1. Life of Su Shi

His father Su Xun is the "Su Laoquan" mentioned in the "Three Character Classic" who "began to become angry at the age of twenty-seven". Although Su Xun got angry late, he worked very hard. In his later years, Su Shi recalled studying with his father when he was young, and felt that he was deeply influenced by his father. Of course, without Su Xun's diligent study, it would have been impossible for Su Shi to receive a good tutor at a young age, let alone "study the classics and history, and write thousands of words a day" when he was still young, and it would be even less possible for him to have a literary career in the future. Everyone.

In the first year of Jiayou (1056), Su Shi, who was twenty-one years old, left Sichuan for the first time to go to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination. The following year, he took the examination of the Ministry of Rites and won the appreciation of the examiner Ouyang Xiu with his article "On the Perfection of Honesty in Punishments and Rewards". However, he accidentally got the second place in the high school Jinshi.

In the sixth year of Jiayou's reign (1061), Su Shi took the high school examination, which is commonly known as the "Three Years of Beijing Examination", and entered the third class, becoming the "No. 1 in a century". He was taught Dali Commentary Matter, signed letter to the judge of Fengxiang Mansion. Later, when his father died of illness in Bianjing, Ding You returned home to support the funeral. In the second year of Xining (1069), he returned to the court after completing his service and was still granted his post. When he entered the court as an official, it was when the political crisis began to appear in the Northern Song Dynasty. Behind the prosperity was a crisis.

At this time, Shenzong came to the throne and appointed Wang Anshi to support the reform. Many of Su Shi's mentors, including Ouyang Xiu, his mentor who admired him at the beginning, were forced to leave Beijing due to political disagreements with the new prime minister Wang Anshi on the implementation of the new law. The old rain in the government and the field has withered, and what Su Shi sees in his eyes is no longer the "peaceful world" he saw when he was twenty.

Su Shi saw the harm caused by the new law to ordinary people on his way back to Beijing. He disagreed with Prime Minister Wang Anshi's approach and believed that the new law was not convenient for the people, so he wrote a letter to oppose it. One result of this was that, like his mentors and friends who were forced to leave Beijing, they were not tolerated by the court. So Su Shi asked to be released to the outside world and was transferred to Hangzhou Tongpan.

Su Shi stayed in Hangzhou for three years. After his term was completed, he was transferred to Mizhou, Xuzhou, Huzhou and other places as the magistrate of the state. Su Shi's political achievements were outstanding and he won the hearts of the people. This continued for about ten years. Su Shi encountered the first disaster in his life. At that time, some people (Li Ding and others) deliberately distorted his poems and made a big fuss about it. In the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), less than three months after Su Shi arrived in Huzhou, he was arrested and imprisoned for writing poems that satirized the new law and "slandered the emperor and prime minister in writing". This is known as the "Wutai Poetry Case" in history.

2. Su Shi’s Wutai Poetry Case

In the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), Su Shi was forty-three years old and was transferred to the post of magistrate of Huzhou. After taking office, he wrote a letter of thanks from Huzhou to the emperor. This was a routine matter, but Su Shi was a poet and his writing was often filled with emotion. Even in official articles, he could not forget to add a personal touch, saying that he was "stupid and untimely". , it is difficult to follow the newcomers" and "the old man does not cause trouble, but he can shepherd the small people". These words were criticized by the New Party, saying that he was "fooling the government and arrogant", saying that he was "carrying resentment and anger" and "criticizing "Cheng Yu", "harboring evil intentions", satirizing the government, being reckless and rude, and being disloyal to the emperor. Such a serious crime can be said to be worthy of death.

They picked out sentences from a large number of Su Shi's poems that they thought contained sarcastic meanings. For a time, there was a voice against Su Shi in the court. On July 28 of this year, just three months after taking office, Su Shi was arrested by officials from Yushitai and deported to the capital. Dozens of people were implicated. This is the famous "Wutai Poetry Case" in the Northern Song Dynasty (Wutai, the censor's platform, is called Wutai because of the cypress trees planted on it, where crows live all year round).

The huge blow of the Wutai Poetry Case became a turning point in his life. The new parties must put Su Shi to death. Rescue activities were also carried out by both the government and the public. Not only did many elders who shared Su Shi's political views write letters, but some knowledgeable people from the reform faction also advised Shenzong not to kill Su Shi.

Wang Anshi retired to Jinling at that time, and he also wrote a letter saying: "Is it necessary to kill talented people when there is a holy world?" With everyone's efforts, the poetry case was "settled with one word" by Wang Anshi, and Su Shi was relieved of his duties. He was dismissed lightly and was demoted to the deputy envoy of Tuanlian in Huangzhou (now Huanggang, Hubei Province). He was resettled in the state and monitored by local officials. Su Shi spent 103 days in prison and was on the verge of being beheaded several times. Fortunately, during the Northern Song Dynasty, the national policy of not killing scholar-bureaucrats was established during the reign of Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, so Su Shi was able to escape the disaster.

3. Dongpo Fish

Su Shi is not only a literary master, but also good at gourmet food. In addition to the well-known Dongpo Pork, Su Shi is also good at grilling fish. , and the fish it cooks is outstanding. Once, Su Shi was so inspired that he went out to cook fish in the cupboard. Just after it was cooked, he saw Huang Tingjian coming in through the window. ).

Knowing that he was here to eat and get stuck in oil again, he hurriedly hid the fish on the top of the cupboard. Huang Tingjian walked in and said, "Today I'm asking Brother Zizhan for advice. May I ask Su Shi how to write Su?" Su Shi responded with a long face: "Su, the grass is above the grass and the fish is on the left and the grass is on the left." Huang Tingjian said again: "Then this fish Can you put it on the right side?" Su Shi said, "Okay." Huang Tingjian then asked, "Is it okay to put the fish on the top?" Su Shi said, "What's the point of putting the fish on the top?" Pointing to the top of the cupboard, he said with a smile: "Since Brother Zizhan also knows this truth, why do you still put the fish on it?!" Su Shi, who has always been quick-thinking, was completely beaten by Huang Tingjian this time!

4. Reciting poems and attending banquets

When Su Shi was twenty years old, he went to the capital to take a scientific examination.

There were six arrogant people who looked down upon him and decided to invite Su Shi to a banquet with the intention of teasing him. Su Shi went happily after accepting the invitation. Before taking the table and using chopsticks, everyone proposed a drinking order. The content of the drinking order must quote historical figures and events, so that you can eat a plate of food alone. The other five people roared with cheers. "I'll come first." The older one said, "Jiang Ziya fishes on the Weishui River!" After saying that, he took away a plate of fish.

"Qin Shubao sells horses in Chang'an," the second person took away the horse meat with dignity. "Su Ziqing Beihu Shepherd," the third person took the mutton without showing any signs of weakness. "Zhang Yide sells meat in Zhuo County," the fourth one shouted anxiously, reaching out and grabbing the meat. "Guan Yunchang scraped the bones from Jingzhou," the fifth one couldn't wait to grab the bones. "Zhuge Liang grows vegetables in Longzhong," the sixth arrogantly picked up the last piece of vegetables.

After all the dishes were served, and the six people were happily preparing to eat and laugh at Su Shi, Su Shi calmly chanted: "Qin Shihuang annexed the six countries!" After saying this, he finished all six dishes. Putting it in front of him, he smiled and said: "Brothers, please come!" The people in Liuju were dumbfounded.

5. Get ahead

When Su Shi took the examination in the capital, the presiding judge was Ouyang Xiu, a famous literary master of the Northern Song Dynasty. When he was reviewing and approving papers, he was fascinated by Su Shi's gorgeous writing style. To prevent favoritism, the examination papers at that time were all anonymous.

So although Ouyang Xiu really wanted to choose this article as the first one, he felt that this article was very similar to what his disciple Zeng Gong wrote, and he was afraid that it would be true, so he finally ranked it second. It wasn't until the list was published that Ouyang Xiu knew that the author of the article was Su Shi.

After knowing the true situation, Ouyang Xiu regretted it, but Su Shi had no intention of caring about it at all. Su Shi's generosity and outstanding talent made Ouyang Xiu marvel: Such a young talent should really be allowed to be on the list. Stand out among others (this is where the idiom "stand out" comes from)! ” and officially accepted Su Shi as his disciple.

Extended information

Su Shi’s introduction:

Su Shi (1037～1101) was born in the Song Dynasty, with the courtesy name Zizhan and He. Zhong, nicknamed "Dongpo Jushi", was given the posthumous title "Wenzhong" by Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty at the age of 64.

A native of Meishan, Meizhou (now Meishan, Sichuan), Han nationality. The fifth son of his father Su Xun, he was a famous writer, calligrapher, painter, essayist, poet, and poet in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the second year of Jiayou's reign (1057), he and his younger brother Zhe were awarded the title of Dali Judge. In the second year of Xining (1069), when his father's mourning period expired, he returned to the court and became a magistrate. He had political disagreements with Wang Anshi and opposed the implementation of the new law. He asked for a foreign post and moved to Mizhou (now Zhucheng, Shandong). ), moved to Xuzhou.

In the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), he suffered from the "Wutai Poetry Case" and was appointed deputy envoy of Tuanlian in Huangzhou (now Huanggang, Hubei Province). He was resettled in this state and was not allowed to sign official documents. Zhe Zongli, Empress Dowager Gao came to the court, and was restored to the imperial court of Fenglang Zhidengzhou (today's Penglai, Shandong); four months later, he moved to be a doctor of the Ministry of Rites; within ten days of his appointment, in addition to the living room staff, he moved to the middle school room, and then moved to the middle school room. He was a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and knew the imperial examinations of the Ministry of Rites. In the fourth year of Yuanyou (1089), he was sent to Hangzhou, and later to Yingzhou, and then to Yangzhou and Dingzhou.

In the eighth year of Yuanyou (1093), Zhezong was in charge. , was demoted to Huizhou (now Huiyang, Guangdong), and then to Danzhou (now Danxian County, Hainan). After Huizong ascended the throne, he returned to the north after being pardoned. He died in Changzhou (now Jiangsu) in 1101, the first year of Jianzhong's reign. Fifth, he was buried in Jiacheng County, Ruzhou (now Jiaxian County, Henan Province).

He, his father Su Xun (1009~1066), and his younger brother Su Zhe (1039~1112) are all famous for literature. He is known as "San Su" in the world; he is as famous as the "Three Cao Father and Son" (Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi) in the late Han Dynasty. The "San Su" are three of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Their works include "Dongpo Seven Collections" and "Dongpo Yuefu". ?》etc. Politically, he is a poet of the old party.