Su Dongpo is an extraordinary person. His reputation and achievements are not only far from those of ordinary literati. Even among the ten famous writers of Song Dynasty that I have mentioned, he can be said to be the most outstanding. of one. Su Dongpo is people's customary name for this great writer, but this is not his first name, but his nickname.
The official name of this great writer is Su Shi, with the courtesy name Zizhan. He is a native of Meishan, Sichuan. His birth and death dates are Song Renzong, from December of the third year of Jingyou to the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. In July of that year, from 1037 to 1101 AD, he died at the age of 66. Someone checked the Chinese and Western calendar comparison table in 2000 and believed that Su Dongpo's birthday should be January 8, 1037. This should be a relatively accurate verification.
According to historical records, Su Dongpo was very smart, wild and ambitious when he was a boy. He entered school at the age of 8 and passed the Jinshi examination in the second year of Jiayou's reign at the age of 24. After he became a Jinshi, he worked successively as the chief registrar of Fuchang County in Henan and a small official in Fengyang, Shaanxi. After that, he was transferred to the imperial court and served in Denwen Drum Court, which was a small official. During the Xining Reform, Su Dongpo repeatedly requested external transfer because he had political disagreements with Wang Anshi and was unwilling to be in the political whirlpool. In the fourth year of Yu Xining, that is, 1071, he was transferred to Hangzhou and served as the general magistrate of Hangzhou. Later, he served as the governor of Mizhou, Xuzhou, Huzhou and other places. In the second year of Yuanfeng of Shenzong, that is, 1079, the censors He Zhengchen, Shu Quan, Li Ding and others prosecuted Su Dongpo for writing poems that slandered the imperial court. Impeach. Su Dongpo was arrested and imprisoned. This was the famous Wutai Poetry Case in Song Dynasty history.
After a period of torture in prison, Su Dongpo was demoted by the imperial court to the deputy envoy of Huangzhou Tuanlian, which was a symbolic position with duties but no power. In Huangzhou, he named the hillside east of Huanggang Mountain where he lived Dongpo, and gave himself the title Dongpo Jushi. The so-called Su Dongpo's title comes from this.
The following year, in 1080, Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty transferred Su Dongpo to Ruzhou. Ruzhou is located in the central and western part of Henan and is the birthplace of Henan opera. In 1085, Zhezong of the Song Dynasty succeeded to the throne, Empress Dowager Gao took over the government, and Sima Guang became prime minister. Su Dongpo was recalled to the court and served as minister of the court, and then he went to Dengzhou, which is now Penglai in Yantai. Later, he was called as a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, and moved to Zhongshusheren, Hanlin bachelor and other positions. Later, he went to Hangzhou and Yingzhou. In 1091 AD, he was successively appointed as the Minister of Rites and the Minister of War. This was the highest official position Su Dongpo ever held. After the death of Empress Dowager Gao, Song Zhezong came into power. Su Dongpo was impeached due to party disputes and was demoted to Huizhou, Guangdong, and then to Changhua, Qiongzhou.
At this time, Su Dongpo was already in his 60s. After Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty came to the throne in 1101, he pardoned Su Dongpo and returned to the court. Su Dongpo was ordered to travel to the north and died on the way in Changzhou, which is now Wujin, Jiangsu. This time was July of the first year of the founding of the Jingguo period by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. After Su Dongpo died, his son Su Guo buried him in Xiaoemei Mountain in Jiacheng, Ruzhou. Located in present-day Jia County, Henan Province, the above is a brief summary of the ups and downs of Su Dongpo's life. His life was full of disasters.
He suffered repeated major setbacks in politics and official career. His official career was full of ups and downs, and his later life was also very miserable. But despite this, his attitude towards life has always been cheerful and optimistic, and he has not become depressed or depressed because of this. Of course, it is impossible to say that he has no bitterness and resentment in his heart. But when he is immersed in sorrow and adversity, he can still resolve himself with a broad mind and can still transcend the world with a lofty spiritual realm. This is very rare and cannot be achieved by ordinary people. It is precisely because of this that his creations are not only not full of decadence and gloom, but also glow with a unique brilliance that is very different from other literati. And his literary and artistic talents were fully utilized in many aspects.
Looking at Su Dongpo’s life, there are three kinds of things. First, there are many works, not only many, but also rich in variety. Su Dongpo was a talented and versatile person, and his achievements in literature were naturally obvious. Whether it was poems, lyrics, essays, or poems, he had many famous works handed down from generation to generation. In terms of calligraphy and painting, he is also unique in his own way. His calligraphy style is elegant and bold, and he is honored as Su Ti by later generations. In terms of painting, he is best at sketches such as indifferent bamboo and stone. Although his paintings are not handed down many times, they are extremely valuable; He even did research on gourmet food. It is said that the now famous Dongpo Pork was developed by Su Dongpo. The second most important thing about Su Dongpo is that he has many disciples. Although his career in politics was not smooth and he had many ups and downs, he had many disciples in his life because of his outstanding literary talent, fame and great social influence.