My father, Su Xun, used to have the same personality, but it gradually became clear during his years of travel. It is precisely because of his understanding of Su Shi's personality that his father Su Xun will pay more attention to guiding Su Shi to cultivate patience and optimism, and even pave the way for Su Shi to enter the officialdom early. He will come up with excellent thank-you forms and articles for Su Shi's reference when writing, and he will also ask Su Zhe to write them together.
Brother Su Zhe Bisushi.
Because his younger brother Su Zhe is a few years younger than Su Shi, and Su Zhe is easy-going, his father Su Xun has lower requirements for Su Zhe, but he is not relaxed at all. So he asked Su Shi: As a brother, you must set a good example for your younger brother. Every word is required to be written well, and no omission is allowed. ?
Father Su Xun also warned Su Shi: You were born honest and frank, and you don't know how to hide it. Although he has extraordinary talent in composition, he has made little achievements in reading, but his temperament is unreasonable. In the future, whether you are studying or writing, both of you should learn from each other and learn from each other. Never be complacent, let alone dabble. ?
Perhaps his father, Su Xun, knew in his heart that Su Shi's talent was better than Su Zhe's, but his personality would be an obstacle to his progress, and only by being better can he gain a foothold. Sure enough, Su Shi surpassed his younger brother Su Zhe in talent all his life, but his younger brother Su Zhe was superior to Su Shi in official position, and his life situation was more smooth.
Life is as long as a marathon It is talent that makes a person dazzling, but too dazzling will attract more attention and more storms, and life will disrupt the pace of a long life, which can only be called helplessness.
Su Shi on Xia Houxuan
On one occasion, Su Xun asked Su Shi to write an essay on "On Xiahou Taichu", and the article handed in by Su Shi made him shine at the moment.
Xia Houxuan, the word Tai Chu, was an important official of Wei State during the Three Kingdoms period. At that time, Sima Yi, the stepfather of Sima Shi, acted arbitrarily. At that time, Xia Houxuan participated in the plot to overthrow Sima Shi, but he was arrested after leaking secrets.
Xia Houxuan is famous for his calm temperament. It is said that once he was leaning against a pillar to write a book, it suddenly rained heavily. The pillar on which he leaned was split by lightning and his clothes were burnt, but he still kept his face unchanged. Xia Houxuan remained calm when he was arrested and executed. It was in that article that Su Shi commented: People can break the wall of 1000 yuan, but they can't lose their voices in the kettle; You can kill tigers, but you can't be stung by bees. ? What I'm talking about here is a brave man who has the courage to break priceless jade, but he may be shocked by the rupture of the clay pot; Have the courage to kill tigers, but you may be frightened to disgrace in the face of wild bee venom scorpions. These two sentences by Su Shi illustrate the different states of a person when he is mentally prepared and when he is not.
Su Shi explained his writing intention to his father: Xia Houxuan can remain calm and indifferent to death in such a thunderous situation, which just shows that Xia Houxuan is a real warrior. ?
These two sentences in Su Shi's article are exquisite and witty, which left a deep impression on Su Xun. Su Shi also liked these two sentences, which were later used by Yan Laoting in Fu on the Mouse and Preface to Poetry.
Su Shi won the first place in one fell swoop.
Su Xun likes to give Su Shi questions, because it is a pleasure for Su Xun to see how he responds and how to solve them. On another occasion, Su Xun read Ouyang Xiu's "Xie Xuan went to a bachelor's college and thanked his clothes, gold belt and horse watch", so he called Su Shi out and asked him to write an article on it.
In Su Xun's mind, Su Shi will definitely use these articles when he grows up. Sure enough, as Su Xun expected, Su Shi won the first prize in one fell swoop, then went to the bachelor's college frequently, and was given clothes, gold belts and horses by the emperor many times. This kind of thank-you table is written a lot, and sometimes Su Shi also uses the sentences he wrote when he was a child. I have to say, Su Xun, as a father, thinks long for his son.
Although Su Shi was a newcomer in officialdom at this time, his father Su Xun made him mature rapidly in dealing with people. Besides, Su Shi has been taught by Su Xun, and his vision has already expanded.
His father's teaching was not in vain, and Su Shi quickly emerged after entering the officialdom. His talent made him a dazzling star in the court. He is well-read and knowledgeable. When he was a bachelor of Hanlin, every imperial edict he handled was brilliant.
Historians have something to say: There are so many historical materials and readily available allusions quoted by Su Shi that he never needs to read books and materials. ? In the later days, Su Shi wrote more than 800 letters, with accurate and vivid words, which showed his talent everywhere.
Father woke up and showed it to Su Shi.
A new theme, a young fame, Su Shi's existence, like a light, shines in the sky of the Northern Song Dynasty. There is never a shortage of people in officialdom, what's more, Su Shi's talent has long been recognized by the emperor and Ouyang Xiu. For a time, Su Shi was all smiles in the officialdom, and he was invited everywhere, and he was always invited to enjoy flowers and drink. Su Xun is very proud, but he is also worried that Su Shi's sharp edge will bring him disaster.
Life is always like this. When I was young, I had the time and energy to pay the frivolous price, but I didn't have enough wisdom to see how deep the price was. When people reach middle age, they have the wisdom to preserve their self-esteem and life, but they don't have the blood and passion of their youth. Father Su Xun has been there before. He knows his children. It is also the most dangerous moment when a person is full of ambition. In order to remind his two sons, Su Xun wrote an article called "Two Sons", and every sentence was full of deep fatherly love and admonition.
Wheels, spokes, car covers and rims all perform their duties in a car. Only the car stone, as the exposed crossbar of the car, is useless. Once lost, the whole car will collapse. I named you Shi to remind you that you should not be too direct in life, but also need to be decorated. ?
Father's reminder didn't play much role. Su Shi understood his father's article, but he didn't understand his father's intention. Or he understands these intentions, but he still doesn't know how to call it exterior decoration.
In officialdom, no matter who he talks to, Su Shi knows everything and talks about everything. Because he will never hide it from others, nor will he make any slight changes, he may be doomed to experience more ups and downs.
My brother Su Zhe's career is always better than Su Shi's.
To outsiders, Su Shi's situation is in full swing, but to his father Su Xun and his younger brother Su Zhe, he is standing in the wind. If you can't use strength, then its future risks are unpredictable. Su Zhe saw this long ago, so he kept warning his brother in his letters.
In the future, my brother Su Zhe's career will be as ups and downs as my brother Su Shi, but the situation will always be better than Su Shi's. Perhaps Su Shi's literary title is too strong, or perhaps Su Zhe is relatively low-key. However, even if Su Shi, a talented genius, keeps a low profile in the dust, his political opponents will never relax their hostility towards him.
In Song Renzong's eyes, Su Shi, who spoke frankly and dared to remonstrate, was really frank in the future, but he paid a lot for it. Perhaps, for Su Shi, who is not good at keeping a low profile, in the unpredictable officialdom, he needs not only acumen, but also adaptation and change.
abstract
Unfortunately, Su Shi failed to understand what change is all his life. It was his persistence that made Su Dongpo unique in history and his bumpy life.