The Biography of Su Dongpo

This work invites readers to understand， study， and appreciate Su Shi. It depicts and outlines the life of Su Shi， a writer in the Song Dynasty， with a large number of historical materials and literary language. On the basis of Su Shi’s masterpieces and the analysis of the history and culture of the Song Dynasty， this biography faithfully and vividly narrates Su Shi’s life trajectory， political actions， and literary creation， as well as the process of him elevating his thoughts on life， which reflect the charming personality of this literary giant.

The Biography of Su Dongpo

Liu Xiaochuan

Times Literature and Art Publishing House

January 2021

45.00 (CNY)

Liu Xiaochuan

Liu Xiaochuan is Deputy Dean of the Institute of the Three Su Culture， and member and Chairman of the fourth session of the Meishan Writers Association. His masterpiece Comments on Chinese Literati obtained the sixth Maotai Literature Award awarded by Ba Jin Institute of Literature， the sixth Sichuan Literature Award， and the Best Works Award of Guangdong Province; Appreciation of Su Shi obtained the Award of Essays from Ba Jin Institute of Literature and Outstanding Achievement Award of Literature and Art in Meishan City.

In 1036， the third year of Jingyou under the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty， there weren’t great changes but some events that affected the political situation.

In May， Fan Zhongyan， Temporary Magistrate of Kaifengfu (today’s Kaifeng， Henan)， was demoted to Raozhou (today’s Poyang County， Jiangxi) for offending Prime Minister Lyu Yijian. The dispute between Lyu and Fan had a wide range of implications. Ministers such as Yu Jing and Yin Zhu were also demoted for writing to defend Fan Zhongyan. In his anger， Ouyang Xiu wrote to accuse the remonstrant of doing nothing and allowing upright Fan Zhongyan and others to be treated unfairly. But he was demoted to county magistrate of Yiling (today’s Yichang， Hubei) for his harsh words.

It can be said that the year 1036 was critical for the politics of the Song Dynasty. It laid the groundwork for party struggles， though years later， Fan Zhongyan returned to the center of the imperial court， and Ouyang Xiu became a loyal minister with hundreds of followers. Throughout the three hundred years of the Song Dynasty， there were numerous party struggles， big and small. Once civil officials had different political views， they would condemn through speech and in writing， exposing each other to mortal danger.

In such a political situation， Su Shi was just born in Meishan County， far away from the capital. It was an ordinary day， December 19， 1036.

Though he was a native of Meishan， his ancestral home was Luancheng， Zhaozhou (today’s Luancheng， Hebei). Su Shi’s family can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. In the period of Empress Wu， a man named Su Weidao served as the prime minister. According to Su Xun’s textual research， this man was his ancestor， but there was no information about the generations before that. Su Weidao claimed that one should be vague and ambiguous in political views， rather than take a clear-cut stand. Thus， his colleagues gave him a nickname: Su Ambiguous. In ancient China， this attitude was generally feasible in official circles， while Su Weidao was unlucky to come across Empress Wu. He was demoted to a provincial governor of Meizhou， and later moved to a secretariat of Yizhou (today’s Chengdu)， but died before taking office. One of Su Weidao’s sons， whose name was unknown， settled in Meishan and carried on the Su Family line there.

Su Shi held no similarities with his ancestor Su Weidao. He was sharp and clear-cut， rather than ambiguous. In the Su Family， his character was similar to his grandfather Su Xu. When Su Shi was born， Su Xu was sixty-three years old. He was strong. He used to write poetry and drink alcohol. It is said that he wrote more than a thousand poems， though none of them have been handed down. However， he could drink far more alcohol. Though Su Shi also loved drinking， his capacity for liquor was limited. As he said in his poems， he “got drunk easily”. But Su Xu was different. This strange old man used to hang around on his donkey， drinking and joking. His hearty laughter always echoed around the stone road in the county and the neighboring countryside.

Su Xu had a sense of humor and compassion. One year， famine plagued Meishan. Seeing many people starving， he distributed all the 240，000 kg of grain in his storage with no hesitation. Su Xu opened the warehouse and allotted the grain in sequential order. He first aided his clansmen， then relatives， and next the poor and the tenants. This behavior of supporting the weak and the poor is enough to show his noble character.

Su Xu’s manner created a unique style and tradition for the Su Family. Su Xun， the son of Su Xu and the father of Su Shi， was also a man of great personality.

The Three-Character Classic says， “Su Laoquan started to work hard and read books at the age of 27.” Su Laoquan was the pseudonym of Su Xun. It seems that Su Laoquan didn’t take study seriously until he was twenty-seven. In fact， he didn’t give up learning but disdained to “l(fā)earn the sound and rhyme， antithesis， and sentence punctuation” in ancient style proses.

Su Xun hated boring books but liked walking around. That was why people criticized him as “hanging around instead of learning”. The Su Family had ancestral fields and a textile store in the south of the city， which supported his traveling expenses. Therefore， Su Xun started his long journey as he wished.

Though Su Xun was regarded as a lazy good-for-nothing， his long journey was a good way of learning to some extent. In ancient times， when information was blocked and inadequate， it was almost a “cultural instinct” for people with lofty ideals to wander across the country. During the 500 years of the Spring and Autumn Period， strategists， warriors， and thinkers traveled ghostly， and they had already ingrained in the genes of Chinese people an urge to study through travel.

Su Xun traveled to Chengdu， where he encountered Zhang Fangping， the magistrate of Yizhou. He also traveled in the capital and entered the super salon of Ouyang Xiu， a Hanlin Academician. This salon gathered celebrities in the political and literary circles of the Northern Song Dynasty， including Mei Yaochen， Zeng Gong， Zhang Xian， Sima Guang， Wang Anshi， etc. Su Xun， an ordinary citizen， was able to make contact with such figures. That shows at least two things. First， he was talented and competitive. Second， most figures in the Northern Song Dynasty were easy-going. However， Su Xun was a bit arrogant and despised Wang Anshi in personality.

Though he enjoyed himself traveling about， he spent too much money and soon lived on a tight budget. Fortunately， he got married and had new financial support. At the age of eighteen， Su Xun married the daughter of Cheng Wenying， the richest man in Meishan. Cheng was well-educated， elegant， and virtuous since childhood. As a man who married such a good wife， Su Xun should have been satisfied. However， Su Xun continued to hang around instead of settling down. The young wife was “troubled and depressed”， but she tried to swallow her pride as a rich girl. She overcame difficulties in running this small family， which didn’t seem “decent” to the outside， by supporting her in-laws and educating her children. Like this， nine years passed.

Things began to change — Su Xun worked hard in his study at the age of twenty-seven. No one knows the reason why Su Xun changed his temperament — perhaps he felt guilty about his wife’s dedication for years， or he was spurred by his elder brother Su Huan’s success in the exam of official selection. Anyway， he began to study hard， without writing even an article for six years. As his writings were looked down upon， he vowed to read through all classics before writing articles.