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Su Shi (simplified Chinese: 苏轼; traditional Chinese: 蘇軾) (8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan, (Chinese: 子瞻), art name Dongpo (simplified Chinese: 东坡; traditional Chinese: 東坡), was a Chinese writer, poet, painter, calligrapher, pharmacologist, gastronome, and a statesman of the Song dynasty. A major personality of the Song era, Su was an important figure in Song Dynasty politics, aligning himself with Sima Guang and others, against the New Policy party led by Wang Anshi.
Su Shi is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished figures in classical Chinese literature, having produced some of the most well-known poems, lyrics, prose, and essays. Su Shi was famed as an essayist, and his prose writings lucidly contribute to the understanding of topics such as 11th-century Chinese travel literature or detailed information on the contemporary Chinese iron industry. His poetry has a long history of popularity and influence in China, Japan, and other areas in the near vicinity and is well known in the English-speaking parts of the world through the translations by Arthur Waley, among others. In terms of the arts, Su Shi has some claim to being "the pre-eminent personality of the eleventh century."[2] Dongpo pork, a prominent dish in Hangzhou cuisine, is named in his honor.
Su Shi is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished figures in classical Chinese literature, having produced some of the most well-known poems, lyrics, prose, and essays. Su Shi was famed as an essayist, and his prose writings lucidly contribute to the understanding of topics such as 11th-century Chinese travel literature or detailed information on the contemporary Chinese iron industry. His poetry has a long history of popularity and influence in China, Japan, and other areas in the near vicinity and is well known in the English-speaking parts of the world through the translations by Arthur Waley, among others. In terms of the arts, Su Shi has some claim to being "the pre-eminent personality of the eleventh century."[2] Dongpo pork, a prominent dish in Hangzhou cuisine, is named in his honor.
Su Shi - Wikipedia
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Discovering China - Su Shi - One of China's Most Famous Poets
Amidst the political bickering of the Northern Song Dynasty emerged one of the most prominent poets in Chinese history: Su Shi. Su Shi, also known as Su Dong...
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that January 8 is the anniversary of the birth of writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song dynasty Su Shi. He was one of the major poets of the Song era.
Images:
1. su-shi_hanshi-Cold Food Observance
"Handscroll, ink on paper, 34.2 x 199.5 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei
This piece represents two poems that Su Shi wrote during his exile to Huangzhou in 1082. It was transcribed into a work of calligraphy sometime thereafter. Despite Su’s upbeat character, the poetry has an air of dejection to it. The characters and the distance between them, for example, seem to vary rhythmically according to the emotional content.
In terms of semi-cursive script, the size of the characters here ranges considerably. Su Shi once said of his own calligraphy that it is “everything from short to long, plump to bony (短長肥脊各有態).” Here, the size of the characters is sometimes reserved, other times bold. Characters that particularly stand out include those in lines 2 (年), 5 (中), 11 (葦), and 13 (紙) from the right, where their last vertical stroke trails down for some distance to stand out against the blank paper. The variation in the thickness of and distance between the lines as well as the size of the characters help to give this work a uniquely individual quality. In fact, Su Shi’s calligraphy represents one of the more personal styles of the period. Furthermore, another great Song calligrapher, Huang Tingjian (黃庭堅, 1045–1105), wrote a colophon for this work sometime before the ninth lunar month of 1100. The sizes of the characters in Huang’s colophon are even larger than Su’s, creating an ideal complement to this masterpiece of calligraphy.
釋文：自我來黃州，已過三寒食。年年欲惜春，春去不容惜。今年又苦雨，兩月秋蕭瑟。臥聞海棠花，泥污燕支雪。闇中偷負去，夜半真有力。何殊病少年（子點去），病起鬚已白。
春江欲入戶，雨勢來不已。（雨點去）小屋如漁舟，濛濛水雲裏。空庖煮寒菜，破竈燒濕葦。那知是寒食，但見烏銜紙。君門深九重，墳墓在萬里。也擬哭塗窮，死灰吹不起。
右黃州寒食詩帖二首。"
2. su-shi_chibifu_Ode to the Red Cliff
"Handscroll, ink on paper, 23.9 x 258 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei
In the fifth year of Emperor Shenzong (神宗)’s Yuanfeng (元豐) reign (1082) in the Northern Song period, more than 800 years after the epic Battle of Red Cliff, the famous poet-official Su Shi and friends made two trips to Red Nose Cliff (赤鼻磯) west of the town Huangzhou (黃州). To commemorate these trips, Su wrote two rhapsodies that would earn him universal praise in the annals of Chinese literature: “Odes to the Red Cliff.” Afterwards, Red Nose Cliff at Huangzhou became known as “Dongpo’s Red Cliff,” which is not the actual place of the battle but not very far from it.
For Su Shi, this was also a time when he had to endure the hardships of exile from court that resulted from the Wutai Poem Incident (烏台詩案). In his rhapsodies Su yearned nostalgically for the daring bravura of heroes who fought at Red Cliff centuries earlier, while also facing the realities of life’s brevity and the hypocritical nature of people. Consequently, he was able to develop a clear and philosophical form of critical self-examination on the aspects of change and permanence. It was exactly the predicaments of his personal difficulties at this time that made it possible for Su to see through the veil of history and make the trips to his Red Cliff passed down and commemorated through the ages. For example, dramas based on stories revolving around Su Shi and Red Cliff were produced in great numbers during the following Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Countless calligraphers also repeatedly transcribed Su’s two rhapsodies on Red Cliff, which likewise became popular among painters wishing to illustrate and celebrate Su Shi and Red Cliff. (See some of the related artworks.)
This Ode was written upon the invitation of his friend Fu Yaoyu (傅堯俞, 1024–1091), and from the phrase “Shi composed this Ode last year” at the end of the scroll, one deduces that it was probably written during the 6th Year of Yuanfeng, when Su was 48 years of age. From Su’s particular reminders of “living in fear of more troubles”, and “by your love for me, you will hold this Ode in secrecy”, one has a sense of Su’s fear as a result of being implicated in the emperor’s displeasure over writings.
The start of the scroll is damaged and is missing 36 characters, which were supplemented by Wen Zhengming (文徵明, 1470–1559) with annotations in small characters, although some scholars believe that the supplementations were actually written by his son Wen Peng (文彭). The entire scroll is composed in regular script, the characters broad and tightly written, the brushstrokes full and smooth, showing that Su had achieved perfect harmony between the elegant flow in the style of the Two Wang Masters [Wang Xizhi (王羲之, 303–361) and Wang Xianzhi(王獻之, 344–386)] that he learned from in his early years, and the more heavy simplicity in the style of Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿, 709–785) that he learned in his middle ages.
釋文：
壬戌之秋，七月既望，蘇子與客泛舟遊於赤壁之下。清風徐來，水波不興。舉酒屬客，誦明月之詩，歌窈窕之章。少焉，月出於東山之上，徘徊於鬥牛之間。白露橫江，水光接天。 縱一葦之所如，陵萬頃之茫然。浩浩乎如馮虛禦風，而不知其所止；飄飄乎如遺世獨立，羽化而登仙。
於是飲酒樂甚，扣舷而歌之。歌曰：“桂棹兮蘭槳，擊空明兮溯流光。渺渺兮余懷，望美人兮天一方。”客有吹洞簫者，倚歌而和之。其聲嗚嗚然，如怨如慕，如泣如訴，余音嫋嫋，不絕如縷。 舞幽壑之潛蛟，泣孤舟之嫠婦。
蘇子愀然，正襟危坐，而問客曰：“何為其然也？”客曰：“‘月明星稀，烏鵲南飛’，此非曹孟德之詩乎？西望夏口，東望武昌。山川相繆，郁乎蒼蒼，此非孟德之困於周郎者乎？ 方其破荊州，下江陵，順流而東也， 艫千裏，旌旗蔽空，釃酒臨江，橫槊賦詩，固一世之雄也，而今安在哉？況吾與子漁樵於江渚之上，侶魚蝦而友麋鹿，駕一葉之扁舟，舉匏樽以相屬。 寄蜉蝣於天地，渺浮海之一粟。哀吾生之須臾，羨長江之無窮。挾飛仙以遨遊，抱明月而長終。知不可乎驟得，托遺響於悲風。”
蘇子曰：“客亦知夫水與月乎？逝者如斯，而未嘗往也；盈虛者如彼，而卒莫消長也。蓋將自其變者而觀之，則天地曾不能以一瞬；自其不變者而觀之，則物與我皆無盡也，而又何羨乎？ 且夫天地之間，物各有主，茍非吾之所有，雖一毫而莫取。惟江上之清風，與山間之明月，耳得之而為聲，目遇之而成色，取之無禁，用之不竭，是造物者之無盡藏也，而吾與子之所共食。”
客喜而笑，洗盞更平酌。肴核既盡，杯盤狼籍。相與枕藉乎舟中，不知東方之既白。
軾去歲作此賦，未嘗輕出以示人。見者蓋一二人而已。欽之有使至，求近文，遂親書以寄。多難畏事，欽之愛我，必深藏之不出也。又有後赤璧賦，筆倦未能寫。當俟後信。軾白。
Discovering China - Su Shi - One of China's Most Famous Poets
"Amidst the political bickering of the Northern Song Dynasty emerged one of the most prominent poets in Chinese history: Su Shi. Su Shi, also known as Su Dong Po, has since become renowned for his warm, detail-oriented poetry that has inspired people through the ages.
Su lived a turbulent life from 1037 to 1101 AD -- spending time in various places across China. He came from a scholarly family; Su's father and brother were both great poets in their own right. His mother, also highly accomplished, was responsible Su's education. It soon paid off, because at the young age of 19, Su passed the civil-service examination at the highest level - the Jin Shi degree.
This examination was a gateway to a political career. Su proceeded to take on various government positions, including serving as the magistrate of Mi Zhou and the governor of Xu Zhou.
This involvement in politics led to some trouble. Because of massive budget deficit and inflation at that time, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Shenzong, reached out to Wang Anshi, an economist and statesman, to devise reform strategies. Su opposed Anshi's reform plans, even openly criticizing them in his poems.
As Anshi's political faction gained power in the government, Su was banished to the far-off land of Hubei under allegations of slandering the emperor. There, he lived on a farm named, "Dong Po", hence his pseudonym Su Dong Po. Though he became increasingly upset with his prolonged exile, he grew to love the land of Hubei and spent most of his time writing poetry. Su was able to return to office several years later, though only temporarily. He was banished a second time to the southern island of Hainan. He died at the age of 64, on the journey back from his second exile.
Some of Su's best works came during Su's periods of exile.
One of his most prominent poems was about the historic battle of the Red Cliff when he visited it on his travels. In it, he depicts the battle scene with vividness and clarity.
Known as the Red Cliff of Zhou of the Three Kingdoms.
With piled-up rocks to stab the sky
And waves to shake them thunderously
Churning the frothy mass to mounds of snow,
It's like a masterpiece in paint.
Su also pioneered the HaoFang, or "bold and unconstrained", poetic style. With this style, Su uses powerful words of description in a less structured form. A classic example is his "Shui Diao Ge Tou."
People have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,
The moon may be dim or bright, round or crescent shaped,
This imperfection has been going on since the beginning of time.
May we all be blessed with longevity,
Though thousand miles apart,
we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.
This poem echoes the fact that people are all brought together by a sense of commonality. In Chinese culture, Su's poems have brought people from different places and even different times together. His poems can still be heard echoing in the halls of Chinese schools and quoted in the works Chinese scholars. Su's name was even given to a popular Chinese dish, Dong Po Rou. Though his latter life ending up being marred by banishment and exile, Su's works always exuded a spirit of confidence and positivity. These poems have instilled inspiration in the heart of Chinese people and serve as a reminder that even during the hardest of times, there is always room for hope."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaQ7hDxFZzQ
Background from comuseum.com/calligraphy/masters/su-shi/
Su Shi
Su Shi (蘇軾, 1037–1101) was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song dynasty, and one of the major poets of the Song era. His courtesy name was Zizhan (子瞻) and his pseudonym was Dongpo Jushi (東坡居士 “Resident of the Eastern Slope”), and he is often referred to as Su Dongpo (蘇東坡).
Su Shi was born in Meishan, near Mount Emei in what is now Sichuan Province. His father Su Xun (蘇洵) and his brother Su Zhe (蘇轍) were both famous literati. Su’s early education was conducted under a Daoist priest at a local village school. Later in his childhood, he studied under his mother, herself a highly educated woman. Su married at age 17. In 1057, when Su was 19, he and his brother passed the highest-level civil service examinations to attain the degree of jinshi (presented scholar, 進士), a prerequisite for high government office.
Beginning in 1060 and throughout the following twenty years, Su held a variety of government positions throughout China; most notably in Hangzhou, where he was responsible for constructing a pedestrian causeway across the West Lake that still bears his name: Su Di (蘇堤). He had served as a magistrate in Mizhou, which is located in modern day Zhucheng County of Shandong Province. Later, when he was governor of Xuzhou, he once wrote a memorial to the throne in 1078 complaining about the troubling economic conditions and potential for armed rebellion in Liguo Industrial Prefecture, where a large part of the Chinese iron industry was located.
Su Shi was often at odds with a political faction headed by Wang Anshi. Su Shi once wrote a poem criticizing Wang Anshi’s reforms, especially the government monopoly imposed on the salt industry. The dominance of the reformist faction at court allowed the New Policy Group the ability to have Su Shi exiled for political crimes. The claim was that Su was criticizing the emperor, when in fact Su Shi’s poetry was aimed at criticizing Wang’s reforms. It should be said that Wang Anshi played no part in this actions against Su, for he had retired from public life in 1076 and established a cordial relationship with Su Shi. Su Shi’s first remote trip of exile was to Huangzhou, Hubei, where he stayed from 1080 to 1084. This post carried a nominal title, but no stipend, leaving Su in poverty. During this period, he began Buddhist meditation. In Huangzhou, Su Shi lived at a farm called Dongpo (‘Eastern Slope’), from which he took his literary pseudonym. While banished to Hubei province, he grew fond of the area he lived in, and many of his considered best poems were written in this period. His most famous piece of calligraphy, The Cold Food Observance, was also written there, expressing his loneliness and utmost disappointment. In 1086, Su and all other banished statesmen were recalled to the capital due to the ascension of a new government. However, Su was banished a second time (1094–1100) to Huizhou (now in Guangdong province) and Hainan island. In 1098, the Dongpo Academy in Hainan was built on the site of his residence that was established while in exile.
After a long period of political exile, Su received a pardon in 1100 and was posted to Chengdu. However, he died in Changzhou, Jiangsu province while he was en route to his new assignment in the year 1101. Su Shi was 64 years old. After his death he gained even greater popularity, as people sought to collect his calligraphy, paintings depicting him, stone inscriptions marking his visit to numerous places, and built shrines in his honor."
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Images:
1. su-shi_hanshi-Cold Food Observance
"Handscroll, ink on paper, 34.2 x 199.5 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei
This piece represents two poems that Su Shi wrote during his exile to Huangzhou in 1082. It was transcribed into a work of calligraphy sometime thereafter. Despite Su’s upbeat character, the poetry has an air of dejection to it. The characters and the distance between them, for example, seem to vary rhythmically according to the emotional content.
In terms of semi-cursive script, the size of the characters here ranges considerably. Su Shi once said of his own calligraphy that it is “everything from short to long, plump to bony (短長肥脊各有態).” Here, the size of the characters is sometimes reserved, other times bold. Characters that particularly stand out include those in lines 2 (年), 5 (中), 11 (葦), and 13 (紙) from the right, where their last vertical stroke trails down for some distance to stand out against the blank paper. The variation in the thickness of and distance between the lines as well as the size of the characters help to give this work a uniquely individual quality. In fact, Su Shi’s calligraphy represents one of the more personal styles of the period. Furthermore, another great Song calligrapher, Huang Tingjian (黃庭堅, 1045–1105), wrote a colophon for this work sometime before the ninth lunar month of 1100. The sizes of the characters in Huang’s colophon are even larger than Su’s, creating an ideal complement to this masterpiece of calligraphy.
釋文：自我來黃州，已過三寒食。年年欲惜春，春去不容惜。今年又苦雨，兩月秋蕭瑟。臥聞海棠花，泥污燕支雪。闇中偷負去，夜半真有力。何殊病少年（子點去），病起鬚已白。
春江欲入戶，雨勢來不已。（雨點去）小屋如漁舟，濛濛水雲裏。空庖煮寒菜，破竈燒濕葦。那知是寒食，但見烏銜紙。君門深九重，墳墓在萬里。也擬哭塗窮，死灰吹不起。
右黃州寒食詩帖二首。"
2. su-shi_chibifu_Ode to the Red Cliff
"Handscroll, ink on paper, 23.9 x 258 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei
In the fifth year of Emperor Shenzong (神宗)’s Yuanfeng (元豐) reign (1082) in the Northern Song period, more than 800 years after the epic Battle of Red Cliff, the famous poet-official Su Shi and friends made two trips to Red Nose Cliff (赤鼻磯) west of the town Huangzhou (黃州). To commemorate these trips, Su wrote two rhapsodies that would earn him universal praise in the annals of Chinese literature: “Odes to the Red Cliff.” Afterwards, Red Nose Cliff at Huangzhou became known as “Dongpo’s Red Cliff,” which is not the actual place of the battle but not very far from it.
For Su Shi, this was also a time when he had to endure the hardships of exile from court that resulted from the Wutai Poem Incident (烏台詩案). In his rhapsodies Su yearned nostalgically for the daring bravura of heroes who fought at Red Cliff centuries earlier, while also facing the realities of life’s brevity and the hypocritical nature of people. Consequently, he was able to develop a clear and philosophical form of critical self-examination on the aspects of change and permanence. It was exactly the predicaments of his personal difficulties at this time that made it possible for Su to see through the veil of history and make the trips to his Red Cliff passed down and commemorated through the ages. For example, dramas based on stories revolving around Su Shi and Red Cliff were produced in great numbers during the following Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Countless calligraphers also repeatedly transcribed Su’s two rhapsodies on Red Cliff, which likewise became popular among painters wishing to illustrate and celebrate Su Shi and Red Cliff. (See some of the related artworks.)
This Ode was written upon the invitation of his friend Fu Yaoyu (傅堯俞, 1024–1091), and from the phrase “Shi composed this Ode last year” at the end of the scroll, one deduces that it was probably written during the 6th Year of Yuanfeng, when Su was 48 years of age. From Su’s particular reminders of “living in fear of more troubles”, and “by your love for me, you will hold this Ode in secrecy”, one has a sense of Su’s fear as a result of being implicated in the emperor’s displeasure over writings.
The start of the scroll is damaged and is missing 36 characters, which were supplemented by Wen Zhengming (文徵明, 1470–1559) with annotations in small characters, although some scholars believe that the supplementations were actually written by his son Wen Peng (文彭). The entire scroll is composed in regular script, the characters broad and tightly written, the brushstrokes full and smooth, showing that Su had achieved perfect harmony between the elegant flow in the style of the Two Wang Masters [Wang Xizhi (王羲之, 303–361) and Wang Xianzhi(王獻之, 344–386)] that he learned from in his early years, and the more heavy simplicity in the style of Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿, 709–785) that he learned in his middle ages.
釋文：
壬戌之秋，七月既望，蘇子與客泛舟遊於赤壁之下。清風徐來，水波不興。舉酒屬客，誦明月之詩，歌窈窕之章。少焉，月出於東山之上，徘徊於鬥牛之間。白露橫江，水光接天。 縱一葦之所如，陵萬頃之茫然。浩浩乎如馮虛禦風，而不知其所止；飄飄乎如遺世獨立，羽化而登仙。
於是飲酒樂甚，扣舷而歌之。歌曰：“桂棹兮蘭槳，擊空明兮溯流光。渺渺兮余懷，望美人兮天一方。”客有吹洞簫者，倚歌而和之。其聲嗚嗚然，如怨如慕，如泣如訴，余音嫋嫋，不絕如縷。 舞幽壑之潛蛟，泣孤舟之嫠婦。
蘇子愀然，正襟危坐，而問客曰：“何為其然也？”客曰：“‘月明星稀，烏鵲南飛’，此非曹孟德之詩乎？西望夏口，東望武昌。山川相繆，郁乎蒼蒼，此非孟德之困於周郎者乎？ 方其破荊州，下江陵，順流而東也， 艫千裏，旌旗蔽空，釃酒臨江，橫槊賦詩，固一世之雄也，而今安在哉？況吾與子漁樵於江渚之上，侶魚蝦而友麋鹿，駕一葉之扁舟，舉匏樽以相屬。 寄蜉蝣於天地，渺浮海之一粟。哀吾生之須臾，羨長江之無窮。挾飛仙以遨遊，抱明月而長終。知不可乎驟得，托遺響於悲風。”
蘇子曰：“客亦知夫水與月乎？逝者如斯，而未嘗往也；盈虛者如彼，而卒莫消長也。蓋將自其變者而觀之，則天地曾不能以一瞬；自其不變者而觀之，則物與我皆無盡也，而又何羨乎？ 且夫天地之間，物各有主，茍非吾之所有，雖一毫而莫取。惟江上之清風，與山間之明月，耳得之而為聲，目遇之而成色，取之無禁，用之不竭，是造物者之無盡藏也，而吾與子之所共食。”
客喜而笑，洗盞更平酌。肴核既盡，杯盤狼籍。相與枕藉乎舟中，不知東方之既白。
軾去歲作此賦，未嘗輕出以示人。見者蓋一二人而已。欽之有使至，求近文，遂親書以寄。多難畏事，欽之愛我，必深藏之不出也。又有後赤璧賦，筆倦未能寫。當俟後信。軾白。
Discovering China - Su Shi - One of China's Most Famous Poets
"Amidst the political bickering of the Northern Song Dynasty emerged one of the most prominent poets in Chinese history: Su Shi. Su Shi, also known as Su Dong Po, has since become renowned for his warm, detail-oriented poetry that has inspired people through the ages.
Su lived a turbulent life from 1037 to 1101 AD -- spending time in various places across China. He came from a scholarly family; Su's father and brother were both great poets in their own right. His mother, also highly accomplished, was responsible Su's education. It soon paid off, because at the young age of 19, Su passed the civil-service examination at the highest level - the Jin Shi degree.
This examination was a gateway to a political career. Su proceeded to take on various government positions, including serving as the magistrate of Mi Zhou and the governor of Xu Zhou.
This involvement in politics led to some trouble. Because of massive budget deficit and inflation at that time, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Shenzong, reached out to Wang Anshi, an economist and statesman, to devise reform strategies. Su opposed Anshi's reform plans, even openly criticizing them in his poems.
As Anshi's political faction gained power in the government, Su was banished to the far-off land of Hubei under allegations of slandering the emperor. There, he lived on a farm named, "Dong Po", hence his pseudonym Su Dong Po. Though he became increasingly upset with his prolonged exile, he grew to love the land of Hubei and spent most of his time writing poetry. Su was able to return to office several years later, though only temporarily. He was banished a second time to the southern island of Hainan. He died at the age of 64, on the journey back from his second exile.
Some of Su's best works came during Su's periods of exile.
One of his most prominent poems was about the historic battle of the Red Cliff when he visited it on his travels. In it, he depicts the battle scene with vividness and clarity.
Known as the Red Cliff of Zhou of the Three Kingdoms.
With piled-up rocks to stab the sky
And waves to shake them thunderously
Churning the frothy mass to mounds of snow,
It's like a masterpiece in paint.
Su also pioneered the HaoFang, or "bold and unconstrained", poetic style. With this style, Su uses powerful words of description in a less structured form. A classic example is his "Shui Diao Ge Tou."
People have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,
The moon may be dim or bright, round or crescent shaped,
This imperfection has been going on since the beginning of time.
May we all be blessed with longevity,
Though thousand miles apart,
we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.
This poem echoes the fact that people are all brought together by a sense of commonality. In Chinese culture, Su's poems have brought people from different places and even different times together. His poems can still be heard echoing in the halls of Chinese schools and quoted in the works Chinese scholars. Su's name was even given to a popular Chinese dish, Dong Po Rou. Though his latter life ending up being marred by banishment and exile, Su's works always exuded a spirit of confidence and positivity. These poems have instilled inspiration in the heart of Chinese people and serve as a reminder that even during the hardest of times, there is always room for hope."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaQ7hDxFZzQ
Background from comuseum.com/calligraphy/masters/su-shi/
Su Shi
Su Shi (蘇軾, 1037–1101) was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song dynasty, and one of the major poets of the Song era. His courtesy name was Zizhan (子瞻) and his pseudonym was Dongpo Jushi (東坡居士 “Resident of the Eastern Slope”), and he is often referred to as Su Dongpo (蘇東坡).
Su Shi was born in Meishan, near Mount Emei in what is now Sichuan Province. His father Su Xun (蘇洵) and his brother Su Zhe (蘇轍) were both famous literati. Su’s early education was conducted under a Daoist priest at a local village school. Later in his childhood, he studied under his mother, herself a highly educated woman. Su married at age 17. In 1057, when Su was 19, he and his brother passed the highest-level civil service examinations to attain the degree of jinshi (presented scholar, 進士), a prerequisite for high government office.
Beginning in 1060 and throughout the following twenty years, Su held a variety of government positions throughout China; most notably in Hangzhou, where he was responsible for constructing a pedestrian causeway across the West Lake that still bears his name: Su Di (蘇堤). He had served as a magistrate in Mizhou, which is located in modern day Zhucheng County of Shandong Province. Later, when he was governor of Xuzhou, he once wrote a memorial to the throne in 1078 complaining about the troubling economic conditions and potential for armed rebellion in Liguo Industrial Prefecture, where a large part of the Chinese iron industry was located.
Su Shi was often at odds with a political faction headed by Wang Anshi. Su Shi once wrote a poem criticizing Wang Anshi’s reforms, especially the government monopoly imposed on the salt industry. The dominance of the reformist faction at court allowed the New Policy Group the ability to have Su Shi exiled for political crimes. The claim was that Su was criticizing the emperor, when in fact Su Shi’s poetry was aimed at criticizing Wang’s reforms. It should be said that Wang Anshi played no part in this actions against Su, for he had retired from public life in 1076 and established a cordial relationship with Su Shi. Su Shi’s first remote trip of exile was to Huangzhou, Hubei, where he stayed from 1080 to 1084. This post carried a nominal title, but no stipend, leaving Su in poverty. During this period, he began Buddhist meditation. In Huangzhou, Su Shi lived at a farm called Dongpo (‘Eastern Slope’), from which he took his literary pseudonym. While banished to Hubei province, he grew fond of the area he lived in, and many of his considered best poems were written in this period. His most famous piece of calligraphy, The Cold Food Observance, was also written there, expressing his loneliness and utmost disappointment. In 1086, Su and all other banished statesmen were recalled to the capital due to the ascension of a new government. However, Su was banished a second time (1094–1100) to Huizhou (now in Guangdong province) and Hainan island. In 1098, the Dongpo Academy in Hainan was built on the site of his residence that was established while in exile.
After a long period of political exile, Su received a pardon in 1100 and was posted to Chengdu. However, he died in Changzhou, Jiangsu province while he was en route to his new assignment in the year 1101. Su Shi was 64 years old. After his death he gained even greater popularity, as people sought to collect his calligraphy, paintings depicting him, stone inscriptions marking his visit to numerous places, and built shrines in his honor."
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