What did Su Dongpo do in Hangzhou during those years?

Hangzhou and Su Dongpo are two words that are easily associated with each other. Especially when talking about Hangzhou, Su Dongpo has to be mentioned. In Hangzhou, there are Su Dongpo Memorial Hall, Dongpo Road, Su Causeway, and Dongpo Pork, which is cooked in almost every restaurant. Hangzhou people seemed to have true love for Su Dongpo.

Not surprisingly, Su Shi was also very close to Hangzhou. He was transferred to Hangzhou twice, once as a judge and once as magistrate of the state. He did all the practical things of jurisdiction and governance. With such a great writer settling in, it attracted Many writers and literati came to gather, and the cultural atmosphere of this city suddenly became lively. Su Shi himself was the kind of generous and generous person who gained popularity among the public. Let alone Hangzhou, he would probably be treated like an idol wherever he went. .

The first time Su Shi came to Hangzhou to take office was in the fourth year of Xining (1071), when he was 36 years old. Su Shi, who was sent to Hangzhou from the DPRK, was actually depressed inside. Because he opposed Wang Anshi's reform, he fell into a whirlpool of struggle and had no choice but to apply for a foreign appointment to avoid right and wrong. Along the way, I couldn't help but worry about my future, wondering whether my political ambitions could be realized.

Su Shi, who was in a bad mood, arrived in Hangzhou that winter. This prosperous metropolis at that time had beautiful scenery, developed commerce, tourists, and music. Shenzong treated Su Shi well, and it was a good job to send him to this lively and prosperous place.

This time I will be in Hangzhou for three years. In addition to daily responsibilities, Su Shi's spare time life is also quite rich. It’s easy to travel around the city. You can’t miss various cultural and entertainment activities during holidays and festivals. Banquets with colleagues are indispensable. Of course, you also have time to yourself. What was it all about that made Su Shi never forget Hangzhou? Even if he was elsewhere many years later, he would still remember it through poems.

Visiting ancient temples of famous monks

Su Shi grew up in a family with a strong Buddhist atmosphere. His mother, Mrs. Cheng, was a devout Buddhist. She kept statues of the Sixteen Arhats in her home and visited them every day. Arrange tributes, worship Buddha sincerely, and be kind-hearted. When Su Shi was a child, the courtyard of his home was overgrown with bamboos and cypresses, and the trees were full of miscellaneous flowers, which attracted many birds to perch and build nests. Mrs. Cheng forbade the family to catch birds to collect their eggs, so the number of birds in his family increased, and the nests were built lower and lower. Su Shi and his friends just watched and fed, not showing any fear.

His father, Su Xun, loved to hang out with famous monks and once donated money to build a statue of Bodhisattva in his hometown. Su Shi was deeply influenced by such a family and began to read Buddhist books when he was a boy. Later, with the enrichment of life experience, I became more aware of the impermanence of life, and became increasingly interested in Buddhism.

Hangzhou not only has a prosperous and lively side, but also has ancient temples and eminent monks hidden in the lakes and mountains. Before coming to Hangzhou, Su Shi heard from his teacher Ouyang Xiu that there was a monk named Huiqin in Hangzhou. It is said that he was good at writing poems and had high literary literacy. At that time, he was the abbot of Gushan Temple above the West Lake. There was also another famous poet monk Huisi in the temple. Su Shi first arrived in Hangzhou. After settling down for a while, he set off to visit two eminent monks.

Su Shi, who was 36 years old at the time, said that he "has gradually become more and more familiar with the feeling of living in seclusion over the years, and I think about discussing on the couch with experts." Hangzhou has many temples and many famous monks. Occasionally, I travel alone through the mountains and ridges, go to the temple to meditate, burn a pot of fragrant incense, hold a pot of famous mountain spring purple bamboo shoot tea, listen to the gentle sound of the mountains and forests, stroll among the pines and bamboo banks at dusk, and in the dead of night, spend time with one or two close friends. On the stone bridge, we talked about Buddhism and Zen. Such a quiet experience certainly made Su Shi put down government affairs and chores from time to time and go into the mountains.

Tour the lake and watch the tide and flowers

Everyone knows the beauty of West Lake. How can anyone who comes to Hangzhou miss it? The Hangzhou government office where Su Shi worked happened to be at the foothills of Fenghuang Mountain, just south of West Lake. In this area, visiting the lake was just a matter of time out. When the weather is nice, you can simply move your desk to the lakeside and enjoy the beautiful scenery while handling official business. People live their lives into poems, and Su Dongpo turned his whole class into poems.

No way, West Lake is so beautiful. Not only is it beautiful, but the beauty is different throughout the year. No wonder it gave Su Shi a lot of creative inspiration.

The famous "Drinking on the Lake at First Sunny and Later Rain" was written during this period. It was the sentence "If you want to compare West Lake to Xizi, it is always better to put on light makeup and heavy makeup", which made Xihu appear as a gentle woman, which still affects people today. It captures many people’s imagination of West Lake.

At that time, the people of Hangzhou would intensively participate in a major event every Mid-Autumn Festival, that is, tide watching on the Qiantang River. Su Shi, who originally liked majestic spectacles, would certainly not let them go when he came here. Book the best spot to watch the tide in advance, and on August 15th, sit with your colleagues to watch the surging waves and the performances of the young tide-driving boys. Riding the tide is like surfing in ancient times. They hold high the little red flag, sing ditty in unison, and appear and disappear between the waves. Su Shi was moved by the great scene and wrote, "The noise of thousands of people frightens Wu Nong, just like an old boy floating on the river. If you want to know how high the tide is, the mountains are covered in the waves."

Watching the Tide in August , enjoying flowers in spring, the prosperous people of Hangzhou always have such a rich spare time life. There is an auspicious temple in Hangzhou. The vast grounds of the temple are planted with thousands of peonies of different varieties. In spring, the flowers bloom in full bloom, which is very moving. In the fifth year of Xining, in the first March after arriving in Hangzhou, Su Shi accompanied Zhizhou to Jixiang Temple to enjoy flowers, drink and have fun. The sound of silk and bamboo and the fragrant breeze attract countless tourists. Some people brought home-grown peonies and decorated them with silk baskets to compete with the Kichijoji peonies. Some people drank from their glasses and some put peonies in front of their heads. The forgetful tourists were responsible for the flower party carnival, and Su Shi was responsible for reciting poems and laughing: "When an old man wears a hairpin, he should not be ashamed of himself, and the flowers should be ashamed of the old man's head. When someone returns drunk, he should help the passerby with a smile, and a ten-mile bead curtain is half hooked." What a harmonious relationship between the government and the people.

Governing people's livelihood

Watching the tide and admiring flowers is very pleasant, but after all, it does not happen every day. Don't forget that Su Shi came to Hangzhou to serve as a judge, that is, to assist the magistrate in taking charge of the land and water. Although Hangzhou looked like a prosperous city at the time, the local people, especially the peasant class, had suffered a lot due to natural disasters, improper infrastructure and implementation of reforms.

Hangzhou was originally a piece of land formed by the tide of the Qiantang River. The water was bitter and difficult to swallow. When Li Mi of the Tang Dynasty was the governor of Hangzhou, he built six large wells distributed throughout the city to draw water. The fresh water of the West Lake was provided for drinking by the whole city. Later, Bai Juyi became the governor and further managed the West Lake and dredged six wells. However, as time went by, the six wells gradually became clogged and abandoned, and drinking water once again became a life problem for Hangzhou people.

In the autumn of the fifth year of Xining, Su Shi and the prefect Chen Xiang hired two monks who were proficient in water conservancy to take charge of repairing the six wells. They conducted on-site inspections, dug trenches, replaced bricks, and repaired leaks, so that the six wells were revitalized. , solved the draft problem.

At that time, Wang Anshi's reform was in full swing. The new law is based on national interests and aims to enrich the country and strengthen the military. It is inevitable to expand the exploitation of the lower class people. Then this shortcoming was exacerbated in the actual implementation process due to the corruption of the bureaucracy. Su Shi originally left Beijing because he opposed the reform. Now that he is among the people, he has seen with his own eyes the miserable life of the people under the attack of natural disasters and the New Deal, which made him feel even more sad and angry. During this period, Su Shi wrote many poems that reflected the suffering of the people and satirized the new law. It was these works that became the evidence that was later framed for "slandering the government." But if he was allowed to hold back and sit back and watch indifferently, he would not be Su Shi.

Start writing lyrics

Known as a great poet of the bold and unrestrained style, Su Dongpo has contributed too many classic lyrics to our Chinese textbooks from childhood to adulthood. Most people can always recite a few sentences: "Go eastward across the Yangtze River, and the waves will be exhausted. I hope you will live forever and travel thousands of miles to visit the beautiful lady." What if I told you that Su Shi’s lyrics that we read in textbooks were all created after he was 38 years old. It's true. In fact, Su Shi didn't write lyrics from the beginning. In his early days, his works were mainly poetry. Until the sixth year of Xining (the second year of the Hangzhou Prosecution), there was almost no trace of words in Su Shi's works.

There is a reason for this. The form of lyrics originally came into being in conjunction with music singing, and later gradually became a literary and artistic form for literati to entertain at singing and drinking banquets. In other words, the original essence of Ci was a kind of entertainment, characterized by the use of exquisite language to describe the thoughts of men and women and the regrets of farewell.

In Su Shi’s boyhood and the first ten years of his official career, what dominated his heart were the ideals of saving the world and the times and the great plan of governing the country. Therefore, although the poetry style of the Song Dynasty Prosperous, but Su Shi did not have many opportunities or mood to write lyrics. Things are different when you arrive in Hangzhou. What is Hangzhou? Jiangnan is a treasure land with a collection of literary styles. In addition, as a local official, I have more free time, so I can enjoy sightseeing, participating in various flower and wine banquets, and there are many masters of poetry hanging around me. With such an environment and group influence, it was natural for Su Shi to make his formal debut in the world of poetry.

Although he started a little late, Su Shi determined to be a different lyricist as soon as he started writing lyrics. He does not follow the old path of traditional graceful words and phrases, but incorporates the artistic conception and brushwork of poetry into his words, and the subject matter is no longer limited to love and grievances. You write about romance, love between men and women, but I prefer to write about grand ambitions and feelings about family and country. However, although Su Shi is the pioneer of bold and bold words, it does not mean that he cannot write graceful words. Take a look at this song to greet the bridegroom:

Breast swallows fly into the beautiful house.

There is no one around, the shade of tung trees turns to noon, and the coolness of the evening brings a new bath.

The raw silk and white round fan is made by hand, and the fan hand looks like jade for a moment.

Gradually sleep and lean, sleep alone and mature.

Who comes to push the embroiderer outside the curtain? It’s a waste of time to call people, and the dream breaks the Yaotai song.

But again, the wind knocked against the bamboo.

In June of the seventh year of Xining, Chen Xiang, the magistrate of Hangzhou, who had been with Su Shi for more than two years, was about to leave after his term of office expired. They have the same ideals in public affairs and similar interests in private. It can be said that Su Shi and Chen Xiang are in harmony. In the past few years, they have handled civil and government affairs together and traveled to Hangzhou hand in hand. The relationship between the two has become deeper and deeper. When Chen Xiang was about to leave, Su Shi wrote a series of farewell words for him.

How many times can you get back? This makes him drunk and lingering in front of the bottle.

"The Poppy. You Meitang gives a gift to the ancient times"

The autumn wind and rain on the lake make you want to leave but still stay.

Today I will leave you alone, tomorrow I will worry about killing people.

"The Bodhisattva Man. The West Lake Sends a Speech to the Ancients"

Tonight, where the remaining lamps are slanting, there is a glow:

When the autumn rain is clear, the tears are not clear.

"Nanxiangzi. Send Shugu"

Shugu is the character of Chen Xiang. He sent it again and again, and it was obvious that he was really reluctant to give it up.

Take Chaoyun away

Anyone who knows Su Shi will know who Chaoyun is. Among Su Shi's friends, it can be said that Chaoyun is the one who understands him best. Su Shi was really lucky to come to Hangzhou. Not only did he live a leisurely life and work smoothly, he also found Chaoyun who loved him, understood him and followed him.

If calculated by age, Su Shi is 26 years older than Chaoyun, and Chaoyun is even three years younger than Su Shi's eldest son Su Mai. When he entered the Su family, Chaoyun was only 12 years old, and he should be a Kabuki actor. identity. Later, Chaoyun gave birth to her youngest son, nine years later. Until Su Shi was demoted several times and moved around the country, Chao Yun stayed with him and never left.

From a girl from the singing and dancing class to the Su family, I dare to say that Bachelor Su is full of misbehavior. Chaoyun must be a lovely person. But fate took a different turn. Chaoyun's youngest son, Su Dun, died when he was less than two years old. When Su Dun was born, Su Shi was already nearly fifty. Having experienced the ups and downs of life, he once wrote a child-washing play for his youngest son:

Everyone raises his son to be smart, but I have been deceived by my wisdom throughout my life.

I hope that my child will be foolish and careless, and that he will be able to come to the palace without any trouble.

If this child grows up smoothly, he will at least be happier than his brothers.

When Chaoyun was thirty-four years old, he contracted the epidemic in Huizhou and died. He was buried beside the West Lake in Huizhou. In the epitaph written by Su Shi, she was described as "sensitive and fond of justice". A Song Dynasty woman who was good at singing and dancing, intelligent and righteous.

I always feel that Chaoyun should be a bit like Su Shi's married wife Wang Fu. Wang Fu was proficient in poetry and calligraphy, and married into the Su family at the age of sixteen. Legend has it that when Su Shi saw visitors, she would always stand behind the screen and listen, and then tell Su Shi her views on his personality. Su Shi was naive and unsuspecting, so Wang Fu acted as his good wife. When Su Shi studied, she Be there to accompany you.

This kind of tacit understanding may not be available to Wang Runzhi, who married Su Shi as his step-brother after Wang Fu's early death. God took away Wang Fu and gave him Wang Chaoyun. Hangzhou is indeed a good place.

That’s all for today’s story. In Su Shi's political career, he served in Hangzhou twice. The second time was in the fourth year of Yuanyou (1089) when Su Shi was 54 years old and served as the governor of the state. The next story will be told later when I have the opportunity.

References for this article

"The Biography of Su Shi" Wang Shuizhao Cui Ming

"Selected Works of Su Shi" Wang Shuizhao