Su Shi's poems are a legendary literati in Chinese history. His poems, lyrics, calligraphy, paintings, prose, and even food are all wonderful. He became famous at a young age, and was promoted to Jinshi at the age of 21. His highest official position was Minister of Rites, but he was demoted three times. His official career was bumpy, he encountered constant setbacks, and his life was full of ups and downs, but he always maintained his love for life.

1. The first time he was demoted - Wutai Poetry Case, Huangzhou

When Su Shi was 32 years old, the young Song Shenzong came to the throne. Shenzong wanted to enrich the country and strengthen the army, so he and Wang Anshi initiated reforms. Wang Anshi's reform was opposed by many people because of its radicalness and other reasons. Su Shi and Sima Guang opposed the reform, but they were slightly different. During the opposition, especially the Young Crops Law, due to improper implementation, farmers were forced to take loans. Every time they borrowed a sum of money, they would have to pay one and a half cents in interest in just a few months. If they could not pay back the taxes, they would face jail time. disaster.

Su Shi, who was in his prime, saw the people in dire straits and expressed his feelings frankly regardless of the consequences. Seeing the people who were recruited to dig the canal to pass the salt ships, at dawn, the workers heard the sound of the trumpet and gathered to start work. They wrote "People are like ducks and pigs, throwing mud and splashing each other." The imperial court's monopoly on salt killed the salt industry. People were eating bamboo shoots, but they didn't taste salty. They wrote, "There has been no salt in food for the past three months." He took a dig at the establishment, darkly comparing them to night owls.

These poems were accumulated into volumes, which Mr. Lin Yutang called anti-riot poems in "The Biography of Su Dongpo".

The reformists have always had a grudge against these poems, which they collected and studied carefully to fabricate accusations in an attempt to kill Su Shi. This is the famous Wutai Poetry Case.

After the Wutai Poetry Case, Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou, and his life hit rock bottom. He changed from a governor to a prisoner, and could not leave Huangzhou. "The world is a big dream, and there are several cool autumns in life."

However, it was during this period that Su Shi transformed into Su Dongpo. Because he was a criminal official, he could not receive salary, so he became a farmer. He farmed his own land and was self-sufficient, built his own house and named it Xuetang, and invented delicacies - Dongpo meat and Dongpo cake. Driven by his temperament and love for nature, Su Shi became a hermit and a layman in Dongpo.

In 1082, the fifth year of Yuanfeng, Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Su Shi was 46 years old. This year was his miracle year. "Ding the storm. Don't listen to the sound of beating leaves in the forest", "Huangzhou Cold Food Post", "Linjiang Immortal. Wake up and get drunk after drinking on Dongpo at night", "Red Cliff Ode", "Later Red Cliff Ode" and "Red Cliff Nostalgia".

"A bamboo stick can beat a horse easily with mango shoes. Who is afraid? A raincoat can be used for life." This shows that life is open-minded. He traveled to Red Cliff twice and wrote heroic masterpieces.

2. The second demotion - demoted from official position, wife died, Huizhou

Because power was concentrated in the hands of the emperor, the political system of the Song Dynasty was most likely to lead to clique disputes. Mr. Lin Yutang made this analysis in "The Biography of Su Dongpo".

During the reign of the young Zhezong, the Empress Dowager was the regent, and Su Dongpo was once again re-employed, rising to the rank of Minister of Rites. As soon as the Empress Dowager died and Zhe Zong took charge, Su Dongpo was released and later demoted to Huizhou, becoming the first person to be demoted to the south of Dayuling in the high mountains of Guangdong.

During his stay in Huizhou, Su Dongpo still loved life. “He ate 300 lychees a day and never stopped growing up to be a Lingnan native.”

3. The third time he was demoted - wandering around the world, Danzhou

The young Zhezong had no intention of letting Su Shi go, and Su Shi was demoted to Danzhou again. Among hundreds of ministers who suffered hardships, he was the only one who was demoted to this place.

Su Shi traveled across the ocean and wandered around the world. He always lived seriously and loved life. If he had no meat, he would eat sheep, scorpions, and oysters.

The 60-year-old veteran was demoted to a barbaric land, but Su Shi's optimism allowed him to survive, but he survived Song Zhezong. Eventually Su Shi was able to leave Hainan.

Su Shi’s life was full of ups and downs, but his majestic spirit remained forever, bold and broad-minded.

Wang Guowei commented, "The openness of Dongpo lies in God." Lin Yutang said, "What Su Shi left to us is the joy of his soul and the happiness of his thoughts. This is the eternal thing."

When times are good, read Su Shi's poems and feel the magnanimity of life; when times are adverse, read Su Shi's poems and appreciate the magnanimity of life.