoping to attack the new law based on what he said before."
Although "the crime was found guilty", the new law had been abolished at that time, so he could not be convicted based on this crime. The punishment was severe, so Yushitai looked for him again. I found the poem "Two Poems of Harmony and Reply to Huang Tingjian" which denounced "new advances", and the poem "Tangcun opened the canal, supervising the service in the rain" which criticized "troublemaking". The former was made in harmony with Huang Tingjian, and the latter was sent to his friend Wang Shen.
The poem "Harmony" says: "Jiagu is lying in the wind and rain, and the acanthus is waiting for me. The front of the array is full of abbots, and the jade food is miserable and dull." Su Shi himself explained that the first four sentences are to ridicule the present. The villain despises the gentleman, just like the acanthus seizing the good harvest. The later meaning is that the gentleman and the villain each have their own time, just like the mosquitoes and flies in the summer moon, and they will stop by autumn. It is said that Huang Ting is as strong as a "flat peach", and it will be late to use it; compared with " "Bitter plum", all life is useless. Another quote from the Book of Songs (The Book of Songs) says: "Worried quietly, I feel depressed in the group of small people." They all ridicule those who work today as villains. Su Shi cleverly uses words such as "quietly" and "sullen" to hide the meaning of "small group". If it weren't for the author's explanation, not many people would know the secret.
The poem "Tangcun" says: "If you are an official and don't do anything, you will be envious of your ministers. If Hu doesn't come back, he will stay and feel ashamed of Yuanming. The salt issue is urgent, who can help farming?" Xixiao stirred up the wind, and the sky rain helped the officials. People were like ducks and pigs, and they dismounted on the deserted embankment and looked around at the lake. Sheep fight. Although it is humiliating to return to the fields, how can we lose our way in the mud? I would like to send a message to my friends in the mountains, be careful not to get tired of quinoa soup." Su Shi also admitted that he was indeed dissatisfied with Yanguan's opening of the Salt River in the Tangcun area. "It hinders farming", "there are several miles of sand in the middle of the river" and it is not suitable to open the river, "it is not for farming but to work farmers", "working in the mud, the hard work is just like that of ducks and pigs", etc. It is also a crime to speak upright when someone accuses you.
These poems and essays presented to Huang Tingjian, Wang Shen and others immediately became a sensation in the government and the public. Shu Dan and others took the opportunity to add insult to injury and encouraged Vice Prime Minister Wang Gui (add "Tu" next to it) to report Su Shi's "Wang". The poem "Return to Shuang (Muhui), where Scholars Live". The poem goes: "Awe-inspiring people dare to deceive each other. It's not surprising to fly straight into the sky. The root reaches the nine springs without any bends. Only Zhelong knows about it." Wang Gui falsely accused: "Your Majesty's flying dragon is in the sky. Shi thought he didn't know himself, so he asked for it. Why are the hidden dragons in the ground not willing to surrender?" Shenzong replied calmly: "How can the poet say this? Why did he chant (Mu Hui) for me?" Soon, the jailer asked Su Shi (Mu Hui). ), Su Shi cleverly replied: "Wang Anshi's poem 'All the people in the world look at the rain, and they don't know where the dragon is.' This is the dragon." The jailer smiled knowingly. Those who claimed to support Wang Anshi's reform even said that Wang Anshi said "the country" Panlong" has also been forgotten.
Some of the accusations against Su Shi are very far-fetched. The poem about Mu Hui just now is an example. There is also a mention in the preface of "Qiju Fu" about eating the bitter seeds of Qiju. The censor believed that the author was directly satirizing the poverty of the people throughout the country, especially the meager salary of officials by the imperial court. "Those who are born blind do not know the sun" is a satire on the ignorance of the imperial examination candidates. It is a satire on the candidates who are not familiar with Confucianism and only know Wang Anshi's annotations on the classics in "The New Meaning of the Three Classics".
For most of the accusations, Su Shi frankly admitted that he criticized the New Deal in his poems.
In the poem to Wang Shen, there is a line about sitting and listening to "the moaning of the whipping ring", and also saying, "There is no way to save the famine and you will die." He also mentioned that "the tiger is difficult to conquer" as a political A symbol of greed, in Li Chang's poem, he indeed said that in Mizhou, he was "picking up abandoned children in the city" and saw corpses of men, women, and babies starving to death on the roadside. At that time, he was indeed "for the sake of the county." joyous". In the poem to Sun Jue, there is a line that says that the two agreed not to talk about politics. It was really an agreement at a banquet that whoever talks about politics will be fined one drink. The poem to Zeng Gong said that he hated those little politicians who were "as loud as a cicada". In his poem to Zhang Fangping, he compared the imperial court to "a deserted forest full of chaos" and a "wasted swamp where frogs indulge in prostitution", and also said that he "wanted to cover his ears". In the poem to Fan Zhen, he bluntly refers to "little people", while in the poem to Zhou (left "fen", right Baoer, bin), he implicitly compares those in power to "night owls". When his friend Liu Shu resigned from office and left the capital, Su Shi wrote two poems to him:
"I dare to complain to the Qing Dynasty, and I directly complain about my way and Jundong. Sitting and talking is enough to make Huainan afraid, and I will know where I am when I return." In the sky in the north of Hebei Province, there is no need to be frightened by a single crane at night, and the male and female of the birds cannot be distinguished."
"The great shortcut of benevolence and righteousness, the poems and books are as beautiful as the red ribbons. How old is the rat? Gao Hong is in the dark. There is no need to call him when he is drunk. The last sentence of the previous poem is taken from the Book of Songs. , which is equivalent to saying that there is only a group of crows in the court, and it is difficult to distinguish between good and bad. The latter song expresses his disdain for the villain's struggle for power and position. These will undoubtedly anger the Yushitai group. In addition, they are here to persecute Su Shi, so the latter's life in prison will not be easy.
Su Shi wrote "The Story of a Child in Prison" and said, "My heart is like a deer when I dream about the clouds in the mountains, my soul is like a chicken when I am in the water." It is extremely miserable. The interrogators often insulted him all night long. Under great mental pressure, Su Shi wrote the tragic poem "I will be brothers with you for generations, and we will have unfinished causes in the next life." That time, his son Su Mai was about to leave the capital to borrow money elsewhere, and left the meal delivery matter to a friend, but he forgot to tell his friend that there was an agreement between father and son: only vegetables and meat would be delivered. If he heard bad news, he would only deliver food. Fish to go. Coincidentally, this friend just sent smoked fish. Su Shi was shocked and wrote two farewell poems to his brother.
On October 15th, the Yushitai reported the trial status of Su Shi's poetry case. It compiled tens of thousands of words of Su Shi's confession materials and found out the list of people who collected Su Shi's satirical writings, including Sima Guang, Fan Zhen, Zhang Fangping, Wang Shen, Su Che, Huang Tingjian and other 29 ministers and celebrities. Li Ding, Shu Quan, Wang Gui and others wanted to put Su Shi to death and then quickly, but Shenzong was hesitant for a while. Taizu had already made an oath not to kill ministers except for treason and conspiracy.
At the same time, upright people also came to the rescue. Prime Minister Wu Chong said bluntly: "Your Majesty takes Yao and Shun as the law, and it is appropriate to belittle Wei Wu. However, Wei Wu is so suspicious that he can tolerate you. Your Majesty can't tolerate Su Shi. Why?" Wang Anshi, who had resigned as prime minister and retired to Jinling, wrote a letter saying: "An Do you want to kill talented people in a holy world?" Even Empress Dowager Cao, who was seriously ill, intervened: "In the past, Emperor Renzong was very happy when his virtuous people came back, and said: 'I am now the prime minister of Taiping for my descendants.' Gai Shi and Is it right to kill him?" Su Shi was not convicted of a serious crime. Those who rescued him in front of and behind the scenes were indispensable. Otherwise, China would have lost a lyricist, poet, painter, and calligrapher who would shine through the ages. Artistic genius.
However, the people at Yushitai are also acting frantically, and they are ready to wipe out all the opponents of the new law. Li Ding wrote a petition asking the Empress Dowager not to pardon those involved in the case during the national mourning. Shu Yu was even more ruthless. He petitioned that Sima Guang, Fan Zhen, Zhang Fangping, Li Chang and Su Shi's five other friends be executed.
On November 29, the imperial edict was issued, and Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou and served as the deputy envoy of Tuanlian, but he was not allowed to leave the area without permission, and he had no right to sign official documents. With this result, Li Ding and others were greatly disappointed.
Among those implicated, three received heavier punishments. The consort Wang Shen was stripped of all his official titles because he leaked secrets to Su Shi, frequently interacted with him, and failed to hand over Su Shi's poems in time during the investigation. Next was Wang Gong, who was incidentally dealt with by the censor and sent to the northwest. The third one is Ziyou. He once petitioned the court to pardon his brother, and he was willing to return all his official positions to atone for his brother's sins. He did not receive any serious slanderous poems, but due to family ties, he was still demoted and transferred to Gao'an, served as wine supervisor in Junzhou.
Others, Zhang Fangping and other high officials were fined thirty catties of red copper. Sima Guang, Fan Zhen and Su Shi's eighteen friends were each fined twenty catties of red copper.
The poetry case is finally settled. Su Shi wrote two more poems on the day he was released from prison. One of them is: "I have been tired of writing all my life, and my reputation will not be tired of it after I leave."
Even if the horse is on the fortress, there will be no young chicken fighting in the east of the city. "If someone from Yushitai examines it, he has committed the crime of disrespecting the emperor again. The "young chicken" refers to Jia Chang. When he was old, Jia Chang told people that he had won the favor of the Emperor of Tang for his cockfighting when he was a boy. , and serving as jesters and actors in the court, this can be extended to mean that the villains in power are jesters and actors in the court, which is also a slander!
Su Shi’s poetry style before and after the Wutai Poetry Case Changes
In July 1079, Su Shi took office in Huzhou and was convicted and imprisoned for the Wutai Poetry Case. In January of the following year, he was exiled to Huangzhou and served as Hangzhou Tong since 1071. Since his death, Su Shi has successively served as the magistrate of Mizhou, the prefect of Xuzhou and the prefect of Huzhou, with outstanding political achievements. The overall style of his poems is that of a long day in the desert, and the content of his poems mostly refers to official life to express political pride. For a period of time, he became a Hanlin scholar, but his works lacked the boldness and elegance of Jun Yao and Shun. Instead, he turned more and more to nature and the understanding of life. As for his exile in Danzhou, Huizhou in his later years, his indifferent and open-minded mood was even more revealed. , Inheriting the style of Huangzhou period works, restraining my life's thoughts, I transport things to my leisure, in order to achieve a state of tranquility.
Taking the Wutai poetry case as a boundary, Su Shi's poetry works have some creative aspects. There are also obvious differences in inheritance. Behind the "returning" complex that runs throughout, we see that the poet's writing style gradually changes from the boyish sighing to the helplessness of middle age and the broad-mindedness of old age - getting older and more mature, which leads to dullness. .
First of all, in terms of subject matter, his early works mainly reflected Su Shi's "specific political worries", while his later works focused on "broad life worries".
Su Dongpo, in his own words, his attitude in life in the past has always been to hate evil as much as hatred. When encountering evil, he would "vomit like a fly on the stage." In Hangzhou, in a poem to Kong Wenzhong, He showed his disdain for the powerful officialdom: "I am a deer by nature, so I am not a graceful person. "Not only that, he also groaned for the prisoners in the prison, and groaned for the old people who had no food or clothing. When he wrote about the rural pastoral atmosphere, the title he gave was "The Lament of the Field Woman in Wuzhong": "Sweat-stained shoulders and bare shoulders are thrown into the market, The price is low and begging is like chaff. Selling cattle to pay taxes and demolishing houses for food is not as superficial as next year's hunger." When he sang "Spring comes deep into the mountains, flowers are everywhere", he also wrote about the farmers' food. The bamboo shoots eaten by the farmers have no salty taste, just because "you will eat no salt in March." Directly pointing to the monopoly of the imperial court; he wrote about the conscripted people digging canals to transport salt ships, and his writing style was even more sharp and sharp: "People are like ducks and pigs, throwing themselves into mud and splashing in shock"; he criticized the poor and weak imperial court , he longed to "deliver to the kings of Yao and Shun", and longed for the day when he could "draw the eagle bow like a full moon, look northwest, and shoot at the wolf". He asked: "When will Feng Tang be sent to Zhijie Yunzhong?" He said frivolously: "Who is afraid?" You can live your whole life in mist and rain! ”
However, “This world is just a big dream. "Autumn is cold several times in life". Dongpo's "Long Clouds and Flowing Waters" triggered the Wutai Poetry Case. After the dream, he was relegated to Huangzhou and lived a life in which "the harshness of irony, the sharpness of his pen, as well as the tension and anger have all disappeared and appeared in their place." It is a kind of radiant, warm, kind and broad consciousness. Sweet and mature, thorough and deep. "While playing chess, he realized: "When you play, you win or lose, but when you play, there is nothing." In the quiet forest and quiet mountains, he suddenly realized: "The cool night is playing the flute and the moon is shining over thousands of mountains, and the dark road is charming and charming with hundreds of flowers. After playing chess, I don’t know how people have changed, and when I’m in the wine shop, I can’t help but miss my family." He no longer clings to "working hard to achieve the goals of the time" but "the boat will pass away from now on, and the rivers and seas will spend the rest of his life. "So when Su Shi was traveling around Red Cliff, facing "the cool breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains", he sighed, "Between heaven and earth, everything has its own owner. If it is not mine, I can't take any of it." Understood by the world, he is independent and willing to be a lone bird: "I pick up all the cold branches and refuse to live on the lonely sandbank. "
Secondly, in terms of culture, he advocated Confucianism in the early stage and Taoism in the later stage.
In the early stage, he was eager to succeed in his career as an official. Even if he had the intention of "going back", He is also "like a boat that wants to return to heaven and earth" and "when he has achieved success and fame, he will return to his hometown." He has the social responsibility advocated by Confucianism, and he is deeply concerned about the suffering of the people: "The autumn crops are not enough for the eyes, and the wheat seeds are also scarce." I will always be ashamed of this country, with thorns in my skin. Five thousand books in his life, not a single word can save him from hunger." He longed to show off his majesty on the battlefield, "It doesn't matter if there is a little frost on the temples! In the cloud of Chijie, when will Feng Tang be sent? "Especially when he was in Xuzhou, Miss., his WTO spirit of forging ahead and serving the country was always very strong.
In his political articles, Su Shi repeatedly elaborated on the idea in the "Book of Changes" that "Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman strives to constantly strive for self-improvement." He hoped that "the emperor will suddenly show his vigorous power" and be motivated to reform and cheer for reform.
In the later period, especially after being demoted twice, he advocated Taoist culture more and returned to Buddhism in an attempt to gain religious liberation. He realized that he and the dignitaries of the imperial court were no longer the same family. The so-called "fame and great fortune" that people pursue are already "the bones of the crane are frosty and the heart is gray" to him. He can only work hard and laboriously. He no longer has the heroic ambition of "looking northwest and shooting the wolf". "The poor ape is already dead". Throwing himself into the forest, a tired horse begins to unsaddle." For Su Dongpo, who had an ups and downs in his official life, he expressed the truest emotion from the bottom of his heart: "I am so melancholy in the snow in the southeast, how clearly can I see life?" He was deeply inspired by the Buddhist saying "A normal mind is the way". Huangzhou, Huizhou, Danzhou and other places lived the life of real farmers and enjoyed it. When the Empress Dowager allowed him to live by Taihu Lake, he was overjoyed: "After ten years of dreaming, I sent it to the west wind, and here I am really a farmer." He was finally able to travel in a small boat and "travel to the eight extremes of the world". After a long drought, Su Dongpo was as happy and satisfied as the farmers. He wrote a poem: "The rain is three feet high, and the fortune is unpredictable. I gave up and slept happily, lying down listening to the clogs of the people on the east side of the wall. The rotten Confucian worked hard. I have been working hard for a hundred years, and I have been able to walk a thousand steps across the mountain and spring in the northwest. Everyone knows that I have no money."
Thirdly, In terms of style, the early works are majestic and unrestrained, like floods breaking through embankments and gushing thousands of miles; while the later works are ethereal, timeless, simple and light, like the fragrance of deep willows and white pear blossoms.
As far as lyrics are concerned, looking at Su Shi’s more than 300 lyrics, there are only a few works that are truly bold and bold. According to Mr. Zhu Jinghua’s statistics, similar works account for all of Su Shi’s lyrics. About one-tenth of the total, most of which were concentrated in Xuzhou, Mizhou, were the mainstream creations of that period: There are poems such as "I have a thousand words on my pen, and thousands of volumes in my mind, to Jun Yao and Shun. Why is this so difficult! Use the time to give up, and the action is hidden in Why don't I sit back and watch? I'm tall and strong, but I'm still young, and I can show my sharpness in front of the bottle fight; "Jiangchengzi's Hunting in Mizhou" must not be "a seventeenth or eighteenth-year-old woman, holding a red tooth plate". To sing, "the strong men of Dongzhou stood with their palms in their hands and stamped their feet to sing, playing the flute and drums to mark the festival, which was quite spectacular." Although these works are not dominant in quantity, they truly reflect Su Shi's active advancement as an official during that period. mentality.
Some of the later works not only have the style of local customs, but also entertain the guests, and are beautiful and charming. Such as chanting about objects and romance, describing travels and scenery, feeling nostalgic about the past, giving and leaving farewells, pastoral scenery, talking about Zen and reasoning, they are almost all-encompassing and colorful. And this part accounts for about nine out of ten of Su Shi's poems. Although there is also the great lamentation of "the world is like a dream, a bottle of wine still reflects the moon in the river", but more of it is the small sympathy of "the flowers have faded and the wine has faded, spring has arrived, and a little sourness has already grown on the branches". He ran away. As a man in the officialdom, he began to observe nature quietly: "The forest is broken, the bamboos are hidden in the mountains, the cicadas are scattered in the small ponds, and the grass is scattered in the small pond." He increasingly felt that words could not bear the pain in his heart: "The spring mountains are so shy that they are silent, and the deep meaning in front of others is difficult to ignore. "Tell me"; he merged nature and human beings into one: "Spring scenery is divided into three parts, two parts are dust, and one part is running water. If you look closely, they are not poplar flowers. They are separated from each other by human tears." There is a lot of Zhuangzi turning into butterflies and selflessness. All forgotten taste. At this point, he has expelled all dissatisfaction with reality and politics, hysterical roars, and needle-point criticism. Its subject matter becomes wider and wider, and its style becomes more and more plain and far-reaching.
The reason why Su Shi’s poems changed so much in the early and later periods
Mr. Muzhai’s discussion of this issue has been very insightful, and I will quote it directly: “The poem’s impact on the poet’s thoughts and ideas Some people say that the poetry case was a turning point in Su Shi's life: Su Shi's original life of "working hard and having aspirations for the world" and "devoting his life to Jun Yao and Shun" turned into an artistic life of "talking about creation and wandering around". , the poem is mainly a profound reflection on the life of an official; after that, his painful soul found a home in the natural world and discovered a new realm of life. Some people also say that during the Huangzhou period, "The object of Su Dongpo's spiritual sustenance was not fame and fortune. I temporarily moved to Dongpo for my career and moved to nature. This is a kind of alienation from the ruling group, which cannot but have its positive significance." The poem case was like a nightmare to Su Shi. The life after the dream of being demoted to Huangzhou freed Su Shi from the specific political sorrow. , re-understand society, and re-evaluate the meaning of life.”
Now I will briefly expand on this issue from the perspective of Mr.
First of all, changes in living environment are the objective reasons for the changes in Su Shi's works. After the Wutai Poetry Case, Su Dongpo was relegated to Huangzhou and stayed away from officialdom. In Huangzhou, he wrote in a letter to his friend Zhang Chun: "I am living in a monk's house, clothed in cloth, drinking vegetables, and having a meal with the monk. It is a simple matter. I am afraid of its arrival. I am so poor that I lose my sense of reason." , but Lin and Lu are inseparable, and I am afraid that in the next few years, there will be disturbances of hunger and cold. However, as the saying goes, everything will be done when the time comes. How can I be worried about it? When I first arrived, I saw the governor. It is necessary to read books when living idle, but the Buddhist scriptures are used to drive the sun away, and there is no need to read the pen or inkstone." We can see that in a superficial sense, Su Shi lived in Huangzhou, Huizhou, Danzhou and other places, but his exile was different from that of others. Same. He "lives in a monk's house", "meals with the monks", and "only uses Buddhist scriptures to keep him busy". This shows that he has gradually become Buddhist in his daily life.
Secondly, we advocate the thoughts of Buddha and Laoism. The Wutai Poetry Case was the result of Su Shi's deep suspicion of Confucian official thoughts. When he was frustrated in his official career, he naturally tended to Buddhist and Taoist thoughts. He wrote in "Records of Anguo Temple": "I arrived at Huangshe in the second month of the lunar month. The hall was roughly arranged, and I was given a little food and clothing. I closed the door but swept the house to collect the souls. I retreated and thought about myself, seeking ways to make a new start. Reflect on the past. The actions and thoughts are all wrong, and this is not the only reason why I am offended now. If I want to learn one thing, I am afraid of losing the other. If I try to find it in the same way, I will regret it and say: Dao is not enough to control Qi, nature. It is not enough to master the practice, but to cultivate the roots. Although I am changing it now, I will do it again in the future. For a day or two, I went to burn incense and sit in silence. Then I forgot about things and myself, and my body and mind were empty. I couldn't get rid of any sins. ．Nothing attached to it. Just enjoy it privately..." "Return to the Buddha and the Sangha and ask for a cleanse", "I forget everything, and my body and mind are empty." This shows that his heart has begun to distance itself from Confucianism and is increasingly moving towards Buddhist and Laoist thought.
Third, the three religions of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are integrated into one. On the surface, Su Shi abandoned Confucianism and followed Taoism, but in fact, the concepts of Confucianism had been deeply rooted in his heart, and Su Shi combined the emergence of Buddhism and Taoism with the traditional Confucian thought of "If you are great, you can benefit the world; if you are poor, you can only benefit yourself." " is unified with "cultivating oneself and governing others" in the Song Dynasty, so his works are all-encompassing, including talking about Zen and reasoning, nostalgic for the past and reflecting on the present. When he was in Huangzhou, Su Shi traveled around the world leisurely: "I have nothing to do in my life, and I have looked down on this world. Thoughts and thoughts have their own calamities, and dust and dust have their own boundaries. Looking down at the living creatures, they are like mosquitoes and gnats." When he was in Huizhou, he Transcendence and indifference: "We are happy to win, and we are happy to lose. We are happy to travel and chat with each other." In Danzhou, he is unfazed by favors and humiliations, walks through dangers as if he were on the road, and behaves as if he is facing danger: "Spring ox spring staff, infinite spring breeze comes to the sea. Begging for spring." The work is dyed pink like flesh. The spring flags are like spring, and a spring breeze blows away the wine. It's not like the poplars in the sky, which are like snowflakes." Su Shi had bad luck in his life. The officialdom was ups and downs, and he was exiled twice. The Wutai Poetry Case was a low point in Su Shi's career, but it was an important turning point in his literary career. This unsatisfactory official career and the ups and downs of reality made him step out of the market and the court, and place his spiritual world more in Buddhism, Zen, green mountains and beautiful waters. Therefore, in a greater sense, he achieved Dongpo style " Free and easy, ethereal and transcendent.”