The ancients have always admired reading and loved to immerse themselves in thousands of mountains and rivers. Perhaps it is because they have traveled a long way and have rich experiences that they are good at gathering what they have seen and perceived in their lives into articles or poems.
Su Shi once wrote a poem about his insights into life while he was walking. Su Shi’s literary talent made every poem he wrote a masterpiece. So, what are the poems he wrote that reflect life?
Su Shi's life was full of ups and downs, but no matter what environment he lived in, it did not affect the development of his talents. On the contrary, the harder the environment, the more philosophical the works he creates. Because of his rich experience and excellent literary talent, the poems he wrote are always full of various emotions.
The reason why Su Shi was lucky enough to become famous has a lot to do with his mother.
Everyone knows how glorious it is to have three sou per class, but they don’t know the heartache of the mother behind it.
His father, Su Xun, was a second-rate boy before he got married. It was only after he got married that he began to clear away distracting thoughts and study hard.
Before he was ten years old, Su Shi hardly enjoyed his father's love. Because in the past ten years, his father had been on study tours and scientific examinations, and basically had no control over the life of the family. It was his mother, Mrs. Cheng, who raised him and his younger brother Su Che.
After Mrs. Cheng married into the Su family, she sold all her dowry in order to support her husband’s scientific examination. She usually does business while taking care of her family and educating her two sons.
Judging from the achievements of the two Su Shi brothers, Mrs. Cheng’s education was very successful.
Just when all three men in the family were promising, Mrs. Cheng died of overwork. The news of the death of a loved one instantly diluted all the joy.
Speaking of which, Su Shi also has a very special hobby? He likes to eat. The Dongpo Pork that everyone is familiar with is named after him. In addition to Dongpo Pork, there are many other foods named after him.
After he was demoted to Huangzhou for writing poetry, what he cared about most was still the food in Huangzhou. Huangzhou is rich in bamboo, so when he saw the bamboo forest, he thought of the delicious bamboo shoots. His life has been full of ups and downs. If he wasn't accompanied by delicious food, maybe even a free and easy person like him wouldn't be able to endure it.
However, although he seemed optimistic on the surface, he was actually very depressed in his heart. The ups and downs of officialdom made him feel tired of officialdom and even led to depression. When he was at his lowest, everyone regarded him as a beast and worried that they would be implicated by him.
Su Shi once wrote many letters to express his depression to his friends, but there was no response after all the letters were sent. When Su Shi wrote the letters, he might still have a glimmer of hope for friendship, but when these letters fell into the sea, he completely stopped thinking about friendship.
When he faces all problems, he almost always solves them with food. Dongpo elbow, Dongpo fish, etc. are all his favorites.
It was his spirit of being able to endure hardships and enjoy happiness, and also being good at enjoying hardships, that made him create "Donglan Pear Blossom":
He was composing this song Although he had not yet experienced the Wutai Poetry Case when he wrote the poem, he was already ostracized by the New Party. The difficulties in his official career were not the most serious. What really hit him was the death of his parents and wife.
After Su Shi left the court because of the exclusion of the New Party, he began to rush for his own official career. He first went to work in Mizhou, and then was transferred to Xuzhou. This poem was written to Kong Zonghan, who succeeded him in Mizhou.
Judging from the structure of the poem, this poem is a seven-character poem in praise of objects, but it is not just about sighing at the beautiful scenery, but more importantly, it is about expressing his views on life.
The first and second sentences of the poem describe the scene the poet saw: the pear blossoms are as white as snowflakes, and the branches and leaves on the willow trees are still dark blue.
The poet puts the white of pear blossoms and the deep green of willow leaves together. As soon as people read this poem, they can't help but paint a beautiful picture of spring scenery. Su Shi also used this unique method , tell the world about your innocence.
The spring breeze blows, and catkins mixed with pale white pear blossoms fly all over the city, making people completely immersed in this beautiful scenery. If the first sentence describes pear flowers from a static perspective, the second sentence describes it from a dynamic perspective.
When the catkins and pear blossoms are in full bloom, that is when all the flowers are in full bloom. Spring is here, life is full of life, and everything looks wonderful. But facing such a beautiful scenery, Su Shi had no intention of admiring it because his heart was full of melancholy.
Spring is indeed beautiful, but it is as short-lived as dusk. In the first two sentences. It describes the poet's emotion about the passage of time from the side. The third line of the poem expresses the melancholy in the poet's heart. He compares himself to the faint pear blossom. Living in a filthy environment, his heart is as pure as the snowy pear blossom.
Su Shi experienced many things in the officialdom and had ups and downs in life, so why not be like the pear blossom in the east column? Rather than saying that he was praising Lihua, it would be better to say that he was lamenting himself.
People are living in confusion, and not many people must be able to see themselves thoroughly and clearly. Therefore, Su Shi's last sentence also expressed his disdain for life.
Su Shi has an open-minded personality. Although he has declined all the way in his career, he has not become decadent because of it. Instead, he hopes that he can be like a pear blossom, living in the secular world without being dirty.
When Su Shi wrote this poem, he was in adversity.
But even though he was ostracized by political opponents and all his relatives died one after another, he was still able to maintain this detached thought. This shows how tenacious his character is.
Perhaps Su Shi is the only one who can lead a life as free and easy as Su Shi's.
Yu Guangzhong once said that if he were asked to choose an ancient poet to travel with, he would definitely not choose Li Bai, because this person only pursues romance and has no sense of reality at all. He was also unwilling to travel with Du Fu, because Du Fu's life was too miserable, and he was miserable no matter where he went, which was contrary to the meaning of travel. He most wanted to go with Su Shi because Su Shi's character was his favorite.
Indeed, how many people can still maintain their human nature after experiencing so many ups and downs like Su Shi? I'm afraid he's the only one? No wonder even Yu Guangzhong is so optimistic about him!