There are two theories about why Su Shi, a writer in the Song Dynasty, called himself Dongpo. One is related to Bai Juyi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty. Although there is a difference of 265 years between Su Shi and Bai Juyi, Su Shi loved Bai Juyi's works since childhood. Later, Su Shi's life experience and career ups and downs were similar to those of Bai Juyi, so he often compared himself with Bai Juyi. He once wrote poems such as "the source is faint like lotte, dare to compare with the previous sages". In 820 AD, when Bai Juyi was appointed as the secretariat of Zhongzhou (now Zhongxian County, Sichuan Province), he often planted trees in Dongpo, Zhongzhou City. He was once given the title "Dongpo has a bright spring, how about this tree?" The poem "Go to Dongpo, go to Dongpo later, Dongpo loves, love this new tree". In order to show my respect for Bai Juyi, I named it Dongpo in Bai Juyi's poems.
There is also a saying that when Su Shi lived in Huanggang, Hubei Province, there was a beautiful hillside called Dongpo about a mile outside the south gate of the city. The hillside is shaded by trees, and not far away is the Yangtze River rolling eastward. Su Shi often strolls here, and once wrote a poem: "When you drink Dongpo at night, you will wake up drunk, and it seems like the third night when you come back. Children snore like thunder, and they shouldn't knock at the door. It's all about listening to the river. " Su Shi liked this place so much that he named himself Dongpo.