Dongpo in the eyes of Lin Yutang
Su Dongpo was an optimist with an unchangeable temperament, a compassionate moralist, a good friend of the common people, a prose writer, and a new-school painter. He is a great calligrapher, an experimenter in brewing wine, an engineer, an opponent of false Taoism, a practitioner of yoga, a Buddhist, a scholar-official, the emperor's secretary, a drunkard, and a compassionate person. A judge is a political stickler, a wanderer under the moon, a poet, and a person who is witty and loves to joke. But these may not be enough to outline the whole picture of Su Dongpo.
Su Dongpo’s character was profound, broad, humorous, highly intelligent, and innocent-hearted as a versatile genius—as Jesus said, he had the wisdom of a snake and both. In terms of the tenderness and kindness of doves, other poets cannot match Su Dongpo. The combination of these qualities in one body is rare and rare in the world. And Su Dongpo is just such a person! He remained innocent and simple throughout his life.
On one occasion, Su Dongpo said a few words to his younger brother Ziyou. He said it best, and it could not be more appropriate to describe himself: "I can accompany the Jade Emperor, and I can accompany the beggars of Beitian Courtyard. In front of me. There is no bad person in the world."
The information about his colorful political career in his long life exists in various historical materials and in his own voluminous writings. Including his poems and essays, there are close to a million words; his notes, his inscriptions, his personal letters, and a large number of gossips written by him as the most respectable and beloved literary man at that time have all been handed down to this day. .
Within a hundred years after his death, there was no biographical book that did not mention this poet. Confucian scholars in the Song Dynasty were all good at keeping diaries, especially Sima Guang, Wang Anshi, Liu Zhi, and Zeng Bu; diligent biographers such as Wang Mingqing and Shao Bowen.
A Biography of Dongpo
Su Dongpo was born in the winter of the third year of Jingyou reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty (1036). When Su Dongpo was born, the Su family was at least a well-off family. They had their own land and were perhaps richer than the average middle-class family.
Dongpo entered school at the age of six. This private school is not small, with more than a hundred students, and only one teacher, a Taoist priest. Su Dongpo's extremely clever young mind was quickly revealed. When Su Dongpo was eight to ten years old, his father went to Beijing to take the exam. After losing the throne, Su Xun traveled to the Jianghuai area, and his mother mainly took care of the children at home.
According to some written records, Su Dongpo was able to write amazing poems when he was ten years old. When Su Dongpo was eleven years old, he entered a secondary school and prepared seriously for the imperial examination. In the Su family, the person who grew up and studied with Dongpo and would have the closest relationship with him in the future was his younger brother Zhe, also named Ziyou.
The friendship between their brothers and the deep brotherhood in the subsequent ups and downs, prosperity and decline, are the themes that Su Dongpo, the poet, has sung throughout his life. The two brothers comforted each other in times of sorrow and supported each other in times of trouble.
When the Su Dongpo brothers were about 20 years old and ready to take the exam, the inevitable marriage problem came. It was a custom in the Northern Song Dynasty for wealthy businessmen with unmarried daughters in Kyoto to propose marriage to their unmarried sons who were newly successful in the examinations. Therefore, the season when the imperial examinations are held is also the season when marriage events are actively carried out. In the view of the Su family's parents, it would be much better for their son to marry a local girl, as they would know the girl's family well. According to the customs of the time, young people's marriages were always properly arranged by their parents. ? In the first year of Zhihe of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty (1054), when Su Dongpo was eighteen years old, he married Miss Wang Fu who lived in Qingshen, Nannan, Meishan Town. The following year, his younger brother Yu married a family at the age of sixteen, and his wife was two years younger than him.
After the second son Ziyou got married, the father and son set off for Beijing.
Su Xun accompanied his two sons to Beijing for scientific examination this time, and still planned to seek a full-time official position. He is now forty-seven years old, but he has been studying hard since he failed in the last imperial examination. During that period, he had written an important work on the principles of government, war, and peace, which showed profound insights that should impress the literati of Kyoto. At that time, as long as there was a strong recommendation from a famous public official, the imperial court could appoint officials. Su Xun presented his work to Zhang Fangping. Zhang Fangping thought highly of him and intended to appoint him as an academic official in Chengdu immediately. But Lao Su was not satisfied. In the end, Zhang Fangping, under the influence of Gu Dao, finally couldn't let go of his feelings, so he wrote to Ouyang Xiu, a great figure in the literary world. Another friend named Lei also wrote a letter of recommendation, saying that Lao Su had "the talent of a king". In May of the first year of Renzong Jiayou's reign (1056), Sansu arrived in Bianliang City and stayed in a monk's temple, waiting for the autumn examination. This is the preliminary examination of the Ministry of Rites, which only selects candidates to prepare for the imperial examination personally supervised by His Majesty the Emperor in the spring of the following year. Among the forty-five candidates who came to Beijing from Meizhou, Su Kunzhong was among the thirteen who passed the exam. In the second year of Jiayou's reign (1057), the day for the imperial examination finally arrived. The emperor appointed Ouyang Xiu as the chief examiner, and several other well-educated Confucians as judges. The Su brothers both passed the palace examination with distinction. Su Dongpo's article was later passed on to Ouyang Xiu's peers for viewing, and they were admired for several days. That article discussed the lenience and simplicity of government, which was Su Dongpo's basic political philosophy.
Just as Su Dongpo’s official career was about to begin, his mother died of illness. According to Confucian etiquette, this is of course an extremely important matter.
When my mother died, she had not yet heard the good news from Kyoto. The three fathers and sons of the Su family hurriedly returned home. When they arrived home, they saw that their mother had gone. The home was in chaos, with fallen fences and leaky roofs, making it look like a refugee home.
The two and three months of solitary life under mourning and observance were the happiest days of Su Dongpo's youth. Dongpo often went to Qingshen's father-in-law's house. Qingshen is located in a beautiful mountainous area, with clear streams and deep pools, and a Buddhist temple on the top of the mountain. Stepping into it makes people feel like they are wandering immortals in search of strange things and transcending the world. Dongpo often visited temples with his uncles and cousins ??from his Yue family, sitting on the embankment near Seocho Bridge and enjoying outdoor meals. On summer evenings, he sat outside his hut and ate melon seeds and fried broad beans.
Two months after the period of mourning expired, the father and son set off for Beijing again. This time is naturally different from the previous one. The three of them are already famous writers, and their success in officialdom is almost certain. This time the family moved eastward and took the waterway out of the Three Gorges. The total length of the journey was more than 1,100 miles, about 700 miles by water and 400 miles by dry road. It started in October and arrived in February of the following year.
No one knows the magnificent scenery of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Along the way, both of them were accompanied by their wives. They could take it easy, drink and play cards on the boat, and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. They often recite poems to describe the scenery and express their emotions.
When they arrived at Jiangling, the Su family abandoned the ship and landed, took a car and rushed to Kyoto. By the time the voyage on the river was completed, the two brothers had already composed hundreds of poems. These poems were published in a separate collection, called "The Collection of Nanjing". In Xiangyang, he wrote several Yuefu poems, such as "The Boatman's Song" and "The Wild Eagle Comes" in memory of Liu Biao, and "Shangdu Yin" in memory of Meng Da's loss of fertile land due to the lack of talent of his two generals. There is a saying in his poem:
The white horse is a barrier and the phoenix is ??a pass, and the mountains and rivers are empty and free. The Su family arrived in the capital safely in February.
They bought a house with a garden, about half an acre in size, close to Yiqiumen and far away from the busy streets. There are tall old locust trees and willow trees surrounding the house. It has a simple and unpretentious atmosphere, which is quite suitable for a poet and elegant scholar to live. After everything was settled, the father and son waited for the appointment from the court. Of course, it would take some time.
During this period, the two brothers passed two more exams. One was to test the affairs of the Kyoto Ministry; the other was more important, called "policy", and they had to frankly criticize the government. The Su brothers all applied for approval after being recommended by Minister Ouyang Xiu.
Only one other person in the Song Dynasty received the rank granted by the imperial court to Su Dongpo. He also submitted twenty-five policy articles, some of which have become must-read essays in schools in later generations. Later, the queen told people that Renzong once said: "Today I have chosen two prime ministers for my descendants."
The literary names of Su and his son were Risheng. They interacted with contemporary famous people, their poems and articles were admired by others, and their family became well-known as literary geniuses.
Su Xun was appointed as the school secretary without examination, which was in line with his original intention. Later, he was given a new position to write a biography for the emperor of the dynasty. This is the writer's business, and he is naturally happy to accept it.
Su Dongpo was relaxed and happy at this time, with great ambition and unbridled talent. Even though Su Dongpo was brilliant, he still had to rise from the lower ranks in his official career. In the sixth year of Renzong Jiayou's reign (1061), the imperial court appointed him as a judge of Dali affairs, signed a letter to the judge of Fengxiang Mansion, and had the right to co-sign official memorials. Su Ziyou was also appointed as a military official in Shangzhou, but his father was an official in Beijing, so one of the two brothers had to live with his father in the capital, because no matter what, the widowed father could not live alone. So Ziyou resigned from his foreign post. The two brothers broke up for the first time in their lives, and Ziyu returned to Beijing. During the next three years, while Dongpo was away, Ziyu and his wife served his father. The letters from Kyoto to Fengxiang took ten days to arrive, and the two brothers often sent each other a poem every month. From those poems and letters, we can find how uneasy Su Dongpo was when he first entered the official career.
The two brothers often sang harmonies to each other. In the earliest poem he wrote to his younger brother, Dongpo had already shown his perfect poetic talent. He used the words "ni" and "西" as rhymes as required, and wrote the following poem:
Everywhere in life is similar, it should be like a flying dragon stepping on snow and mud. Occasionally, there are fingers and claws left on the mud, and Hongfei is counting the things.
This Qijue poem has become a masterpiece of Dongpo's poetry.
Now that Su Dongpo had settled down and his position as a judge no longer had heavy official duties, he went out to travel to the mountains in the south and east, often for several days. He visited the monasteries in Taibai Mountain and Heishui Valley, as well as the hometown of King Wen of Zhou Dynasty. Sometimes when he had nothing to do, he would go to the famous Zhongnan Mountain near Xi'an to see rare manuscripts or the original works of Wu Daozi collected by a friend.
Now he has tasted the life of an official, but it is not as wonderful as he dreamed. Being away from the harassment and chaos of Kyoto, serving as a judge in other counties, signing official documents, and interrogating cases made him feel quite bored. Sometimes it is inevitable to feel lonely, but sometimes with a toast in hand and the shadow of the moon dancing, I feel happy and uplifted.
Some people are not happy if they are not busy. Su Dongpo is this type. At that time, a drought occurred in Shaanxi and it had not rained for a long time. Farmers were worried about their crops and had no other choice but to pray to the gods for rain. Praying for rain is the duty of officials who serve the people and their parents. Su Dongpo suddenly took action. Su Dongpo now wants to write a good petition and submit it to the gods. He is ready to use his eloquent talents to pray for rain for the common people.
On the 7th of that month, he asked for rain and returned to the city. On the 16th, it rained lightly, but the crops were still insufficient and the farmers were not satisfied.
Su Dongpo immediately drafted a memorial to the emperor for the county magistrate, asking him to restore the mountain god to his previous title. Then he fasted and bathed with the prefect, sent a special envoy to tell the gods that they had obtained a higher title for the gods, and retrieved a basin of "dragon water" from the pond in front of the temple.
On the 19th, Su Dongpo went out of the city to meet "Long Shui". Everyone in the countryside was excited, for this success was a matter of great concern to them.
On the road, he saw a dark cloud drifting low over the ground and spreading out in front of him. He borrowed a basket from the farmer, grabbed a few handfuls of dark clouds, and hid them tightly in the basket. When he arrived in the city, he prayed for the dark clouds in his poem: "If you open your mouth, you will let it go; if you turn it away, it will still change. The clouds are coming to you and you will return to the mountain, and there will be no fear of the high officials." After praying, he went out of the city with the governor of Song Dynasty again. When they walked to the suburbs, a cold wind suddenly came. The tassels on flags and lances fluttered violently in the wind. Dark clouds descended from the sky, like a herd of wild horses. Thunder rumbled in the distance. At this moment, a basin of "dragon water" arrived. Su Dongpo and the prefect of the Song Dynasty went to welcome the "dragon water", placed the "dragon water" on the makeshift altar, and then recited a prayer for rain. It seemed that everything was answered, and the heavy rain fell, bringing blessings to all parts of the countryside. Two days later, it rained heavily again, and for three consecutive days, the withered stalks of wheat and corn stood up again.
There is joy everywhere now, but the happiest person is the poet Su Dongpo. To commemorate this happy event, he renamed the pavilion in the back garden "Xiyu Pavilion", wrote an article "Xiyu Pavilion", and engraved it on the pavilion.
Later Su Dongpo became the governor of other places, and he continued to pray as long as necessary.
It can be said that Su Dongpo has a fire life, because he was either controlling floods or rescuing droughts throughout his life. No matter where he was, he was either worried about the water supply of the whole town or worried about the digging of canals and wells.
While Su Dongpo was in Fengxiang, something happened that made him a bit disgraceful, that is, he had a disagreement with the then-new Governor Chen. Chen Ming Su Dongpo's disobedience. ? When there is a dispute between the two, they will quarrel and say evil things to each other. Su Dongpo's opportunity for revenge soon arrived. Taishou Chen built a "Lingxu Terrace" in the Taishou Mansion so that he could go up to the stage and watch the scenery around him in his spare time from official duties. Governor Chen asked Su Dongpo to write a text and inscribe it on the stone tablet of Lingxu Terrace as a commemoration of the construction of this terrace. The young and talented Su Dongpo took this opportunity to make a joke. Today we can still read the article "Lingxutai Ji": ...However, after several lives, those who want to be like it, but the dilapidated houses and ruins have no longer survived, have turned into grains, thorns, mounds and long acres. What about this place? Futai is not enough to rely on for a long time, but what's more, what's more, the loss of human affairs, the sudden coming and going? And if you want to be self-satisfied by boasting about the world, this is too much. He who has enough to rely on in the world does not care about the survival of the stage. "
This narrative was originally written for celebration, but it silently contemplates its future collapse and destruction. It also contains the irony that the prefect does not know that there is a mountain outside the city where he lives. It is unique among Chinese inscriptions. It's rare.
The old man Chen Taishou was really generous and did not feel dissatisfied. He engraved the original photo on the stone tablet. This shows that Chen Taishou is not a bad person. After the breakup, Dongpo also saw this situation, so he made a move to repair it. A few years later, he also wrote an epitaph for Chen Taishou.
After Renzong died, Su Dongpo was ordered to supervise himself. A fortification to transport timber for the construction of a mausoleum in the mountains of western Shaanxi Province.
In the first year of Emperor Yingzong's reign (1064), he was relieved of his original official position and accepted an inspection by the court. He had heard of Su Dongpo's reputation and wanted to make an exception. Ba Yao was appointed as a Hanlin official, responsible for drafting edicts and other matters for the emperor. Prime Minister Han Qi objected, and Su Dongpo took a post in the History Museum after taking the legal examination. Wang Fu died of illness, and Su Dongpo felt deeply sad. The following year (1066), his father Su Xun died of illness. Su Dongpo and his younger brother Ziyu transported the coffins of their father and wife back to their hometown in Meizhou, Sichuan, and buried them in their ancestors' tomb. After more than two years of mourning, Su Dongpo married his ex-wife's cousin Wang Runzhi. Wang Runzhi was eleven years younger than Su Dongpo. He had a gentle personality and admired Su Shi's talents since he was a child. He was naturally obedient to her husband and took care of the house.
Chen Jichang
Chen Zhen, the son of Governor Chen, later became Su Dongpo's lifelong friend.
Zhang Dun
This. At that time, Zhang Dun, Su Dongpo's nemesis in the officialdom for the rest of his life, appeared. Zhang Dun was an official in a county in Hubei Province at that time. Zhang Dun was indeed talented, generous and generous, and he was just the kind of person Su Dongpo loved. .
Su Dongpo once predicted Zhang Dun's future. This story is often told. On the way to Luguan, Su and Zhang entered the mountains and went further to Heishui Valley. At this time, they came to a deep stream with a narrow wooden plank on it. There was a view of a hundred feet below, with a deep stream rolling down and huge rocks on both sides. Zhang Dun was a very courageous man and asked Su Dongpo to climb out of the wooden plank. Walk over and inscribe a line of words on the cliff of the opposite rock. Generally, tourists often inscribe in famous places.
Su Dongpo refused to go over. Zhang Dun walked through the deep stream alone with indifferent determination. Then he stuffed his robe around his waist, grabbed a hanging rope, and fell off the cliff to the bank of the opposite stream, where he stood on the rocks. It is inscribed with six characters: "Su Shi and Zhang Dun traveled here". Then he walked back from the single-plank bridge easily and as if nothing had happened. Su Dongpo patted his friend on the shoulder and said, "One day you will kill someone." Zhang Dun asked, "Why?" Su Dongpo replied, "Those who dare to play with their own lives will naturally dare to take the lives of others.
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Wang Anshi