It should be like Hong Fei stepping through the snow.
As an all-rounder in poetry, writing, calligraphy and painting, Su Shi was the most intimate and favorite object of literati in the late feudal society of China. In fact, Su's literary and artistic achievements are not too high, not as good as Qu, Tao, Li and Du. The original painting will never be seen again In other words, words are not as good as poems, poems are not as good as words, and the number of words is not too much. But he has a great influence in the history of China literature and art, and is an important figure in the history of aesthetics. What is the reason? In my opinion, his typical significance is that he is the earliest vivid personality embodiment of the contradiction between landlords and literati. He developed the contradictory binary psychology of enterprising and retiring in the middle and late Tang Dynasty to a new qualitative point.
On the one hand, Su Shi was loyal to the monarch and patriotic, learned well and became an official, aspired to be lofty and adhered to Confucianism, which was fully manifested in his words and deeds, such as the Book of the Emperor and his moderate and conservative stance on Xining's political reform. This is no different from Du Fu, Bai, Han and countless scholars and intellectuals of the next generation, and sometimes it even seems too orthodox and pedantic to imagine (for example, accusing Li Bai of participating in sending troops, etc.). However, it should be noted that the main image left by Su Dongpo to future generations is not this side, but just the other side of him. The latter aspect is the key to the prosecution being prosecuted. Su never retired and never really returned to the battlefield. However, the emptiness expressed in his poems is deeper and heavier than any oral or actual "retreat", "return to the field" and "seclusion" of his predecessors. Because the state of mind of "retreat" expressed in Su Shi's poems is not only a retreat to politics, but also a retreat to society; It is not the fear and sorrow of political killing, nor the specific political sorrow of "I mourn for its yellowbird, who can stop it" (Ruan Ji), "Glory is sincere and expensive, but also pitiful" (although Su has this kind of sorrow), but the doubt, boredom and desire to get rid of and abandon the fundamental problem of what the purpose and significance of all the troubles in the world are. This is of course a deeper layer than the former. The former (quitting politics) is possible, while the latter (quitting society) is actually impossible, except becoming a monk. However, as a monk, he still has to dress and eat, and he still has troubles and can't escape from society. This has become a kind of boredom and sadness that can't be let go of the whole life and needs to be freed. If we can say that the self-consciousness of life in A Moonlit Night on a Spring River is just a sigh of youth, it is sad, but it doesn't feel heavy. Then, the situation here is just the opposite. Although I didn't talk much, I felt heavier. Now I know the taste of sadness, and I want to say it, but I want to say it, but it's cool and good. However, in the forced smile, doesn't it also reveal the helplessness and heavy sadness of the evening? Although not so conscious, this sense of emptiness in life, this deep lament for the whole existence, universe, life and society, boredom, hopelessness and hopelessness, was first fully revealed by Su Shi in the field of literature and art.
Before and after the famous "Red Cliff Fu", this problem was directly discussed. The sentimental life and the consolation forced to get rid of it all showed this point and significance to some extent. Whether it is "flying to heaven and earth, a drop in the ocean", "lamenting the moment when I was born and admiring the infinity of the Yangtze River" or "from my own point of view, heaven and earth can't be in an instant; If we look at it from its unchanging point of view, then I am an endless "answer"; Whether it is "the breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains" ... it is the creator's endless hiding place, and my son and I are in the right place ",or" the Taoist laughs, gives it a shock, opens an account to see it, but can't see its position ",in fact, it is deeply related to this sense of emptiness and hopelessness in life.
Su Shi's "North Tour Station"
Su Ci is more subtle and profound: "The world is endless, and labor and life are limited, as if this area is long and fresh." Whispering, leaning on the saddle without words, the past is a thousand tails "; The world is a big dream, life is bleak several times, and the stormy night has sounded, looking at the eyebrows "; Surprised and turned back, no one saved, the cold branches refused to live, and the lonely sandbar was cold "; The spring is chilly, sober, slightly cold, and the mountains are oblique, but they are welcome. Looking back at the bleak place, there is no wind, no rain and no sunshine. "I drank Dongpo at night and woke up drunk. When I came back, it seemed to be midnight, and my children had already thundered. You shouldn't even knock on the door, but lean on your cane and listen to the sound of the river. I often hate that this body is not mine when I forget to go camping. Dead of night, calm, the boat has passed, and Jianghai will spend the rest of his life. ...
According to the legend in Notes of Song Dynasty, after Su wrote down the last small word quoted above, he "hung up his hat and served the river, and went to the boat to shout." Xu Junyou, the county magistrate, was surprised and scared. Thinking that the country had lost its sinners, he hurried to pay homage. But his son snores like thunder, and he is still unhappy (The Story of Shilin Summer Resort). He slept for a long time and didn't go to "Jianghai to spend the rest of his life". Originally, why did this happen? Because I can't escape from this world. Perhaps, only in Buddhism and Zen can I find some comfort and relief. It is this sense of vanity, remorse and indifference to the whole life that seeks detachment and failure and tries to dispel anti-banter, which makes Su Shi go in and out of Buddhism and talk about the world in his later years while serving Confucianism. As a result, flowing clouds, initial uncertainty, laughing and cursing have all become articles; There is no grief and indignation of Qu Yuan and Ruan Ji, no sincerity of Li Bai and Du Fu, no Qingming of Bai Juyi, no loneliness of Liu Zongyuan, and of course no arrogance of Han Yu. Su Shi's aesthetic pursuit is a simple, simple and natural interest, a life ideal and attitude of settling for second best, rejecting secularity, opposing affectation and decoration, and putting all this at a certain philosophical height of thorough understanding. No wonder Tao Qian is the best poet for Su Shi. Only Tao Yuanming, who "sees Nanshan leisurely under the hedge of picking chrysanthemums" and "really has a taste in it and forgets what he wants to say", is the object that Su Shi hopes to worship. Tao poetry in the late Tang Dynasty was not outstanding, and even Li and Du paid no attention to it. It was not until Su Shi came here that he was promoted to a unique level. Since then, this position has been consolidated. Su Shi found the beauty expressed in Tao poetry in extremely plain images and artistic conception, and regarded it as the essence of life and the peak of art. For thousands of years, Tao poetry has been circulated in this style of Su Hua.
Su Shi has an essay "Biography of Fangshan Zi", which says:
Fangshan Zi ... lives in a vegetarian house, stands aloof from the rest of the world, abandons his horses and chariots, destroys his crown and clothes, and goes hiking. People in the mountains are ignorant. ..... However, Fang had a noble valve, became an official, and engaged in it. It is obvious today that his home is in Luoyang, with a gorgeous garden house and a city owner. Hebei 10 years old has fields, which are inextricably linked, enough to be rich and happy. Don't give up, don't take it, and come to the poor mountain alone. It's no good. There are many strangers between Yu and Huang. They are often arrogant and dirty, but they can't be seen. What does Fang think?
This may be an idealized personality specimen of Su Shi. In short, don't be rich and heartless and unconventional. In that era of "peace and prosperity", Su Shi looked forward to this "alien" who lived in Ren Xia and abandoned his crown as an official. Didn't he express a unique attitude towards life like his poems?
Su Shi's cold food post
"What does life know everywhere? It should be like Hong Fei stepping through the snow. I accidentally left my fingers and claws in the mud, and Hong Fei was counting things. " What Su Shi conveys is this sense of chance in life with a little Zen. Although Su Shi constantly comforted himself, he always showed a carefree "optimistic" mood. "If you don't listen to the beating of leaves in the forest, why not sing and walk slowly" and "Why not frost your temples"; But unlike Tao Yuanming, Bai Juyi and others, there is always some idea of being born that requires complete liberation. No wonder Zhu, who has the same keen eye, is most dissatisfied with Su Shi. He would rather praise Wang Anshi than Su Like Dongpo. The same is true of Wang Chuanshan. They all felt that Su Shi's behavior was potentially destructive to the social order at that time. Su Dongpo's premature birth is not a denial of feudal society, but his aesthetic ideal and taste played an important pioneering role in the romantic trend of thought from Yuan Painting to Yuan Qu to the middle of Ming Dynasty. Until "A Dream of Red Mansions" in which "the fog is sorrowful and the forest is full of flowers", it is the result of this factor in the new period. Su Shi's far-reaching typical significance in later feudal aesthetics is actually here.