Su Shi (1037-1101), courtesy name Zizhan and Dongpo Jushi, was a native of Meishan, Meizhou (now Meishan, Sichuan) in the Northern Song Dynasty. Together with his father Su Xun and his younger brother Su Zhe, they are collectively known as the "Three Sus", and they are both included in the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". In the history of Chinese literature, there are many famous examples of father and son, brother, uncle and nephew being called together. For example, Cao Cao and his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period were collectively called the "Three Caos". Ruan Ji and his nephew Ruan Xian in the late Three Kingdoms period were also called the "Big and Little Ruan". ", Lu Ji and his younger brother Lu Yun in the Western Jin Dynasty are collectively called "Er Lu", Pan Yue and his nephew Panni are collectively called "Two Pans", brothers Yuan Zongdao, Yuan Hongdao and Yuan Zhongdao of the Gong'an faction in the Ming Dynasty are collectively called "Three Yuan", etc. . In terms of overall level and social influence, Sansu and his sons are undoubtedly the highest. Among the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties" (all prose writers) who are famous in history, their family accounts for three, which is really an amazing miracle. Among them, Su Shi's achievements are particularly astonishing: in terms of prose, he is called "Ou Su" together with Ouyang Xiu, the leader of the ancient prose movement in the Northern Song Dynasty; in terms of poetry, he is called "Su Huang" together with Huang Tingjian, the founder of the Jiangxi Poetry School; in terms of lyrics , he founded the bold school and was called "Su Xin" together with Xin Qiji, the great poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. It is probably difficult to find another all-around writer like Su Shi who has reached the first-class level in poetry, lyrics and prose and made great contributions in the history of literature. In addition, he was good at calligraphy and was respected as the head of the "Four Song Masters" (the other three are Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, and Cai Xiang). He was also good at painting. Later generations called him the "Five Unique Masters" of poetry, poetry, literature, calligraphy, and painting. ", he is truly a person for the ages, a person for the ages!
He is such a talented writer, but his life experience is full of ups and downs and hardships.
As early as his teenage years, Su Shi, who was smart and studious, was "hard-working and ambitious" and had the ambition to serve the country and secure the people. In the second year of Jiayuan (1057), Su Shi, who was only 21 years old, and his younger brother Su Zhe were awarded Jinshi in the same discipline. They became famous in the capital for their outstanding talents and were deeply appreciated by the literary leader Ouyang Xiu. However, at this time, his mother Cheng died of illness. Su Shi immediately returned to his hometown with his father and younger brother for the funeral, and stayed at home for two years. In the next ten years, Su Shi suffered the loss of his wife and father, and only served as the judge of Fengxiang Mansion for more than three years. In the second year of Xining (1069), Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty appointed Wang Anshi as a political advisor and began to reform. Although Su Shi advocated political reform, he advocated gradual progress and resolutely opposed Wang Anshi's reforms, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the New Party. Su Shi served as a local official. When he saw some shortcomings in the implementation of the new law, he often wrote poems to ridicule it, which further intensified the conflict with the new party. In the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), opportunistic politicians in the New Party arrested him on the charge of "slandering the New Deal" and attempted to put him to death. This is the famous "Wutai Poetry Case". After many rescues (including a letter from Wang Anshi, who had retired), Su Shi was appointed deputy envoy of Tuanlian in Huangzhou (today's Huanggang, Hubei). He was resettled in the state and was not allowed to sign official documents. This was his first major political blow. After Shenzong's death, Zhezong succeeded to the throne, and Empress Dowager Gao controlled the government, with Sima Guang, who opposed the reform, as prime minister. Su Shi was also appointed, and successively served as Zhongshu Sheren, Hanlin scholar Zhizhigao, and the official of the Ministry of Rites. The old party abolished the new law, but Su Shi had reservations and advocated using both the director and the director. This in turn aroused the dissatisfaction of the old party, and he had to repeatedly ask to be a local magistrate. After the death of Empress Dowager Gao, Zhe Zong came into power, and the New Party, which had already deteriorated, regained power. Su Shi suffered repeated blows and was demoted to Huizhou (today's Huiyang, Guangdong) and Danzhou (today's Dan County, Hainan), becoming a lonely minister who was exiled to the end of the world. It was not until the third year of Yuanfu (1100) that he was ordered to cross the sea from Danzhou and return to the north. He passed away the next year at the age of sixty-five. In short, Su Shi's second half of his life has been caught between the struggle between the new party and the old party, with many ups and downs and many hardships. Although he made some achievements when he was a local official, he was far from realizing his ambition of enriching the country and strengthening the army. In his later years, his situation became even more desolate and deplorable.
However, in the impression of ordinary people, Su Shi is by no means the kind of sad and self-pitying down-and-out person, but a bold and free-spirited, distinctive personality and a great writer who created a generation of trends. Indeed, as one of the most outstanding writers in the history of Chinese literature, Su Shi always pursued the value of life and the promotion of personality despite his disappointments, complaints, and grief. This depends first of all on his noble and upright personality, his concern for the country and his people, his optimistic and cheerful mind, and his happy-go-lucky attitude towards life. And all of this was devoted to his lifelong literary creation.
Literature expresses Su Shi’s ideals and aspirations.
For example, the famous song "Jiangchengzi·Hunting in Mizhou":
I am chatting like a teenager, holding a yellow hand on the left, holding a blue sky on the right, wearing a brocade hat and mink fur, and riding thousands of horses on a flat hill. In order to repay Qingcheng, he followed the prefect, shot tigers himself, and watched Sun Lang. It doesn't matter if your chest and gallbladder are still open after the wine is drunk, and there is a slight frost on your temples. In the cloud of holding the knot, when will Feng Tang be sent? He will hold the eagle bow like the full moon, look northwest, and shoot at the wolf.
The first part of the poem describes the grand occasion of hunting, and the second part expresses the heroic sentiments of serving the country. "I can draw the eagle bow like a full moon, look northwest, and shoot the wolf" is particularly vivid and exciting. Another example is the even more popular song "Niannujiao·Chibi Nostalgic": The great river goes eastward, and the waves are gone, and the romantic figures of the ages are revealed. On the west side of the fort, the way of humanity is, Chibi, Zhou Lang of the Three Kingdoms. Rocks and clouds collapsed, stormy waves crashed onto the shore, and thousands of piles of snow rolled up. The country is picturesque, and there are so many heroes at one time! I think back to Gong Jin's time, when Xiao Qiao was married for the first time, and he looked majestic and heroic. Feather fans and silk scarves, while talking and laughing, the boats and oars disappeared into ashes. My motherland wanders in my mind, I should laugh at my passion, and I will be born early. The world is like a dream, a bottle returns the moonlight over the river.
The whole poem is majestic, powerful and shocking, creating a new realm for Song poetry and is known as the "eternal masterpiece". Reciting this magnificent poem, who would have thought that Su Shi had been demoted to Huangzhou and was under tremendous mental pressure!
Literature exudes Su Shi's love for life. There are vivid descriptions of the beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland, such as the widely recited Qijue "Drinking on the Lake, First Sunny and Later Rain" (Part 2): The clear water is beautiful only when the water is shining, but the mountains are empty and covered with rain, which is also strange. If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, it is always better to put on light makeup and heavy makeup.
Here are written descriptions of life scenes, such as the Qilu "Two Poems on the New City Road" (Part 1): The east wind knows that I want to walk in the mountains, and it blows away the sound of rain on the eaves. On the ridge, it is sunny and rainy, and people wear woolen hats. On the treetops, there are copper ceremonials hung on the first day. The wild peaches are smiling, the bamboo fence is short, and the willows in the stream shake the sand and the water is clear. People in Xihuan should be the happiest, boiling sunflowers and burning bamboo shoots for spring plowing.
There is deep affection here to cherish life and all beautiful things, such as Qi Jue's "Begonia": the east wind is full of admiration, and the moon is full of fragrant mist in the corridor. I was afraid that the flowers would fall asleep late at night, so I burned a high candle to illuminate my red makeup.
Here is also his unique discovery of the philosophy of life. For example, Qijue's "Ti Xilinbi", which is full of wit and interest, looks like a ridge from the side and a peak from the side, with different heights from near and far. I don’t know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I am in this mountain. With only twenty-eight characters, it is written in a broad way and is thought-provoking. It is far superior to those poems that specifically describe the scenery of Mount Lu. The phrase "I don't know the true face of Mount Lu" has become a idiom known to women and children, and has long-lasting vitality. Another example is another famous Qijue poem, "Two Poems of Hui Chong's Dawn Scenery on the Spring River" (Part 1): There are two or three peach blossoms outside the bamboo, a prophet of the warmth of the spring river. The ground is covered with wormwood and reed buds are short, which is when the puffer fish is about to come. In the bright picture, movement and stillness complement each other, and it is full of life. The phrase "The duck is a prophet when the water in the spring river warms" is both unexpected and profound in physics and philosophy. It is truly a stroke of genius.
It is precisely because of his full love for life that Su Shi has never been overwhelmed by hardships and hardships, but always faces life with a smile. Even though he was demoted to Lingnan in his later years and found himself in a difficult situation, he still found the joy of life at any time. For example, the second part of "Eating Lychees" says: "If you eat three hundred lychees a day, you will grow up to be a Lingnan native." The relaxed style of writing reveals an independent personality.
Literature is steeped in Su Shi’s touching true feelings. There is a feeling of brotherhood that depends on each other in life and death. For example, "Two Poems about the Sons of the Yushitai Prison" (Part One) says: "I will be brothers with you from generation to generation, and we will have an unfinished relationship in the next life." There is a warm and unforgettable feeling of friendship. , as in the Qilu "Going out to the suburbs with Pan Guo Ersheng on the 20th of the first lunar month to find spring": "We have agreed to meet here every year, so there is no need for old friends to summon their souls." There is an unforgettable love between husband and wife, such as the tear-jerking song "Jiang Chengzi" ·Dreams on the 20th Night of the First Month of Yi Mao": "Ten years of life and death are boundless. Without thinking, you will never forget it. A lonely grave thousands of miles away, no place to talk about desolation. Even if we meet, we should not know each other, our face is covered with dust, and our temples are like frost. The night comes and dreams suddenly come. Returning home, looking at each other silently, I can only shed a thousand tears. It is expected that my heart will break every year; on a bright moonlit night, there is also the sincere and pure love between men and women, such as the beautiful and graceful song " "Butterflies in Love with Flowers": "The flowers have faded and are red, green and apricots are small. When the swallows fly, the green water is surrounded by people. There are few willows blowing on the branches, and there is no grass anywhere in the world! There are swings in the wall and roads outside the wall. Pedestrians outside the wall, the beauty inside the wall smiles . The laughter gradually faded away, but the passion was ruthlessly annoyed. "...
Literature expresses Su Shi's yearning for a better life. The most representative of this yearning is the extremely romantic song "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" ("When will the bright moon come? Ask the sky for wine."). The whole article is written heartily and swayingly, and the conclusion goes like this: "I hope that people will live forever and travel thousands of miles to meet the beautiful lady."
"This is not only Su Shi's sincere wish in his troubled life, but also the unanimous voice of people yearning for happiness for thousands of years.
Yes, literature is an important part of Su Shi's life. Su Shi's spiritual home is a concentrated expression of the meaning of his life, and Su Shi himself has become an immortal literary spirit - a literary spirit bred by the landscape of Xishu, forever inspiring and guiding the arduous journey of life and the advancement of literature. People who bravely climb the mountains.