The reason why he was demoted was because he was unruly and unreasonable. In the end, he offended the emperor and all the officials, leaving a joke to future generations. He was the most famous calligrapher in the Song Dynasty. He was good friends with Su Shi, Huang Tingjian and others, and his relationship was very friendly, but he was the strangest among these good friends.
Some people even called him a madman. His only hobby is his great love for stones. Although literati in ancient times liked to admire stones, he delayed his official duties because of his excessive obsession and was criticized by the court.
In a more serious situation, he was impeached by hundreds of officials for playing with things. But no matter what others say about him behind his back, he still goes his own way and is obsessed with stones. History records record that one year, there was an ancient stone in a government office. When he saw it, he liked it so much that he hurriedly knelt down and even wanted to recognize the stone as a relative. The guards in the yamen also knew how to please others, so they gave him this stone as a gift. Finally, he was forced by the pressure of public opinion from hundreds of officials. The emperor had to demote him to a small county town. But he didn't care. After that, he stopped participating in local crops and went to the market every day to buy stones. I had so much fun every day that I forgot about myself.
One time later, he discovered a stone that was regarded as a sacred stone by the local people. He liked the stone so much that he regarded the stone as his elder brother. The people felt that he was not suitable to be an official and condemned him and denounced his behavior. In the past, the relatives were recognized in the yamen, and they were all members of the government. But this time, the brother was recognized in public. From then on, his reputation as a lunatic spread among the people.
In the end, he himself lost his official position and was demoted to a commoner because of his lack of decency.