The four Sumen scholars refer to Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan, Chao Buzhi and Zhang Lei.
They were all Su Shi's favorite disciples and were highly praised by Su Shi. Moreover, it was Su Shi himself who named the four of them together. Under Su Shi's praise, the four of them quickly became famous all over the world. However, it should be noted that they have only received the literary influence of Su Shi and do not belong to the same school.
Huang Tingjian (1045~1105), whose courtesy name was Lu Zhi, also known as the Old Man of the Valley, was from Xiushui, Jiangxi. Huang Tingjian was the general leader of the Jiangxi Poetry School, the largest poetry school in the Song Dynasty. Fang Hui of the Southern Song Dynasty proposed the theory of one ancestor and three sects of Jiangxi Poetry School. The ancestor refers to Du Fu, and the sects refer to Huang Tingjian, Chen Shidao, and Chen Yuyi, which shows its influence. As far as poetry is concerned, Huang Tingjian's influence in the Southern Song Dynasty even exceeded that of Su Shi.
Qin Guan (1049-1100), whose courtesy name was Taixu, was also known as Hangou Jushi, and some people called him Huaihai Jushi. In the eyes of future generations, Qin Guan is the opposite of Huang Tingjian. He is most famous for his poetry. As an "ancient sad person" like Yan Jidao, his poems are full of heart-wrenching sorrow and hatred.
Chao Buzhi (1054-1110), whose courtesy name was Wujiu and nicknamed Gui Laizi, came from the famous Chao family in Juye, Shandong. In the Song Dynasty, scholars of the Chao family emerged in large numbers, and the stars were shining brightly. There were more than thirty Jinshi alone, among whom Chao Buzhi, Chao Chongzhi, Chao Shuozhi, Chao Yongzhi, etc.
Zhang Lei (1054~1114), courtesy name Wenqian and alias Keshan, was born in Huaiyin, Chuzhou (now Huaiyin, Jiangsu Province). "The young man read poems and books, intending to compete with Qu Jia. He talked about the strategy of overlord, and his energy was bright and colorful" (one of "Ten Poems on Autumn Huai"). There are biographies in "History of the Song Dynasty" and "Dongdu Shilue".
Respective achievements of the four Sumen scholars
Huang Tingjian is the founder of Jiangxi Poetry School. His poems were called "Valley Style" by Su Shi, and his calligraphy is also unique. He is also very accomplished in the literary world. His main representative works include "Gu Ci" and "Yuzhang Mr. Huang's Collected Works". His calligraphy works include "Songfeng Pavilion Poems", "Zhushang Tie", "Dianzhu Ming", etc. .
Qin Guan's poems are deeply touching and emotionally delicate. His main works include "Huaihai Collection", "Magpie Bridge Fairy·Xianyun Nongqiao", "Looking at the Sea Chao·Mei Ying Shudan", "Qinyuan Chun" ", "Huaihai layman's long and short sentences", etc. In addition, he is also relatively successful in calligraphy.
Chao Buzhi's main representative works include "Collection of Chicken Ribs" and "Chao's Musical Interests", etc. The style of his works is mainly concise and smooth prose language, which is similar to Liu Zongyuan's style. The style of poetry is bold and the elegant language is somewhat similar to Su Shi's style. Chao Buzhi has made achievements in poetry, prose, and lyrics, and his influence is also good.
Zhang Lei's main representative works include "Keshan Collection", "Wanqiu Collection", "Keshan Poems", etc. His poems are easy to read and comfortable, but they are often rough and sloppy, and his The language of the poem is relatively graceful, similar to Qin Guan, but it is rarely circulated, and it still has a great influence on the literary world in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty.