In this article, Su Zi describes his past chats with Wen Yuke. While expressing his admiration and nostalgia, he also describes himself as following the principles of all things and not sticking to realistic aesthetics. The integration of thoughts into it reflects Su Shi's uninhibited and uninhibited personality.
The article begins with a description of the process of painting bamboo. It first describes how the "joints and leaves" of bamboo grow from "an inch-long sprout" to maturity. Therefore, the bamboo joints are always present and are completely integrated with the bamboo as a whole. Therefore, when painting bamboo, one should not look at the bamboo itself and its joints separately. Many painters make this mistake by stacking bamboo joints one by one to form towering bamboos, which are stiff and unnatural and have excessive traces of artificial carving. Furthermore, it highlighted the praise for Wen Yu's technique of painting bamboo, that is, because he first looked at the bamboo as a whole, and then transformed it into his mind, and when he started writing again, he had the whole in mind instead of the parts, so he was able to draw "natural without carvings". Bamboo is different from other people who apply powder. While praising writing and painting skills, Su Shi used this to express his attitude towards artistic depiction. He emphasized looking at the whole and obeying the laws of nature, rather than sticking to the local and neglecting the essentials. This was very consistent with his attitude towards life. Su Shi, as a literary master who founded the Bold and Unconstrained School, had a spiritual realm similar to that of the Poet Immortal who plays with the world. But he is different from the mistiness of the relegated immortal. Su Shi organically combines the body with the smell of fireworks with the indifferent and tranquil soul, forming an open-minded and unrestrained but real and amiable character, which is most vividly reflected in "Why not scream and walk slowly" followed by "Bamboo" "The stick shoe is lighter than the horse", "The family boy's breath has thundered" and "the river and the sea will send him the rest of his life", which makes him not because he was born, but because he can grasp the whole and not stick to the success or failure of the moment; because he can let go and obey the laws of nature without hesitation. Care about personal gains and losses, so that you can be free and easy, as if you are willing to play in the world. The open-mindedness and magnanimity in this turned into his aesthetic thoughts of looking at the whole and obeying the laws of nature, which were integrated into his literary and artistic works, forming a school of its own.
The following article also mentions the exchange of poems and letters between the two, and the debate between friends about the existence of "Qianxun Bamboo". Wen Yu Ke objectively puts forward that there is no Qianxun bamboo in the world and follows the actual situation. It has the same objectivity as the previous article where he followed the joints to draw bamboo. However, Su Shi not only insisted that it existed, but even proved it to Wen Yuke. Although he used a lucky trick, it seemed to contradict his own suggestion of following the laws of nature mentioned above. This shows another of Su Shi's aesthetic ideas: not sticking to realistic shapes. This is actually in line with the thoughts of many bold and unrestrained literati. They are all good at using extremely exaggerated techniques such as "white hair is three thousand feet", "the morning is like blue silk and evening becomes snow", "the bow is like thunderbolt strings", "the snowflakes in Yanshan are as big as mats" etc., in order to express his warm and intense emotions, add a romantic color to his works and himself, and enjoy re-creation under romantic feelings. Therefore, Su Zi can "carry the flying immortals to travel, hold the bright moon and live forever." ".
It is true that there is a literal contradiction between escaping from the constraints of reality and following the principles of heaven mentioned above, but in fact they are not inconsistent: this is the difference between the principles of instruments. Breaking free from form is the level of metaphysical tools, not limited to what is seen with the eyes or felt by the senses. Especially in literature and art, Su Zi emphasized the need to dare to re-create; following the principles of nature is the level of metaphysical principles, and all re-creations They are all based on the reasonable extension of its internal principles. Only by implementing its principles at all times can it be natural and reduce the traces of artificial carving. Both levels of aesthetic thought were reflected in Su Shi's life and had a profound impact on his personal shaping, forming the "round character" Su Shi we now know.