Here's the story. Su Shi was a great writer in the Northern Song Dynasty and made great achievements in poetry and prose. Once he visited Mr. Wang Anshi's home. Wang Anshi was not at home, so the housekeeper introduced Su Shi into his master's study to have a tea rest.
Su Shi is in the study, drinking tea and enjoying the famous calligraphy and painting in the master's study. Suddenly, he found an unfinished poem "Chanting Chrysanthemum" in the case of Wang Anshi. Two of them are:
Last night, the west wind swept through the garden, blowing off yellow flowers and gold everywhere.
Su Shi couldn't help laughing after reading it, thinking, "Chunlan Qiuju, a perennial herb, is known as the pride of snow." Regardless of the wind and rain, the petals of chrysanthemums will only dry up and will not fall. I didn't expect Wang Anshi, the famous prime minister of the dynasty, to have no common sense at all? " After a little meditation, he put pen to paper and added two sentences under Wang Anshi's poem:
Flowers in autumn are not better than those in spring, so talk to poets carefully.
After writing the poem, Su Shi was worried that Wang Anshi's return would cause unpleasant scenes, so he said goodbye to the housekeeper and left in a hurry.
After Su Shi left, Wang Anshi came back. The housekeeper reported, "Su Dongpo came, waited for you for a while and left."
Wang Anshi saw the continuation poem on the case in the study, and the ink was not dry. Knowing that it must be Su Dongpo, he couldn't help laughing to himself, and then said to himself, "Su Dongpo, Su Dongpo, you have the ability to read from memory and be eloquent. It's a pity that you don't observe things carefully and comprehensively! Didn't you learn Li Sao by heart? There is a poem' Evening Banquet and Autumn Chrysanthemum' in it. How to explain it? Don't you, a great talent and scholar who shocked the capital, even know this? It seems that your knowledge is limited! "
At the beginning of the third year of Yuanfeng in Song Shenzong, Su Dongpo was demoted to Yingyong's deputy envoy because of Wutai poetry case. One day, during the Double Ninth Festival, Su Dongpo invited his friend Chen Jichang to your house to drink and enjoy chrysanthemums. When he and Chen Jichang came to the back garden, Su Shi was surprised. The chrysanthemums that bloomed yesterday, after a night of autumn wind blowing, now, only some bare branches are swaying slightly in the autumn wind. The withered chrysanthemum stems are covered with golden chrysanthemum petals.
Chen Jichang saw Su Shi's surprised dementia and asked him why. After Su Shi sighed deeply, he told Wang Anshi in detail the sequel to his poem "Chanting Chrysanthemum".
Chen Jichang said: "Chrysanthemums usually have no petals, but Huangzhou is special. Chrysanthemums have no petals. Everything has its particularity. "
Su Shi realized that he was ashamed to say to Chen Jichang: "There seems to be nothing wrong with Prime Minister Wang Anshi's' Blowing Yellow Flowers Everywhere', and my' Autumn flowers are no worse than spring flowers' continues."
A few years later, Su Shi was recalled to Beijing. He went to Wang Anshi to explain his mistake.