He is joking, whether friends or enemies. Once, in front of ministers, he played a joke on a Taoist priest and stung him with a word. Later, he had to bear the consequences. However, what others can't understand is that Su Dongpo will be angry because of something, but he won't hate people. He hates evil things, and he doesn't care to be an evil person. I just don't like such people. Because hating others is a sign of incompetence, Su Dongpo is no worse than others, so he never hates others. In a word, we get the impression that his life is full of singing and dancing, and he enjoys it and laughs when troubles come. I tried my best to describe his magic with this clumsy pen, and his magic also made countless scholars in China fall in love with him.
This book records the deeds of a poet, a painter and a close friend of an ordinary person. He has a keen sense, thorough thinking and beautiful writing. As a brave man, he will never waver for his own interests, nor will he change because of the secular. He is not good at making a living by himself. However, it is full of the spirit of living in harmony with the people. He is kind, warm, generous and kind to people. Although he didn't save a penny, he felt richer than the prince. Although he is stubborn and talkative by nature, he is witty, but sometimes he is too outspoken and witty; He is versatile, curious and thoughtful. Although he is deep, he can't help being frivolous. He doesn't stick to the rules, and his writing is natural and elegant. Being a father, a brother and a husband is based on Confucianism, but he is a pure Taoist in his bones, cynical and too discerning between right and wrong. As far as literary talent and knowledge are concerned, he is far above other scholars, so naturally there is no need to be jealous. Since he is great, he is naturally gentle and friendly to others and does no harm to himself. He is a simple and natural person and doesn't need to be noble. When he was bound by his official position, he claimed to be as short as a pony. In this troubled autumn, he is like a petrel in a political storm, an enemy of stupid bureaucrats, and a soldier who protects people from violence. Although emperors admired him and empresses were his close friends, Su Dongpo was repeatedly demoted, arrested and humiliated.
On one occasion, Su Dongpo said a few words to his younger brother Ziyou, saying it best and describing himself appropriately:
"I can accompany the jade emperor, I can accompany a beggar in British Columbia. There are no bad people in the world before me. "
So Su Dongpo lived a happy and fearless life, like a breeze, for no reason.
Su Dongpo's life experience is the natural expression of his nature. Metaphysics, he is a Buddhist. He knows that life is the expression of something in an instant and the form in which the eternal spirit exists in the body in an instant, but he refuses to accept that life is a burden and pain-he thinks it is not the case. As for himself, he enjoys every moment of his life. Metaphysics, he is a Hindu thought, but temperament, he is an authentic China temperament. From Buddhism's denial of life, Confucianism's face-up to life and Taoism's simplification of life, the poet's complex outlook on life came into being. The longest life span is only 36 thousand days, but it is long enough; Even if his pursuit of dewdrop elixir ultimately fails, every moment of life will be beautiful and gratifying as long as it lasts. Although his body will die, his spirit will become the stars in the sky and the rivers on the earth, which can shine and nourish nutrition, thus maintaining all living things. In this life, he is just a particle in an eternal moment. Which particle is he and why is it important? So life is immortal and beautiful after all, so he enjoys life to the fullest. This is the mysterious side of this prodigy optimist.
There is no footnote in the text of this book, but I have carefully quoted the information from the source and tried to use the original sentence, but the use of this information is not obvious on the surface. Because they all come from China. Footnotes for reference are not practical for most American readers. Sources of information can be found in the bibliography at the back of the book. In order to prevent readers from being bothered by the complexity of China's name, I have tried my best to eliminate the names of unimportant people. Sometimes I just use surnames and abbreviated names. In addition, people only use one name before and after, because China literati have four or five names. Some of the poems quoted in the original text are translated into English, and some are strange and unlike poems because there are allusions in the sentences. Without lengthy annotations, the meaning is still obscure. I just use prose to get a little meaning.