https://bou.de/u/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Alexis+Sagen 2026-04-04T14:30:47Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.35.14 https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Novel_%27Water_Margin%27&diff=2595 2012-04-19T04:00:07Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==Water Margin 水浒传 （Shui Hu Zhuan）==<br /> <br /> Other titles for ''Mater Margin'' include ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. ''Water Margin'' was one of the 4 classics<br /> It was a story about 108 outlaws in the Song Dynasty (“Water Margin”). The earliest completed copy of ''Water Margin'' was from the mid 16th century, and was 100 chapters long. Other versions vary in length with a 120 chapter edition and a 70 chapter edition as well.The chapters of ''Water Margin'' were only loosely connected, each standing as individual stories about the characters.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==AUTHOR==<br /> <br /> Many argue that Shi Nai'an wrote the first 70 chapters, and Luo Guanzhong wrote the last 30 chapters and was the editor. There are critiques to this argument due to the fact that the author of ''Water Margin'' was anonymous.<br /> <br /> One theory says that Luo was the student of Shi Nai'an.<br /> <br /> Another theory argues that Shi Nai’an didn’t exist and was only the pseudonym Luo Guanzhong used to protect himself as the book contained strong anti-governmentv sentiments.<br /> <br /> (“Water Margin”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Shi Nai’an 施耐庵 (1296—1371)==<br /> <br /> Shi Nai'an spelled backwards is An Nai Shi, which means &quot;It is I again” (“Water Margin”). This odd meaning hidden within the two names suggests that Shi Nai'an may have been a pseudonym to protect Luo Guanzhong from the anti-government sentiments found in Water Margin (Luo Guanzhong)<br /> <br /> ==Luo Guanzhong 罗贯中 (1330?-1400?)==<br /> <br /> Lup Guanzhong is thought to have written the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', one of the four classics and the first historical novel in China (&quot;The Four Great Classical Novels”).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==HISTORICAL BASE==<br /> <br /> The stories in ''Water Margin'' are a collection of Robin Hood-like folk stories that had existed for a long time before the publication of the book. The book was loosely based on the real outlaw named Song Jian and his 36 companions. The bandit Song Jian and his gang operated in the Huai River region, but was defeated and surrendered to the government in 1121. The main precursor of ''Water Margin'' was “Old incidents in Xuanhe period of the great Song Dynasty” (Da Song Xuanhe Yishi 大宋宣和遗事) from the 13th century, which contained many of the characters and narratives of ''Water Margin''.<br /> Yuan dramas<br /> <br /> Source: (“Water Margin”)<br /> <br /> ==CHARACTERS==<br /> <br /> ''Water Margin'' has 787 characters; more than any other novel in the world (&quot;Outlaws of the Marsh”). The heroes are the stars of 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends. The villains are 4 Prime Minister; Gao Qiu, Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, and eunuchs Tong Guan and Yang Jiang<br /> (Miyamoto 2011)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==PLOTLINE==<br /> <br /> A Daoist sage sealed 108 demons under a stone monument. An arrogant court official then had the monument opened, and the demons escaped and formed a bandit group under Song Jian. Song Jian had a Divine Mission to restore justice and loyalty to China. If he accomplished this tasks, he would be able to be cleansed of his demon status and return to Godhood. While pointing out the corruption in court, ''Water Margin'' stresses the importance of loyalty to the emperor. Song Jiang ends up dying as the martyr.<br /> <br /> (Miyamoto 2011)<br /> <br /> ==WHY SO POPULAR?==<br /> <br /> “There is a theory that Water Margin became popular during the Yuan Dynasty as the common people (predominantly Han Chinese) resented the Mongolian rulers. The outlaws' rebellion was deemed &quot;safe&quot; to promote as it was supposedly a negative reflection of the fallen Song Dynasty. Concurrently, the rebellion was also a call for the common people to rise up against corruption in the government. Chongzhen Emperor banned the book to suppress rebels as per his official's advice but his rule was too short” (“Water Margin”).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==水滸伝（すいこでん）==<br /> <br /> ''Water Margin'' was translated into Japanese in 1757 or earlier. Woodblock prints were made of the story, and it became very popular. The characters and story began to changer to represent Japanese characters and events. The story remains popular today in Japan with a series of video games, manga, and television dramas based on it.<br /> <br /> Source: (&quot;Water Margin 水浒传&quot; )<br /> <br /> <br /> ==WORKS CITED==<br /> <br /> &quot;Luo Guanzhong - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History&quot;. Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6323.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Miyamoto, Yoko. &quot;Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits - Demystifying Confucianism.&quot; Demystifying Confucianism. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.demystifyingconfucianism.info/water-margin&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Outlaws of the Marsh - One of the Four Great Chinese Classical Novels.&quot; History.cultural-china.com. Culture History. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/60History148.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Shi Nai'an - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History&quot;. Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6308.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12126.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Water Margin（Shui Hu Zhuan).&quot; Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12124.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Novel_%27Water_Margin%27&diff=2594 2012-04-19T03:59:25Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==Water Margin 水浒传 （Shui Hu Zhuan）==<br /> <br /> Other titles for ''Mater Margin'' include ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. ''Water Margin'' was one of the 4 classics<br /> It was a story about 108 outlaws in the Song Dynasty (“Water Margin”). The earliest completed copy of ''Water Margin'' was from the mid 16th century, and was 100 chapters long. Other versions vary in length with a 120 chapter edition and a 70 chapter edition as well.The chapters of ''Water Margin'' were only loosely connected, each standing as individual stories about the characters.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==AUTHOR==<br /> <br /> Many argue that Shi Nai'an wrote the first 70 chapters, and Luo Guanzhong wrote the last 30 chapters and was the editor. There are critiques to this argument due to the fact that the author of ''Water Margin'' was anonymous.<br /> <br /> One theory says that Luo was the student of Shi Nai'an.<br /> <br /> Another theory argues that Shi Nai’an didn’t exist and was only the pseudonym Luo Guanzhong used to protect himself as the book contained strong anti-governmentv sentiments.<br /> <br /> (“Water Margin”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Shi Nai’an 施耐庵 (1296—1371)==<br /> <br /> Shi Nai'an spelled backwards is An Nai Shi, which means &quot;It is I again” (“Water Margin”). This odd meaning hidden within the two names suggests that Shi Nai'an may have been a pseudonym to protect Luo Guanzhong from the anti-government sentiments found in Water Margin (Luo Guanzhong)<br /> <br /> ==Luo Guanzhong 罗贯中 (1330?-1400?)==<br /> <br /> Lup Guanzhong is thought to have written the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', one of the four classics and the first historical novel in China (&quot;The Four Great Classical Novels”).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==HISTORICAL BASE==<br /> <br /> The stories in ''Water Margin'' are a collection of Robin Hood-like folk stories that had existed for a long time before the publication of the book. The book was loosely based on the real outlaw named Song Jian and his 36 companions. The bandit Song Jian and his gang operated in the Huai River region, but was defeated and surrendered to the government in 1121. The main precursor of ''Water Margin'' was “Old incidents in Xuanhe period of the great Song Dynasty” (Da Song Xuanhe Yishi 大宋宣和遗事) from the 13th century, which contained many of the characters and narratives of ''Water Margin''.<br /> Yuan dramas<br /> <br /> Source: (“Water Margin”)<br /> <br /> ==CHARACTERS==<br /> <br /> ''Water Margin'' has 787 characters; more than any other novel in the world (&quot;Outlaws of the Marsh”). The heroes are the stars of 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends. The villains are 4 Prime Minister; Gao Qiu, Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, and eunuchs Tong Guan and Yang Jiang<br /> (Miyamoto 2011)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==PLOTLINE==<br /> <br /> A Daoist sage sealed 108 demons under a stone monument. An arrogant court official then had the monument opened, and the demons escaped and formed a bandit group under Song Jian. Song Jian had a Divine Mission to restore justice and loyalty to China. If he accomplished this tasks, he would be able to be cleansed of his demon status and return to Godhood. While pointing out the corruption in court, ''Water Margin'' stresses the importance of loyalty to the emperor. Song Jiang ends up dying as the martyr.<br /> <br /> (Miyamoto 2011)<br /> <br /> ==WHY SO POPULAR?==<br /> <br /> “There is a theory that Water Margin became popular during the Yuan Dynasty as the common people (predominantly Han Chinese) resented the Mongolian rulers. The outlaws' rebellion was deemed &quot;safe&quot; to promote as it was supposedly a negative reflection of the fallen Song Dynasty. Concurrently, the rebellion was also a call for the common people to rise up against corruption in the government. Chongzhen Emperor banned the book to suppress rebels as per his official's advice but his rule was too short” (“Water Margin”).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==水滸伝（すいこでん）==<br /> <br /> ''Water Margin'' was translated into Japanese in 1757 or earlier. Woodblock prints were made of the story, and it became very popular. The characters and story began to changer to represent Japanese characters and events. The story remains popular today in Japan with a series of video games, manga, and television dramas based on it.<br /> <br /> Source: (&quot;Water Margin 水浒传&quot; )<br /> <br /> &quot;Luo Guanzhong - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History&quot;. Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6323.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Miyamoto, Yoko. &quot;Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits - Demystifying Confucianism.&quot; Demystifying Confucianism. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.demystifyingconfucianism.info/water-margin&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Outlaws of the Marsh - One of the Four Great Chinese Classical Novels.&quot; History.cultural-china.com. Culture History. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/60History148.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Shi Nai'an - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History&quot;. Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6308.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12126.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Water Margin（Shui Hu Zhuan).&quot; Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12124.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Novel_%27Water_Margin%27&diff=2592 2012-04-19T03:50:32Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==Water Margin 水浒传 （Shui Hu Zhuan）==<br /> <br /> Other titles for ''Mater Margin'' include ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. ''Water Margin'' was one of the 4 classics<br /> It was a story about 108 outlaws in the Song Dynasty (“Water Margin”). The earliest completed copy of ''Water Margin'' was from the mid 16th century, and was 100 chapters long. Other versions vary in length with a 120 chapter edition and a 70 chapter edition as well.The chapters of ''Water Margin'' were only loosely connected, each standing as individual stories about the characters.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==AUTHOR==<br /> <br /> Many argue that Shi Nai'an wrote the first 70 chapters, and Luo Guanzhong wrote the last 30 chapters and was the editor. There are critiques to this argument due to the fact that the author of ''Water Margin'' was anonymous.<br /> <br /> One theory says that Luo was the student of Shi Nai'an.<br /> <br /> Another theory argues that Shi Nai’an didn’t exist and was only the pseudonym Luo Guanzhong used to protect himself as the book contained strong anti-governmentv sentiments.<br /> <br /> (“Water Margin”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Shi Nai’an 施耐庵 (1296—1371)==<br /> <br /> Shi Nai'an spelled backwards is An Nai Shi, which means &quot;It is I again” (“Water Margin”). This odd meaning hidden within the two names suggests that Shi Nai'an may have been a pseudonym to protect Luo Guanzhong from the anti-government sentiments found in Water Margin (Luo Guanzhong)<br /> <br /> ==Luo Guanzhong 罗贯中 (1330?-1400?)==<br /> <br /> Lup Guanzhong is thought to have written the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', one of the four classics and the first historical novel in China (&quot;The Four Great Classical Novels”).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==HISTORICAL BASE==<br /> <br /> The stories in ''Water Margin'' are a collection of Robin Hood-like folk stories that had existed for a long time before the publication of the book. The book was loosely based on the real outlaw named Song Jian and his 36 companions. The bandit Song Jian and his gang operated in the Huai River region, but was defeated and surrendered to the government in 1121. The main precursor of ''Water Margin'' was “Old incidents in Xuanhe period of the great Song Dynasty” (Da Song Xuanhe Yishi 大宋宣和遗事) from the 13th century, which contained many of the characters and narratives of ''Water Margin''.<br /> Yuan dramas<br /> <br /> Source: (“Water Margin”)<br /> <br /> ==CHARACTERS==<br /> <br /> 787 characters, more than any other novel in the world (&quot;Outlaws of the Marsh”)<br /> heroes: Stars of 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends<br /> Villains: Prime Minister Gao Qiu, Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, and eunuchs Tong Guan and Yang Jiang<br /> (Miyamoto 2011)<br /> <br /> <br /> Daoist sage sealed them under a stone monument. <br /> An arrogant court official had the monument opened.<br /> Divine Mission: Justice<br /> Loyalty to the emperor.<br /> Song Jiang dies as the martyr<br /> (Miyamoto 2011)<br /> <br /> <br /> “There is a theory that Water Margin became popular during the Yuan Dynasty as the common people (predominantly Han Chinese) resented the Mongolian rulers. The outlaws' rebellion was deemed &quot;safe&quot; to promote as it was supposedly a negative reflection of the fallen Song Dynasty. Concurrently, the rebellion was also a call for the common people to rise up against corruption in the government. Chongzhen Emperor banned the book to suppress rebels as per his official's advice but his rule was too short” (“Water Margin”).<br /> <br /> <br /> 水滸伝（すいこでん）<br /> Was translated into Japanese in 1757 or earlier.<br /> Woodblock prints<br /> Very popular<br /> Source: (&quot;Water Margin 水浒传&quot; )<br /> <br /> &quot;Luo Guanzhong - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History&quot;. Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6323.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Miyamoto, Yoko. &quot;Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits - Demystifying Confucianism.&quot; Demystifying Confucianism. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.demystifyingconfucianism.info/water-margin&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Outlaws of the Marsh - One of the Four Great Chinese Classical Novels.&quot; History.cultural-china.com. Culture History. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/60History148.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Shi Nai'an - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History&quot;. Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6308.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12126.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Water Margin（Shui Hu Zhuan).&quot; Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12124.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=The_predecessors_of_newspapers&diff=2579 2012-04-19T03:09:15Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==NEWSPAPER PREDECESSORS== <br /> <br /> The Chinese developed woodblock printing during the Sui dynasty (581-618) and metal moveable type in the Song (960-1276). Paper was invented by Cai Lun in 105 AD. <br /> <br /> the first western-style newspaper was published in China in 1815. the language it was published in was Portuguese. The first successful Chinese-language newspaper was published in Hong Kong in 1864.<br /> <br /> (Lamont 2007, p 5-6)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==GAZETTES==<br /> <br /> Gazettes were produced daily,and distributed across the empire, with abridged editions for local distribution. Gazettes were created by central ministries, provincial governments, and local authorities. Content of these gazettes included edicts, memorials to the Emperor, announcement of appointments, and the court diary.Government policies was further announced by posters, and notices were read aloud to the illiterate.<br /> <br /> ==ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT==<br /> <br /> There were highly varied accounts of when gazettes were supposed to have first began production. Henrietta Harrison argued that they started in the 15th century. Joan Judge said that the predecessors of the gazettes started as metropolitan gazettes (dibao) in the tang dynasty (618 - 907), or even in the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 AD). The Kauyan Za Bao (Bulletin of the Court) is also claimed to be the first newspaper, and was started in the 8th century. The daily news was collected by editors and hand-written on silk by writers.  It was sent to the provinces and read by imperial officers during the Kaiyuan era(Cecilia, &quot;Who Invented the Newspaper?&quot;).<br /> <br /> By the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), gazettes were called guanfangbaozhi (“official newspapers”), or guanbao for short.<br /> Tens of thousands of guanbao circulated in China. Some sources said gazettes were mostly read mostly by government officials, but others argued that they were widely read and discussed by commoners as well.<br /> <br /> “While gazettes were the ‘official medium of communication’ between the courtland the provinces, they were technically ‘a form of private correspondence sent to provincial authorities by their accredited agents in the capital,’ as opposed to a sort of internal newsletter for all bureaucrats. This suggests that the gazettes were customized or restricted to specific subsets of the bureaucratic population, based on location or rank. It also suggests that the gazettes may have been copied by hand in earlier times” (Lamont 2007, p 4).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> WORKS CITED<br /> <br /> (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1985), 362.<br /> <br /> Cecilia. &quot;Who Invented the Newspaper?&quot; Sikantisblog.com. 28 July 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.sikantisblog.com/wp/?p=1630&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Chinese Paper Invention.&quot; Chinese Culture. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa_invention_paper02a.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Henrietta Harrison, China: Inventing the Nation (London: Arnold, 2001), 112<br /> <br /> Joan Judge, Print and Politics: John King Fairbank, China: A New History (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of HarvardUniversity Press, 1992), 84.<br /> Judge, 17.<br /> <br /> Lamont, Ian. &quot;The Rise of the Press in Late Imperial China.&quot; Diss. Harvard University Extension School, 2007. Scribd. 27 Nov. 2007. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.scribd.com/doc/5021205/The-Rise-of-the-Press-in-Late-Imperial-China&gt;.<br /> <br /> <br /> Leo Ou-fan Lee and Andrew J. Nathan, “The Beginnings of Mass Culture: Journalism andFiction in the Late Ch'ing and Beyond.” In David Johnson, Andrew J. and Nathan, Evelyn S. Rawski (eds.),Popular Culture in Late Imperial China‘Shibao’ and the Culture of Reform in Late Qing China(Stanford,CA: Stanford University Press, 1996), 20.<br /> <br /> Lee and Nathan, 362.<br /> <br /> Xiuming Zhang, “Hanzi yinshua de fazhan,” etc., in Zhonghuo yinshua shi(Shanghai: RenminPublishing Co., 1989) 669-729. Cited in Christopher Alexander Reed,Gutenberg in Shanghai: Mechanized  Printing, Modern Publishing, and their Effects on the City, 1876-1937 <br /> (doctoral dissertation) (Berkeley:University of California Press, 1996), 144.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=The_predecessors_of_newspapers&diff=2573 2012-04-19T03:01:18Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==NEWSPAPER PREDECESSORS== <br /> <br /> The Chinese developed woodblock printing during the Sui dynasty (581-618) and metal moveable type in the Song (960-1276). Paper was invented by Cai Lun in 105 AD. <br /> <br /> the first western-style newspaper was published in China in 1815. the language it was published in was Portuguese. The first successful Chinese-language newspaper was published in Hong Kong in 1864.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==GAZETTES==<br /> <br /> Gazettes were produced daily,and distributed across the empire, with abridged editions for local distribution. Gazettes were created by central ministries, provincial governments, and local authorities. Content of these gazettes included edicts, memorials to the Emperor, announcement of appointments, and the court diary.Government policies was further announced by posters, and notices were read aloud to the illiterate.<br /> <br /> ==ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT==<br /> <br /> There were highly varied accounts of when gazettes were supposed to have first began production. Henrietta Harrison argued that they started in the 15th century. Joan Judge said that the predecessors of the gazettes started as metropolitan gazettes (dibao) in the tang dynasty (618 - 907), or even in the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 AD). The Kauyan Za Bao (Bulletin of the Court) is also claimed to be the first newspaper, and was started in the 8th century. The daily news was collected by editors and hand-written on silk by writers.  It was sent to the provinces and read by imperial officers during the Kaiyuan era(Cecilia, &quot;Who Invented the Newspaper?&quot;).<br /> <br /> By the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), gazettes were called guanfangbaozhi (“official newspapers”), or guanbao for short.<br /> Tens of thousands of guanbao circulated in China. Some sources said gazettes were mostly read mostly by government officials, but others argued that they were widely read and discussed by commoners as well.<br /> <br /> “While gazettes were the ‘official medium of communication’ between the courtland the provinces, they were technically ‘a form of private correspondence sent to provincial authorities by their accredited agents in the capital,’ as opposed to a sort of internal newsletter for all bureaucrats.” <br /> <br /> “This suggests that the gazettes were customized or restricted to specific subsets of the bureaucratic population, based on location or rank. It also suggests that the gazettes may have been copied by hand in earlier times.”<br /> <br /> <br /> WORKS CITED<br /> <br /> (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1985), 362.<br /> <br /> Cecilia. &quot;Who Invented the Newspaper?&quot; Sikantisblog.com. 28 July 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.sikantisblog.com/wp/?p=1630&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Chinese Paper Invention.&quot; Chinese Culture. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa_invention_paper02a.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Henrietta Harrison, China: Inventing the Nation (London: Arnold, 2001), 112<br /> <br /> Joan Judge, Print and Politics: John King Fairbank, China: A New History (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of HarvardUniversity Press, 1992), 84.<br /> Judge, 17.<br /> <br /> Lamont, Ian. &quot;The Rise of the Press in Late Imperial China.&quot; Diss. Harvard University Extension School, 2007. Scribd. 27 Nov. 2007. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.scribd.com/doc/5021205/The-Rise-of-the-Press-in-Late-Imperial-China&gt;.<br /> <br /> <br /> Leo Ou-fan Lee and Andrew J. Nathan, “The Beginnings of Mass Culture: Journalism andFiction in the Late Ch'ing and Beyond.” In David Johnson, Andrew J. and Nathan, Evelyn S. Rawski (eds.),Popular Culture in Late Imperial China‘Shibao’ and the Culture of Reform in Late Qing China(Stanford,CA: Stanford University Press, 1996), 20.<br /> <br /> Lee and Nathan, 362.<br /> <br /> Xiuming Zhang, “Hanzi yinshua de fazhan,” etc., in Zhonghuo yinshua shi(Shanghai: RenminPublishing Co., 1989) 669-729. Cited in Christopher Alexander Reed,Gutenberg in Shanghai: Mechanized  Printing, Modern Publishing, and their Effects on the City, 1876-1937 <br /> (doctoral dissertation) (Berkeley:University of California Press, 1996), 144.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=The_predecessors_of_newspapers&diff=2428 2012-04-18T16:56:37Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==NEWSPAPER PREDECESSORS== <br /> <br /> the first western-style newspaper was published in China in 1815. the language it was published in as Portuguese<br /> The first successful Chinese-language newspaper was published in Hong Kong in 1864<br /> The Chinese developed woodblock printing during the Sui dynasty (581-618) and metal moveable type in the Song (960-1276). Paper was invented by Cai Lun in 105 AD<br /> <br /> ==GAZETTES==<br /> <br /> Created daily<br /> Distributed across the empire, with abridged editions for local distribution<br /> Created by central ministries, provincial governments, and local authorities<br /> “published edicts, memorials to the throne, and other information that officials thought important, such as the announcement of appointments and the court diary.”<br />   government policy was announced by posters, and notices were read aloud to the illiterate.<br /> <br /> ==ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT==<br /> <br /> Various accounts of when gazettes were first started: <br /> Henrietta Harrison argued that they started in the 15th century<br /> Joan Judge said that the predecessors of the gazettes started as metropolitan gazettes (dibao) in the tang dynasty (618 - 907), or even in the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 AD)<br /> The Kauyan Za Bao (Bulletin of the Court) was supposedly the first newspaper and was started in the 8th century. The daily news was collected by editors and hand-written on silk by writers.  It was sent to the provinces and read by imperial officers during the Kaiyuan era.<br /> <br /> By the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), gazettes were called guanfangbaozhi (“official newspapers”), or guanbao for short.<br /> Tens of thousands of guanbao circulated<br /> Some sources said gazettes were mostly read mostly by government officials, but others argued that they were widely read and discussed<br /> <br /> “While gazettes were the ‘official medium of communication’ between the courtand the provinces, they were technically ‘a form of private correspondence sent to provincial authorities by their accredited agents in the capital,’ as opposed to a sort of internal newsletter for all bureaucrats.” <br /> “This suggests that the gazettes were customized or restricted to specific subsets of the bureaucratic population, based on location or rank. It also suggests that the gazettes may have been copied by hand in earlier times.”<br /> <br /> <br /> WORKS CITED<br /> <br /> (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1985), 362.<br /> Cecilia. &quot;Who Invented the Newspaper?&quot; Sikantisblog.com. 28 July 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.sikantisblog.com/wp/?p=1630&gt;.<br /> &quot;Chinese Paper Invention.&quot; Chinese Culture. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa_invention_paper02a.htm&gt;.<br /> Henrietta Harrison, China: Inventing the Nation (London: Arnold, 2001), 112<br /> oan Judge, Print and Politics:<br /> John King Fairbank, China: A New History (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of HarvardUniversity Press, 1992), 84.<br /> Judge, 17.<br /> Lamont, Ian. &quot;The Rise of the Press in Late Imperial China.&quot; Diss. Harvard University Extension School, 2007. Scribd. 27 Nov. 2007. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.scribd.com/doc/5021205/The-Rise-of-the-Press-in-Late-Imperial-China&gt;.<br /> Lee and Nathan, 362.<br /> Leo Ou-fan Lee and Andrew J. Nathan, “The Beginnings of Mass Culture: Journalism andFiction in the Late Ch'ing and Beyond.” In David Johnson, Andrew J. and Nathan, Evelyn S. Rawski (eds.),<br />  Popular Culture in Late Imperial China<br /> ‘Shibao’ and the Culture of Reform in Late Qing China<br /> (Stanford,CA: Stanford University Press, 1996), 20.<br /> Xiuming Zhang, “Hanzi yinshua de fazhan,” etc., in<br />  Zhonghuo yinshua shi<br /> (Shanghai: RenminPublishing Co., 1989) 669-729. Cited in Christopher Alexander Reed,<br /> Gutenberg in Shanghai: Mechanized  Printing, Modern Publishing, and their Effects on the City, 1876-1937 <br /> (doctoral dissertation) (Berkeley:University of California Press, 1996), 144.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Which_emperor_had_killed_close_relatives_to_ascend_the_throne%3F&diff=2427 2012-04-18T16:53:42Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==HAN DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> A report by officials commissioned by Empress Dowager Wang concluded in 6 BC that the consort of Emperor Cheng murdered his two sons from other concubines (possibly out of jealousy). One of the consorts, Consort Cao, was then forced forced to commit suicide. This was done with the agreement of Emperor Cheng(History - Historical Figures. Son Emperor Cheng's &quot;Women Troubles&quot; and Lack of Heir).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==SUI DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> Emperor Yang allegedly killed his father, Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen was killed on Emperor Yang's orders, not directly by him.<br /> There is no real evidence to support the accusation that Yang killed Wen (History - Historical Figures.&quot; Did Emperor Yang Kill Emperor Wen?).<br /> <br /> Before his death, Eperor Wen himself had actually secured his position as Emperor by deposing the child emperor and killing 59 princes (Reunification Under the Sui Dynasty ).<br /> <br /> ==TANG DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> Li Shimin (599-649) led an insurrection against his father, Emperor Gaozu (also known as Li Yuan), after killing his two brothers who were his rivals to the throne. Li Shimin deposed his father and became Emperor in the year 626 (source: Taizong of Tang Dynasty), but he did not kill his father, who “lived on as Grand Emperor (Taishang Huang) until his death in 635&quot; (&quot;Li Yuan&quot;).<br /> <br /> ==MING DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> Emperor Jiajing (1507-1567) “was so violent towards his first Empress that she had a miscarriage. Later eighteen of his concubines jointly tried to strangle him. He would have died had not one of the eighteen lost her nerve and sounded the alarm&quot; (&quot;Beijing History&quot;).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==QING DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> Emperor Yongzheng was rumored to have poisoned his father, emperor Kanxi. Yongzheng supposedly added a stroke in one of the characters of the Emperor’s proclamation which changed the statement &quot;…pass the throne to 14th son&quot; to &quot;pass the throne to 4th son“ (source: Yongzheng). The murder has never been proven, although it is likely that Yongzheng tampered with the Emperor's will (&quot; Yongzheng&quot;). <br /> <br /> After becoming Emperor, Yongzheng proceeded to arrest many of his brothers(Spence, p 74). The former heir apparent and two other brothers died in prison but it is unknown if they were murdered or not (Spence, p 74). Another sourcesays that Emperor Yonngzheng had all but one of his brothers killed (&quot;Beijing History&quot;).<br /> <br /> Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) was rumored to have killed many of her family members. She supposedly had her son, emperor Tongzhi, poisoned in 1875 when he was 19 years old (Paludan). She then proceeded to persuade the pregnant wife of Tongzhi, Alute, to commit suicide by eating gold dust two months after Tongzhi's death in order to put her nephew Guanxu on the throne (Pakula). One murder the Empress definitely commited was that of her nephew and adopted song, Guanxu, who she killed with arsenic in 1908. Empress Dowager Cixi died 22 hours after her nephew of old age (&quot;Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor&quot;).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==SOURCES CITED==<br /> <br /> &quot;Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say.&quot;CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. &lt;http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Beijing History.&quot; Beijing Made Easy. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.beijingmadeeasy.com/beijing-history/Chinese-Emperors&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Dictionary - Definition of Patricide.&quot; Webster's Online Dictionary - with Multilingual Thesaurus Translation. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/patricide&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty.&quot; , Chinese Culture, China Highlights. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/emperor-taizong.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;History - Historical Figures.&quot; Did Emperor Yang Kill Emperor Wen? Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/46H9791H13777.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;History - Historical Figures.&quot; Son Emperor Cheng's &quot;Women Troubles&quot; and Lack of Heir. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/48H7889H12764.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Li Yuan.&quot; - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Li_Yuan&gt;.<br /> <br /> Pakula Hannah. The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.<br /> <br /> Paludan, Ann. Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors. New York: Thames &amp; Hudson Inc., 1998.<br /> <br /> &quot;Reunification Under the Sui Dynasty (581-618) - Imperial China - History - China - Asia.&quot; Countries Quest. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.countriesquest.com/asia/china/history/imperial_china/reunification_under_the_sui_dynasty_581-618.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. Print.<br /> <br /> &quot;Yongzheng.&quot; Chinaculture. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_22919.htm&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Which_emperor_had_killed_close_relatives_to_ascend_the_throne%3F&diff=2426 2012-04-18T16:53:08Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==HAN DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> A report by officials commissioned by Empress Dowager Wang concluded in 6 BC that the consort of Emperor Cheng murdered his two sons from other concubines (possibly out of jealousy). One of the consorts, Consort Cao, was then forced forced to commit suicide. This was done with the agreement of Emperor Cheng(History - Historical Figures. Son Emperor Cheng's &quot;Women Troubles&quot; and Lack of Heir).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==SUI DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> Emperor Yang allegedly killed his father, Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen was killed on Emperor Yang's orders, not directly by him.<br /> There is no real evidence to support the accusation that Yang killed Wen (History - Historical Figures.&quot; Did Emperor Yang Kill Emperor Wen?).<br /> <br /> Before his death, Eperor Wen himself had actually secured his position as Emperor by deposing the child emperor and killing 59 princes (Reunification Under the Sui Dynasty ).<br /> <br /> ==TANG DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> Li Shimin (599-649) led an insurrection against his father, Emperor Gaozu (also known as Li Yuan), after killing his two brothers who were his rivals to the throne. Li Shimin deposed his father and became Emperor in the year 626 (source: Taizong of Tang Dynasty), but he did not kill his father, who “lived on as Grand Emperor (Taishang Huang) until his death in 635&quot; (&quot;Li Yuan&quot;).<br /> <br /> ==MING DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> Emperor Jiajing (1507-1567) “was so violent towards his first Empress that she had a miscarriage. Later eighteen of his concubines jointly tried to strangle him. He would have died had not one of the eighteen lost her nerve and sounded the alarm&quot; (&quot;Beijing History&quot;).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==QING DYNASTY==<br /> <br /> Emperor Yongzheng was rumored to have poisoned his father, emperor Kanxi. Yongzheng supposedly added a stroke in one of the characters of the Emperor’s proclamation which changed the statement &quot;…pass the throne to 14th son&quot; to &quot;pass the throne to 4th son“ (source: Yongzheng). The murder has never been proven, although it is likely that Yongzheng tampered with the Emperor's will (&quot; Yongzheng&quot;). <br /> <br /> After becoming Emperor, Yongzheng proceeded to arrest many of his brothers(Spence, p 74). The former heir apparent and two other brothers died in prison but it is unknown if they were murdered or not (Spence, p 74). Another sourcesays that Emperor Yonngzheng had all but one of his brothers killed (&quot;Beijing History&quot;).<br /> <br /> Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) was rumored to have killed many of her family members. She supposedly had her son, emperor Tongzhi, poisoned in 1875 when he was 19 years old (Paludan). She then proceeded to persuade the pregnant wife of Tongzhi, Alute, to commit suicide by eating gold dust two months after Tongzhi's death in order to put her nephew Guanxu on the throne (Pakula). One murder the Empress definitely commited was that of her nephew and adopted song, Guanxu, who she killed with arsenic in 1908. Empress Dowager Cixi died 22 hours after her nephew of old age (&quot;Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor&quot;).<br /> <br /> <br /> Sources<br /> <br /> &quot;Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say.&quot;CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. &lt;http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Beijing History.&quot; Beijing Made Easy. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.beijingmadeeasy.com/beijing-history/Chinese-Emperors&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Dictionary - Definition of Patricide.&quot; Webster's Online Dictionary - with Multilingual Thesaurus Translation. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/patricide&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty.&quot; , Chinese Culture, China Highlights. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/emperor-taizong.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;History - Historical Figures.&quot; Did Emperor Yang Kill Emperor Wen? Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/46H9791H13777.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;History - Historical Figures.&quot; Son Emperor Cheng's &quot;Women Troubles&quot; and Lack of Heir. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/48H7889H12764.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Li Yuan.&quot; - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Li_Yuan&gt;.<br /> <br /> Pakula Hannah. The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.<br /> <br /> Paludan, Ann. Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors. New York: Thames &amp; Hudson Inc., 1998.<br /> <br /> &quot;Reunification Under the Sui Dynasty (581-618) - Imperial China - History - China - Asia.&quot; Countries Quest. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.countriesquest.com/asia/china/history/imperial_china/reunification_under_the_sui_dynasty_581-618.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. Print.<br /> <br /> &quot;Yongzheng.&quot; Chinaculture. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_22919.htm&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Writing_with_your_own_blood&diff=2425 2012-04-18T16:36:17Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>~IN PROGRESS~<br /> <br /> ==BLOODLETTERS==<br /> <br /> Forms of self mutilation were traditionally practiced in China such as the cutting off of fingers, self-immolation, and blood-writing as a demonstration of devotion and piety (Baker).<br /> <br /> ==FILIAL PIETY==<br /> <br /> <br /> In the Tang Dynasty, Wan Jingru received official recognition for his filial devotion to his parents by cutting off two of his fingers and copying texts using his blood (Kieschnick ).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==WARRIORS’ COURAGE==<br /> <br /> In AD 1002, a magistrate called Fei Ji defended his city from attack for over a month. He cut his finger and wrote a letter to the Song court using his blood, requesting aid (&quot;imperialchina.org&quot;).<br /> <br /> Another more modern example of blood-letter writing comes from a teacher named Xu Teli, who wrote a blood letter to protest Japan’s 21 demands on China in 1915 (Wang).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==BUDDHISM==<br /> <br /> Buddhists believed that a person can show devotion and accrue good karma for their next life by copying Buddhist texts in blood.<br /> One example of bloodwriting in Buddhism is by an 83 year old man who used ink mixed with his blood to write Buddhist scripture.<br /> (Baker)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==In Search of Lin Zhou's Soul 尋找林昭的靈魂==<br /> <br /> A woman named Lin Zhou wrote about 500 pages (140,000 words)in blood from a prison during the cultural revolution. She later was able to acquire ink from the guards and rewrote her message in ink. Lin Zhou's letters were given to her sister by one of her guards after the cultural revolution. <br /> <br /> “The document was ostensibly a letter to the People's Daily, the party's official newspaper. Lin condemned the Anti-Rightist Campaign and accused the party of taking advantage of the idealism of her generation.<br /> She wrote of the abuse she suffered in prison, of guards who handcuffed her in painful positions and force-fed her through her nostrils. She described how she wrote in blood after they took away her pen, and how the prison saved her writing to use against her. Occasionally the letter deteriorated into an incoherent rant, but every page was brimming with emotion and defiance” (Pan 2008).<br /> <br /> (Pan 2008)<br /> <br /> ==Sources Cited==<br /> <br /> Baker, Abby. &quot;Blood writing in Buddhist scrolls.&quot; British Library, Untold Lives: Sharing stories from the past. N.p., 02 January 2012. Web. 1 Feb 2012. &lt;http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2012/01/blood-writing-in-buddhist-scrolls.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> BL, S.5451. 2012. Photograph. British Library, Untold Lives: Sharing stories from the pastWeb. 1 Feb 2012. &lt;http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2012/01/blood-writing-in-buddhist-scrolls.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Hu, Jie. &quot;In Search of Lin Zhou's Soul.&quot; Posted June 10, 2008. 2004. Web, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwkDeisygcM.<br /> <br /> Kieschnick, John. The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography. United States: Kuroda Institute, 1997.<br /> <br /> Pan, Philip P. &quot;A Past Written In Blood.&quot; Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News &amp; Analysis. 03 July 2008. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070203677.html?nav=hcmodule&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Tanguts vs Song Dynasty.&quot; imperialchina.org. N.p., 2011. Web. 2 Feb 2012. &lt;http://www.imperialchina.org/Xi-Xia.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Wang, Zheng. Women in the Chinese enlightenment: oral and textual histories. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999. eBook. &lt;http://books.google.com/books?id=unObToGSvUwC&amp;printsec=frontcover<br /> <br /> PART 1: https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dc4f2tj3_2cprh46fk<br /> <br /> PART 2: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dc4f2tj3_34ds98bd7q</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=The_development_of_oral_literature_forms&diff=2424 2012-04-18T16:27:44Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>==ORAL LITERATURE==<br /> <br /> <br /> The stories narrated in oral literature are usually exciting tles of heroes and their various exploits meant to keeep the audience enthralled during a storytelling. The storyteller's role is that of an actor, bring the tale to life through his words, expressions, and gestures. The storyteller is often the author of the story as well. Even if the tale is an old one, the the oral story is more fluid than written literature because every storyteller tells it differently, adding their own words and scenes to the story, never telling the exact same story twice. When telling a tale, the storyteller usually stands behind a table. He uses a fan to gesture with and to use to represent other objects in the tale. He also uses a gavel to hit on the table to add excitement in crucial places in the story.<br /> <br /> (“Storytellers”)<br /> <br /> ==ORIGIN==<br /> <br /> The earliest record of oral literature scripts is from the Tang Dynasty (618～907). Performance storytelling (pingshu) can be traced to the Western Zhou Dynasty (BC770~256BC). Despite the early development of oral literature scripts, oral literature was not given the title of an independent art form until the Qing Dynasty.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==STATUS==<br /> <br /> The status of oral literature scripts was even lower than that of the vernacular style genres. Most scholars looked down on oral literature as crude and uncultured because it was the literature of the commoner who was unable to read for himself. Some educated scholars did see its value and oral literature however, and oral storytelling(shuohua) helped to influence vernacular genres and vice versa.<br /> <br /> (Børdahl)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==HUABEN==<br /> <br /> A type in oral literature called huaben was produced by folk storytellers. Huaben are script for storytelling in folk literature in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.<br /> <br /> Genres within huaben include:<br /> <br /> Novels<br /> <br /> Historical stories<br /> <br /> Stories from Confucian classics<br /> <br /> Leather-Silhouette shows<br /> <br /> Puppet shows<br /> <br /> (&quot;Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==DETAILED AND BRIEF==<br /> <br /> There are two basic varieties of huaben; detailed and brief.<br /> <br /> Detailed huaben use simple language and they are primarily recorded utterances.<br /> <br /> Brief huaben are in outline form and summarize stories such as from fictions or sketchbooks.<br /> <br /> (&quot;Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==INFLUENCE==<br /> <br /> Vernacular novels developed from Huaben. Novels such as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'', ''The Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', and ''Pilgrimage to the West'' have their origins in huaben traditions.<br /> <br /> (&quot;Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)<br /> <br /> ==WORKS CITED==<br /> <br /> Børdahl, Vibeke. &quot;The Status of Oral Literature in Traditional China.&quot; Shuoshu.org. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.shuoshu.org/Chinese_Storytelling/OWL/status%20of%20oral%20literature%20in%20traditional%20China.shtml&gt;<br /> <br /> &quot;Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties.&quot; Chinaculture.org. Chinadaily.com.cn. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_41739.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Storytelling.&quot; Chinancient.com. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinancient.com/storytelling/&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Classical_Chinese_Literature&diff=2423 2012-04-18T13:48:31Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/uvu:Community_Portal Click here to learn how to use this Wiki.] [[User:Root|Root]] 11:42, 10 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = Announcements =<br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color:red&quot;&gt;'''The wiki will be graded on W 4/18/2012 11:59 p.m. Please make sure that all articles are up. [[Special:Upload]]'''&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> = Beginnings =<br /> * [[The development of oral literature forms]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 13:48, 18 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-5.pptx]<br /> <br /> == Xia Dynasty ==<br /> Mythical dynasty before the invention of script.<br /> <br /> == Shang Dynasty ==<br /> * The emergence of script - Oracle Bones (turtle shells, scapula - cow shoulder blades)<br /> * The emergence of Written Literature (1200 BC)<br /> <br /> == Zhou Dynasty and Warring States Period ==<br /> * [[Confucius]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 05:36, 6 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Mencius]] -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489162/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[The 5 Canonized Classics]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:35, 20 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == Han Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Cai Yong]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489270/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Songs from India]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == 16 Kingdoms and 6 Dynasties ==<br /> * [[Tao Yuanming - Manuscript Culture]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 23:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = The Golden Age =<br /> == Tang Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Examples of authors unknown in their lifetime, but famous after their death]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Du Fu]] (712 - 770) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/d/da/Du_Fu_%28wiki%29.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 20:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Li Bai]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 22:30, 1 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> == Song Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Ouyang Xiu]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Su Shi (Su Dongpo)]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:48, 27 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> = The Foreign Dynasties Liao (Khitan), the Jin (Jurchen) and the Yuan (Mongols) =<br /> == Yuan ==<br /> * Yuan Literature I -- Arnold<br /> * Yuan Literature II -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Ming Dynasty =<br /> * Literary Societies in Ming -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature I - Rise of books -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature, eight-legged essay -- Wantong D<br /> * [[The predecessors of newspapers]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 21:55, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-4.pptx]<br /> * Novel 'Plum in a Golden Vase / The Golden Lotus' -- Licia K<br /> * [[Novel 'Journey to the West']] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:17, 18 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Novel 'Water Margin']] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:04, 15 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * Feng Menglong, the first commercially successful writer -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Preview: Qing (Manchu)-Dynasty =<br /> * [[Middlebrow Literature]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489082/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> <br /> = Timeless Presentations =<br /> <br /> * [[Canonization of Chinese Literature in the East and West]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] <br /> * [[Writing with your own blood]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 03:43, 8 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Saying A and meaning B - Several examples of double layer literature]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Which emperor had killed close relatives to ascend the throne?]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:13, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-2.pptx]<br /> * Poetry Genres [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/4/43/Poetry_Genres.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 19:46, 4 April 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=The_development_of_oral_literature_forms&diff=2422 2012-04-18T13:47:27Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: Created page with '==ORIGIN== Earliest record in Tang Dynasty (618～907) Labeled as an independent art form in the Qing Dynasty Performance storytelling (pingshu) can be traced to the Western Zho…'</p> <hr /> <div>==ORIGIN==<br /> <br /> Earliest record in Tang Dynasty (618～907)<br /> Labeled as an independent art form in the Qing Dynasty<br /> Performance storytelling (pingshu) can be traced to the Western Zhou Dynasty (BC770~256BC)<br /> Storyteller: author and actor<br /> Content: heroes<br /> Stand behind a table with a fan and gavel<br /> (“Storytellers”)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==STATUS==<br /> <br /> Status was even lower than vernacular style genres <br /> Some educated scholars did see its value and oral literature (shuohua) helped to influence vernacular genres and vice versa <br /> <br /> <br /> (Børdahl)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==HUABEN==<br /> <br /> Produced by folk storytellers<br /> Script for storytelling in folk literature in the Song and Yuan Dynasties:<br /> Novels<br /> Historical stories<br /> Stories from Confucian classics<br /> Leather-Silhouette shows<br /> Puppet shows<br /> (&quot;Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==DETAILED AND BRIEF==<br /> <br /> Detailed: <br /> Simple language<br /> Recorded utterances<br /> <br /> Brief:<br /> Outline<br /> Summary of stories<br /> Fictions and sketchbooks<br /> <br /> (&quot;Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==INFLUENCE==<br /> <br /> Vernacularly written Novels developed from Huaben<br /> Outlaws of the Marsh <br /> The Romance of the Three Kingdoms<br /> Pilgrim to the West<br /> <br /> <br /> (&quot;Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties“)<br /> <br /> ==WORKS CITED==<br /> <br /> Børdahl, Vibeke. &quot;The Status of Oral Literature in Traditional China.&quot; Shuoshu.org. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.shuoshu.org/Chinese_Storytelling/OWL/status%20of%20oral%20literature%20in%20traditional%20China.shtml&gt;<br /> <br /> &quot;Huaben in Song and Yuan Dynasties.&quot; Chinaculture.org. Chinadaily.com.cn. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_41739.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Storytelling.&quot; Chinancient.com. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinancient.com/storytelling/&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Classical_Chinese_Literature&diff=2421 2012-04-18T13:43:40Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/uvu:Community_Portal Click here to learn how to use this Wiki.] [[User:Root|Root]] 11:42, 10 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = Announcements =<br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color:red&quot;&gt;'''The wiki will be graded on W 4/18/2012 11:59 p.m. Please make sure that all articles are up. [[Special:Upload]]'''&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> = Beginnings =<br /> * The development of oral literature forms -- Alexis Sagen [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-5.pptx]<br /> <br /> == Xia Dynasty ==<br /> Mythical dynasty before the invention of script.<br /> <br /> == Shang Dynasty ==<br /> * The emergence of script - Oracle Bones (turtle shells, scapula - cow shoulder blades)<br /> * The emergence of Written Literature (1200 BC)<br /> <br /> == Zhou Dynasty and Warring States Period ==<br /> * [[Confucius]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 05:36, 6 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Mencius]] -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489162/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[The 5 Canonized Classics]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:35, 20 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == Han Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Cai Yong]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489270/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Songs from India]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == 16 Kingdoms and 6 Dynasties ==<br /> * [[Tao Yuanming - Manuscript Culture]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 23:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = The Golden Age =<br /> == Tang Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Examples of authors unknown in their lifetime, but famous after their death]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Du Fu]] (712 - 770) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/d/da/Du_Fu_%28wiki%29.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 20:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Li Bai]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 22:30, 1 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> == Song Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Ouyang Xiu]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Su Shi (Su Dongpo)]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:48, 27 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> = The Foreign Dynasties Liao (Khitan), the Jin (Jurchen) and the Yuan (Mongols) =<br /> == Yuan ==<br /> * Yuan Literature I -- Arnold<br /> * Yuan Literature II -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Ming Dynasty =<br /> * Literary Societies in Ming -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature I - Rise of books -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature, eight-legged essay -- Wantong D<br /> * [[The predecessors of newspapers]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 21:55, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-4.pptx]<br /> * Novel 'Plum in a Golden Vase / The Golden Lotus' -- Licia K<br /> * [[Novel 'Journey to the West']] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:17, 18 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Novel 'Water Margin']] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:04, 15 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * Feng Menglong, the first commercially successful writer -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Preview: Qing (Manchu)-Dynasty =<br /> * [[Middlebrow Literature]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489082/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> <br /> = Timeless Presentations =<br /> <br /> * [[Canonization of Chinese Literature in the East and West]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] <br /> * [[Writing with your own blood]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 03:43, 8 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Saying A and meaning B - Several examples of double layer literature]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Which emperor had killed close relatives to ascend the throne?]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:13, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-2.pptx]<br /> * Poetry Genres [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/4/43/Poetry_Genres.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 19:46, 4 April 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Classical_Chinese_Literature&diff=2420 2012-04-18T13:42:59Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/uvu:Community_Portal Click here to learn how to use this Wiki.] [[User:Root|Root]] 11:42, 10 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = Announcements =<br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color:red&quot;&gt;'''The wiki will be graded on W 4/18/2012 11:59 p.m. Please make sure that all articles are up. [[Special:Upload]]'''&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> = Beginnings =<br /> * The development of oral literature forms -- Alexis Sagen<br /> <br /> == Xia Dynasty ==<br /> Mythical dynasty before the invention of script.<br /> <br /> == Shang Dynasty ==<br /> * The emergence of script - Oracle Bones (turtle shells, scapula - cow shoulder blades)<br /> * The emergence of Written Literature (1200 BC)[https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-5.pptx]<br /> <br /> == Zhou Dynasty and Warring States Period ==<br /> * [[Confucius]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 05:36, 6 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Mencius]] -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489162/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[The 5 Canonized Classics]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:35, 20 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == Han Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Cai Yong]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489270/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Songs from India]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == 16 Kingdoms and 6 Dynasties ==<br /> * [[Tao Yuanming - Manuscript Culture]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 23:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = The Golden Age =<br /> == Tang Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Examples of authors unknown in their lifetime, but famous after their death]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Du Fu]] (712 - 770) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/d/da/Du_Fu_%28wiki%29.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 20:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Li Bai]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 22:30, 1 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> == Song Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Ouyang Xiu]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Su Shi (Su Dongpo)]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:48, 27 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> = The Foreign Dynasties Liao (Khitan), the Jin (Jurchen) and the Yuan (Mongols) =<br /> == Yuan ==<br /> * Yuan Literature I -- Arnold<br /> * Yuan Literature II -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Ming Dynasty =<br /> * Literary Societies in Ming -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature I - Rise of books -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature, eight-legged essay -- Wantong D<br /> * [[The predecessors of newspapers]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 21:55, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-4.pptx]<br /> * Novel 'Plum in a Golden Vase / The Golden Lotus' -- Licia K<br /> * [[Novel 'Journey to the West']] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:17, 18 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Novel 'Water Margin']] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:04, 15 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * Feng Menglong, the first commercially successful writer -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Preview: Qing (Manchu)-Dynasty =<br /> * [[Middlebrow Literature]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489082/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> <br /> = Timeless Presentations =<br /> <br /> * [[Canonization of Chinese Literature in the East and West]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] <br /> * [[Writing with your own blood]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 03:43, 8 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Saying A and meaning B - Several examples of double layer literature]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Which emperor had killed close relatives to ascend the throne?]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:13, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-2.pptx]<br /> * Poetry Genres [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/4/43/Poetry_Genres.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 19:46, 4 April 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=File:CHIN_LIT_-5.pptx&diff=2419 2012-04-18T13:41:45Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Writing_with_your_own_blood&diff=2328 2012-04-15T22:22:56Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>~IN PROGRESS~<br /> <br /> ==BLOODLETTERS==<br /> <br /> Forms of self mutilation were practiced in China such as the cutting off of fingers, self-immolation, and blood-writing as a demonstration of devotion and piety (Baker).<br /> <br /> ==FILIAL PIETY==<br /> <br /> <br /> In the Tang Dynasty, Wan Jingru received official recognition for his filial devotion to his parents by cutting off two of his fingers and copying texts using his blood (Kieschnick ).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==WARRIORS’ COURAGE==<br /> <br /> In AD 1002, a magistrate called Fei Ji defended his city from attack for over a month. He cut his finger and wrote a letter to the Song court using his blood, requesting aid (&quot;imperialchina.org&quot;).<br /> A teacher, Xu Teli, wrote a blood letter to protest Japan’s 21 demands on China in 1915 (Wang).<br /> <br /> <br /> ==BUDDHISM==<br /> <br /> Buddhists believed that by copying Buddhist texts in blood, a person can show devotion and accrue good karma for their next life (Baker).<br /> Buddhist scripture written by an 83 year old man using ink mixed with his blood (Baker).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==In Search of Lin Zhou's Soul 尋找林昭的靈魂==<br /> <br /> About 500 pages (140,000 words)<br /> “After the Cultural Revolution, a police official had risked punishment and quietly given a bundle of Lin's writing to her sister. Another family member had given them to Gan” (Lin’s former boyfriend).<br /> “The text was in ink, but Lin wrote that she had composed almost all of it in blood first and copied it after prison authorities gave her pen and paper.” <br /> <br /> “The document was ostensibly a letter to the People's Daily, the party's official newspaper. Lin condemned the Anti-Rightist Campaign and accused the party of taking advantage of the idealism of her generation.<br /> She wrote of the abuse she suffered in prison, of guards who handcuffed her in painful positions and force-fed her through her nostrils. She described how she wrote in blood after they took away her pen, and how the prison saved her writing to use against her. Occasionally the letter deteriorated into an incoherent rant, but every page was brimming with emotion and defiance.”<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Sources Cited==<br /> <br /> Baker, Abby. &quot;Blood writing in Buddhist scrolls.&quot; British Library, Untold Lives: Sharing stories from the past. N.p., 02 January 2012. Web. 1 Feb 2012. &lt;http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2012/01/blood-writing-in-buddhist-scrolls.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> BL, S.5451. 2012. Photograph. British Library, Untold Lives: Sharing stories from the pastWeb. 1 Feb 2012. &lt;http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2012/01/blood-writing-in-buddhist-scrolls.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Hu, Jie. &quot;In Search of Lin Zhou's Soul.&quot; Posted June 10, 2008. 2004. Web, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwkDeisygcM.<br /> <br /> Kieschnick, John. The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography. United States: Kuroda Institute, 1997.<br /> <br /> Pan, Philip P. &quot;A Past Written In Blood.&quot; Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News &amp; Analysis. 03 July 2008. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070203677.html?nav=hcmodule&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Tanguts vs Song Dynasty.&quot; imperialchina.org. N.p., 2011. Web. 2 Feb 2012. &lt;http://www.imperialchina.org/Xi-Xia.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Wang, Zheng. Women in the Chinese enlightenment: oral and textual histories. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999. eBook. &lt;http://books.google.com/books?id=unObToGSvUwC&amp;printsec=frontcover<br /> <br /> PART 1: https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dc4f2tj3_2cprh46fk<br /> <br /> PART 2: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dc4f2tj3_34ds98bd7q</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Writing_with_your_own_blood&diff=2327 2012-04-15T22:15:41Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>Forms of self mutilation were practiced in China such as the cutting off of fingers, self-immolation, and blood-writing as a demonstration of devotion and piety (Baker).<br /> <br /> FILIAL PIETY<br /> <br /> <br /> In the Tang Dynasty, Wan Jingru received official recognition for his filial devotion to his parents by cutting off two of his fingers and copying texts using his blood (Kieschnick ).<br /> <br /> <br /> WARRIORS’ COURAGE<br /> <br /> In AD 1002, a magistrate called Fei Ji defended his city from attack for over a month. He cut his finger and wrote a letter to the Song court using his blood, requesting aid (&quot;imperialchina.org&quot;).<br /> A teacher, Xu Teli, wrote a blood letter to protest Japan’s 21 demands on China in 1915 (Wang).<br /> <br /> <br /> Buddhism<br /> <br /> Buddhists believed that by copying Buddhist texts in blood, a person can show devotion and accrue good karma for their next life (Baker).<br /> Buddhist scripture written by an 83 year old man using ink mixed with his blood (Baker).<br /> <br /> <br /> Sources Cited<br /> <br /> Baker, Abby. &quot;Blood writing in Buddhist scrolls.&quot; British Library, Untold Lives: Sharing stories from the past. N.p., 02 January 2012. Web. 1 Feb 2012. &lt;http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2012/01/blood-writing-in-buddhist-scrolls.html&gt;.<br /> BL, S.5451. 2012. Photograph. British Library, Untold Lives: Sharing stories from the pastWeb. 1 Feb 2012. &lt;http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2012/01/blood-writing-in-buddhist-scrolls.html&gt;.<br /> Kieschnick, John. The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography. United States: Kuroda Institute, 1997.<br /> &quot;Tanguts vs Song Dynasty.&quot; imperialchina.org. N.p., 2011. Web. 2 Feb 2012. &lt;http://www.imperialchina.org/Xi-Xia.html&gt;.<br /> Wang, Zheng. Women in the Chinese enlightenment: oral and textual histories. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999. eBook. &lt;http://books.google.com/books?id=unObToGSvUwC&amp;printsec=frontcover<br /> <br /> PART 1: https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dc4f2tj3_2cprh46fk<br /> <br /> PART 2: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dc4f2tj3_34ds98bd7q</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Classical_Chinese_Literature&diff=2326 2012-04-15T22:13:05Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/uvu:Community_Portal Click here to learn how to use this Wiki.] [[User:Root|Root]] 11:42, 10 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = Announcements =<br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color:red&quot;&gt;'''Good news! Powerpoint files can now be uploaded directly using [[Special:Upload]]'''&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> = Beginnings =<br /> * The development of oral literature forms -- Alexis Sagen<br /> <br /> == Shang Dynasty ==<br /> * The emergence of script- Oracle Bones<br /> * The emergence of Written Literature (1200 BC)<br /> <br /> == Zhou Dynasty and Warring States Period ==<br /> * [[Confucius]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 05:36, 6 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Mencius]] -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489162/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[The 5 Canonized Classics]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:35, 20 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Tao Yuanming - Manuscript Culture]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 23:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == Han Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Cai Yong]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489270/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Songs from India]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> = The Golden Age =<br /> == Tang Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Du Fu]] [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/d/da/Du_Fu_%28wiki%29.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 20:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Li Bai]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 22:30, 1 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> == Song Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Ouyang Xiu]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Su Shi (Su Dongpo)]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:48, 27 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> <br /> = The Foreign Dynasties =<br /> == The Liao, the Jin and the Yuan ==<br /> == Yuan ==<br /> * Yuan Literature I -- Arnold<br /> * Yuan Literature II -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Ming Dynasty =<br /> * Literary Societies in Ming -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature, eight-legged essay -- Wantong D &amp;<br /> * [[The predecessors of newspapers]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 21:55, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-4.pptx]<br /> * Novel 'Plum in a Golden Vase / The Golden Lotus' -- Licia K<br /> * Novel 'Journey to the West' -- Arnold Q<br /> * [[Novel 'Water Margin']] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:04, 15 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * Feng Menglong, the first commercially successful writer -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Additional Presentations =<br /> <br /> * [[Canonization of Chinese Literature in the East and West]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] <br /> * [[Middlebrow Literature]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489082/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Writing with your own blood]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 03:43, 8 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Examples of authors unknown in their lifetime, but famous after their death]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Saying A and meaning B - Several examples of double layer literature]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Which emperor had killed close relatives to ascend the throne?]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:13, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-2.pptx]<br /> * Scholarship: Who coined the most important terms for classical Chinese literature? -- Arnold Q<br /> * Poetry Genres [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/4/43/Poetry_Genres.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 19:46, 4 April 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=File:CHIN_LIT_-2.pptx&diff=2325 2012-04-15T22:11:40Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Which_emperor_had_killed_close_relatives_to_ascend_the_throne%3F&diff=2324 2012-04-15T22:10:10Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: Created page with 'HAN DYNASTY A report by officials commissioned by Empress Dowager Wang concluded in 6 BC that the consort of Emperor Cheng murdered his two sons from other concubines (possibly …'</p> <hr /> <div>HAN DYNASTY<br /> <br /> A report by officials commissioned by Empress Dowager Wang concluded in 6 BC that the consort of Emperor Cheng murdered his two sons from other concubines (possibly out of jealousy). <br /> One of the consorts, Consort Cao, was forced then forced to commit suicide. <br /> This was done with the agreement of Emperor Cheng. <br /> (Source: History - Historical Figures.&quot; Son Emperor Cheng's &quot;Women Troubles&quot; and Lack of Heir)<br /> <br /> A report by officials commissioned by Empress Dowager Wang concluded in 6 BC that the consort of Emperor Cheng murdered his two sons from other concubines (possibly out of jealousy). <br /> One of the consorts, Consort Cao, was forced then forced to commit suicide. <br /> This was done with the agreement of Emperor Cheng. <br /> (Source: History - Historical Figures.&quot; Son Emperor Cheng's &quot;Women Troubles&quot; and Lack of Heir)<br /> <br /> <br /> SUI DYNASTY<br /> <br /> Emperor Yang allegedly killed his father, Emperor Wen. <br /> Killed on his orders, not by him.<br /> No real evidence (source: History - Historical Figures.&quot; Did Emperor Yang Kill Emperor Wen? ).<br /> Wen himself had secured his position by deposing the child emperor and killing 59 princes (source: Reunification Under the Sui Dynasty ).<br /> <br /> TANG DYNASTY<br /> <br /> Li Shimin (599-649): “killed his two brothers and led an insurrection against his father, emperor Gaozu (Li Yuan), founder of the Tang dynasty, in the year 626 to depose him to become the ruler Emperor (source: Taizong of Tang Dynasty).<br /> Didn’t kill his father who “lived on as Grand Emperor (Taishang Huang) until his death in 635 (source: Li Yuan).”<br /> <br /> MING DYNASTY<br /> <br /> Emperor Jiajing (1507-1567): “was so violent towards his first Empress that she had a miscarriage. Later eighteen of his concubines jointly tried to strangle him. He would have died had not one of the eighteen lost her nerve and sounded the alarm (source: Beijing History.&quot; Beijing Made Easy).”<br /> <br /> <br /> QING DYNASTY<br /> <br /> Yongzheng over was rumored to have poisoned his father, emperor Kanxi, and added a stroke to the emperor’s proclamation that changed the statement &quot;…pass the throne to 14th son&quot; to &quot;pass the throne to 4th son“ (source: Yongzheng). <br /> Never been proven (source: Yongzheng). <br /> Arrested many of his brother’s after becoming emperor (source: Spence, p 74).<br /> The former heir apparent and two other brothers died in prison but it is unknown if they were murdered or not (Spence, p 74)<br /> Killed all but one of his brothers (source: Beijing History.&quot; Beijing Made Easy).<br /> <br /> Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908): <br /> Rumors that she had her son, emperor Tongzhi, poisoned in 1875 when he was 19 years old (source: Paludan)<br /> Persuaded the pregnant wife of Tongzhi, Alute, to commit suicide by eating gold dust two months after Tongzhi's death in order to put her nephew Guanxu on the throne (source: Pakula).<br /> Definitely killed her nephew and adopted song, Guanxu, with arsenic in 1908 and died 22 hours later (source: Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor).<br /> <br /> <br /> Sources<br /> <br /> &quot;Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say.&quot;CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. &lt;http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Beijing History.&quot; Beijing Made Easy. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.beijingmadeeasy.com/beijing-history/Chinese-Emperors&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Dictionary - Definition of Patricide.&quot; Webster's Online Dictionary - with Multilingual Thesaurus Translation. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/patricide&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty.&quot; , Chinese Culture, China Highlights. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/emperor-taizong.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;History - Historical Figures.&quot; Did Emperor Yang Kill Emperor Wen? Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/46H9791H13777.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;History - Historical Figures.&quot; Son Emperor Cheng's &quot;Women Troubles&quot; and Lack of Heir. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/48H7889H12764.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Li Yuan.&quot; - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Li_Yuan&gt;.<br /> <br /> Pakula Hannah. The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.<br /> <br /> Paludan, Ann. Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors. New York: Thames &amp; Hudson Inc., 1998.<br /> <br /> &quot;Reunification Under the Sui Dynasty (581-618) - Imperial China - History - China - Asia.&quot; Countries Quest. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.countriesquest.com/asia/china/history/imperial_china/reunification_under_the_sui_dynasty_581-618.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. Print.<br /> <br /> &quot;Yongzheng.&quot; Chinaculture. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_22919.htm&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Classical_Chinese_Literature&diff=2323 2012-04-15T22:04:12Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/uvu:Community_Portal Click here to learn how to use this Wiki.] [[User:Root|Root]] 11:42, 10 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = Announcements =<br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color:red&quot;&gt;'''Good news! Powerpoint files can now be uploaded directly using [[Special:Upload]]'''&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> = Beginnings =<br /> * The development of oral literature forms -- Alexis Sagen<br /> <br /> == Shang Dynasty ==<br /> * The emergence of script- Oracle Bones<br /> * The emergence of Written Literature (1200 BC)<br /> <br /> == Zhou Dynasty and Warring States Period ==<br /> * [[Confucius]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 05:36, 6 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Mencius]] -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489162/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[The 5 Canonized Classics]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:35, 20 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Tao Yuanming - Manuscript Culture]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 23:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == Han Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Cai Yong]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489270/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Songs from India]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> = The Golden Age =<br /> == Tang Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Du Fu]] [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/d/da/Du_Fu_%28wiki%29.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 20:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Li Bai]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 22:30, 1 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> == Song Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Ouyang Xiu]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Su Shi (Su Dongpo)]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:48, 27 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> <br /> = The Foreign Dynasties =<br /> == The Liao, the Jin and the Yuan ==<br /> == Yuan ==<br /> * Yuan Literature I -- Arnold<br /> * Yuan Literature II -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Ming Dynasty =<br /> * Literary Societies in Ming -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature, eight-legged essay -- Wantong D &amp;<br /> * [[The predecessors of newspapers]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 21:55, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-4.pptx]<br /> * Novel 'Plum in a Golden Vase / The Golden Lotus' -- Licia K<br /> * Novel 'Journey to the West' -- Arnold Q<br /> * [[Novel 'Water Margin']] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 22:04, 15 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * Feng Menglong, the first commercially successful writer -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Additional Presentations =<br /> <br /> * [[Canonization of Chinese Literature in the East and West]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] <br /> * [[Middlebrow Literature]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489082/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Writing with your own blood]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 03:43, 8 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Examples of authors unknown in their lifetime, but famous after their death]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Saying A and meaning B - Several examples of double layer literature]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * Which emperor had killed close relatives to ascend the throne? -- Alexis Sagen<br /> * Scholarship: Who coined the most important terms for classical Chinese literature? -- Arnold Q<br /> * Poetry Genres [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/4/43/Poetry_Genres.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 19:46, 4 April 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Novel_%27Water_Margin%27&diff=2322 2012-04-15T22:03:17Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: Created page with 'Water Margin 水浒传�（Shui Hu Zhuan） ~IN PROGRESS~ Outlaws of the Marsh or All Men Are Brothers One of the 4 classics 108 outlaws in the Song Dynasty (“Water Margin…'</p> <hr /> <div>Water Margin 水浒传�（Shui Hu Zhuan）<br /> <br /> <br /> ~IN PROGRESS~<br /> <br /> Outlaws of the Marsh or All Men Are Brothers<br /> One of the 4 classics<br /> 108 outlaws in the Song Dynasty (“Water Margin”)<br /> Mid 16th century 100 chapters long (earliest full edition)<br /> 120 chapters and 70 chapters editions<br /> Chapters were only loosely connected<br /> <br /> Shi Nai'an: 70 chapters <br /> Luo Guanzhong: last 30 chapters and editor<br /> 2 Theories<br /> Luo: student of Shi Nai'an<br /> or <br /> Shi Nai’an didn’t exist and was only Luo Guanzhong’s pseudonym.<br /> Source: (“Water Margin”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Shi Nai’an 施耐庵 (1296—1371)<br /> Shi Nai'an backwards is An Nai Shi, which means &quot;It is I again” (“Water Margin”)<br /> May have been a pseudonym to protect Luo Guanzhong from the anti-government sentiments found in Water Margin (Luo Guanzhong)<br /> <br /> Luo Guanzhong 罗贯中 (1330?-1400?)<br /> Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the four classics and the first historical novel in China (&quot;The Four Great Classical Novels”)<br /> <br /> <br /> Folk stories (Robin Hood)<br /> Outlaw named Song Jian and his 36 companions<br /> Operated in the Huai River region<br /> Defeated and surrendered to the government in 1121<br /> Precursor: “Old incidents in Xuanhe period of the great Song Dynasty” (Da Song Xuanhe Yishi 大宋宣和遗事) from the 13th century<br /> Yuan dramas<br /> Source: (“Water Margin”)<br /> <br /> <br /> 787 characters, more than any other novel in the world (&quot;Outlaws of the Marsh”)<br /> heroes: Stars of 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends<br /> Villains: Prime Minister Gao Qiu, Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, and eunuchs Tong Guan and Yang Jiang<br /> (Miyamoto 2011)<br /> <br /> <br /> Daoist sage sealed them under a stone monument. <br /> An arrogant court official had the monument opened.<br /> Divine Mission: Justice<br /> Loyalty to the emperor.<br /> Song Jiang dies as the martyr<br /> (Miyamoto 2011)<br /> <br /> <br /> “There is a theory that Water Margin became popular during the Yuan Dynasty as the common people (predominantly Han Chinese) resented the Mongolian rulers. The outlaws' rebellion was deemed &quot;safe&quot; to promote as it was supposedly a negative reflection of the fallen Song Dynasty. Concurrently, the rebellion was also a call for the common people to rise up against corruption in the government. Chongzhen Emperor banned the book to suppress rebels as per his official's advice but his rule was too short” (“Water Margin”).<br /> <br /> <br /> 水滸伝（すいこでん）<br /> Was translated into Japanese in 1757 or earlier.<br /> Woodblock prints<br /> Very popular<br /> Source: (&quot;Water Margin 水浒传&quot; )<br /> <br /> &quot;Luo Guanzhong - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History&quot;. Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6323.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Miyamoto, Yoko. &quot;Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits - Demystifying Confucianism.&quot; Demystifying Confucianism. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://www.demystifyingconfucianism.info/water-margin&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Outlaws of the Marsh - One of the Four Great Chinese Classical Novels.&quot; History.cultural-china.com. Culture History. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/60History148.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Shi Nai'an - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History&quot;. Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6308.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12126.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Water Margin（Shui Hu Zhuan).&quot; Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12124.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Classical_Chinese_Literature&diff=2321 2012-04-15T21:55:19Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/uvu:Community_Portal Click here to learn how to use this Wiki.] [[User:Root|Root]] 11:42, 10 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = Announcements =<br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color:red&quot;&gt;'''Good news! Powerpoint files can now be uploaded directly using [[Special:Upload]]'''&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> = Beginnings =<br /> * The development of oral literature forms -- Alexis Sagen<br /> <br /> == Shang Dynasty ==<br /> * The emergence of script- Oracle Bones<br /> * The emergence of Written Literature (1200 BC)<br /> <br /> == Zhou Dynasty and Warring States Period ==<br /> * [[Confucius]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 05:36, 6 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Mencius]] -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489162/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[The 5 Canonized Classics]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:35, 20 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Tao Yuanming - Manuscript Culture]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 23:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == Han Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Cai Yong]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489270/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Songs from India]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> = The Golden Age =<br /> == Tang Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Du Fu]] [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/d/da/Du_Fu_%28wiki%29.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 20:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Li Bai]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 22:30, 1 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> == Song Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Ouyang Xiu]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Su Shi (Su Dongpo)]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:48, 27 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> <br /> = The Foreign Dynasties =<br /> == The Liao, the Jin and the Yuan ==<br /> == Yuan ==<br /> * Yuan Literature I -- Arnold<br /> * Yuan Literature II -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Ming Dynasty =<br /> * Literary Societies in Ming -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature, eight-legged essay -- Wantong D &amp;<br /> * [[The predecessors of newspapers]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 21:55, 15 April 2012 (UTC) [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-4.pptx]<br /> * Novel 'Plum in a Golden Vase / The Golden Lotus' -- Licia K<br /> * Novel 'Journey to the West' -- Arnold Q<br /> * Novel 'Water Margin' -- Alexis S<br /> * Feng Menglong, the first commercially successful writer -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Additional Presentations =<br /> <br /> * [[Canonization of Chinese Literature in the East and West]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] <br /> * [[Middlebrow Literature]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489082/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Writing with your own blood]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 03:43, 8 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Examples of authors unknown in their lifetime, but famous after their death]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Saying A and meaning B - Several examples of double layer literature]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * Which emperor had killed close relatives to ascend the throne? -- Alexis Sagen<br /> * Scholarship: Who coined the most important terms for classical Chinese literature? -- Arnold Q<br /> * Poetry Genres [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/4/43/Poetry_Genres.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 19:46, 4 April 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=The_predecessors_of_newspapers&diff=2320 2012-04-15T21:54:02Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: Created page with '~In progress... the first western-style newspaper was published in China in 1815. the language it was published in as Portuguese The first successful Chinese-language newspape…'</p> <hr /> <div>~In progress...<br /> <br /> <br /> the first western-style newspaper was published in China in 1815. the language it was published in as Portuguese<br /> The first successful Chinese-language newspaper was published in Hong Kong in 1864<br /> The Chinese developed woodblock printing during the Sui dynasty (581-618) and metal moveable type in the Song (960-1276). Paper was invented by Cai Lun in 105 AD<br /> <br /> Created daily<br /> Distributed across the empire, with abridged editions for local distribution<br /> Created by central ministries, provincial governments, and local authorities<br /> “published edicts, memorials to the throne, and other information that officials thought important, such as the announcement of appointments and the court diary.”<br />   government policy was announced by posters, and notices were read aloud to the illiterate.<br /> <br /> Various accounts of when gazettes were first started: <br /> Henrietta Harrison argued that they started in the 15th century<br /> Joan Judge said that the predecessors of the gazettes started as metropolitan gazettes (dibao) in the tang dynasty (618 - 907), or even in the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 AD)<br /> The Kauyan Za Bao (Bulletin of the Court) was supposedly the first newspaper and was started in the 8th century. The daily news was collected by editors and hand-written on silk by writers.  It was sent to the provinces and read by imperial officers during the Kaiyuan era.<br /> <br /> By the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), gazettes were called guanfangbaozhi (“official newspapers”), or guanbao for short.<br /> Tens of thousands of guanbao circulated<br /> Some sources said gazettes were mostly read mostly by government officials, but others argued that they were widely read and discussed<br /> <br /> “While gazettes were the ‘official medium of communication’ between the courtand the provinces, they were technically ‘a form of private correspondence sent to provincial authorities by their accredited agents in the capital,’ as opposed to a sort of internal newsletter for all bureaucrats.” <br /> “This suggests that the gazettes were customized or restricted to specific subsets of the bureaucratic population, based on location or rank. It also suggests that the gazettes may have been copied by hand in earlier times.”<br /> <br /> <br /> WORKS CITED<br /> <br /> (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1985), 362.<br /> Cecilia. &quot;Who Invented the Newspaper?&quot; Sikantisblog.com. 28 July 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.sikantisblog.com/wp/?p=1630&gt;.<br /> &quot;Chinese Paper Invention.&quot; Chinese Culture. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa_invention_paper02a.htm&gt;.<br /> Henrietta Harrison, China: Inventing the Nation (London: Arnold, 2001), 112<br /> oan Judge, Print and Politics:<br /> John King Fairbank, China: A New History (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of HarvardUniversity Press, 1992), 84.<br /> Judge, 17.<br /> Lamont, Ian. &quot;The Rise of the Press in Late Imperial China.&quot; Diss. Harvard University Extension School, 2007. Scribd. 27 Nov. 2007. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.scribd.com/doc/5021205/The-Rise-of-the-Press-in-Late-Imperial-China&gt;.<br /> Lee and Nathan, 362.<br /> Leo Ou-fan Lee and Andrew J. Nathan, “The Beginnings of Mass Culture: Journalism andFiction in the Late Ch'ing and Beyond.” In David Johnson, Andrew J. and Nathan, Evelyn S. Rawski (eds.),<br />  Popular Culture in Late Imperial China<br /> ‘Shibao’ and the Culture of Reform in Late Qing China<br /> (Stanford,CA: Stanford University Press, 1996), 20.<br /> Xiuming Zhang, “Hanzi yinshua de fazhan,” etc., in<br />  Zhonghuo yinshua shi<br /> (Shanghai: RenminPublishing Co., 1989) 669-729. Cited in Christopher Alexander Reed,<br /> Gutenberg in Shanghai: Mechanized  Printing, Modern Publishing, and their Effects on the City, 1876-1937 <br /> (doctoral dissertation) (Berkeley:University of California Press, 1996), 144.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Classical_Chinese_Literature&diff=2319 2012-04-15T21:51:27Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/uvu:Community_Portal Click here to learn how to use this Wiki.] [[User:Root|Root]] 11:42, 10 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> = Announcements =<br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color:red&quot;&gt;'''Good news! Powerpoint files can now be uploaded directly using [[Special:Upload]]'''&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> = Beginnings =<br /> * The development of oral literature forms -- Alexis Sagen<br /> <br /> == Shang Dynasty ==<br /> * The emergence of script- Oracle Bones<br /> * The emergence of Written Literature (1200 BC)<br /> <br /> == Zhou Dynasty and Warring States Period ==<br /> * [[Confucius]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 05:36, 6 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Mencius]] -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489162/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[The 5 Canonized Classics]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 04:35, 20 January 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Tao Yuanming - Manuscript Culture]] -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 23:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == Han Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Cai Yong]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489270/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Songs from India]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> = The Golden Age =<br /> == Tang Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Du Fu]] [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/d/da/Du_Fu_%28wiki%29.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 20:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Li Bai]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:ArnoldQ|ArnoldQ]] 22:30, 1 March 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> == Song Dynasty ==<br /> * [[Ouyang Xiu]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 06:44, 28 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> * [[Su Shi (Su Dongpo)]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:48, 27 February 2012 (UTC) <br /> <br /> <br /> = The Foreign Dynasties =<br /> == The Liao, the Jin and the Yuan ==<br /> == Yuan ==<br /> * Yuan Literature I -- Arnold<br /> * Yuan Literature II -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Ming Dynasty =<br /> * Literary Societies in Ming -- Delon L<br /> * Ming literature, eight-legged essay -- Wantong D &amp;<br /> * The predecessors of newspapers -- Alexis Sagen [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/index.php/File:CHIN_LIT_-4.pptx]<br /> * Novel 'Plum in a Golden Vase / The Golden Lotus' -- Licia K<br /> * Novel 'Journey to the West' -- Arnold Q<br /> * Novel 'Water Margin' -- Alexis S<br /> * Feng Menglong, the first commercially successful writer -- Wantong D<br /> <br /> = Additional Presentations =<br /> <br /> * [[Canonization of Chinese Literature in the East and West]] -- ''Mid Term Paper'' -- [[User:Delon Lier|Delon Lier]] <br /> * [[Middlebrow Literature]] [https://learn-uvu.uen.org/courses/98968/files/10489082/download?wrap=1 Powerpoint presentation]<br /> * [[Writing with your own blood]] -- [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 03:43, 8 February 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Examples of authors unknown in their lifetime, but famous after their death]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * [[Saying A and meaning B - Several examples of double layer literature]] -- [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 02:32, 4 April 2012 (UTC)<br /> * Which emperor had killed close relatives to ascend the throne? -- Alexis Sagen<br /> * Scholarship: Who coined the most important terms for classical Chinese literature? -- Arnold Q<br /> * Poetry Genres [https://wiki.vm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/uvu/images/4/43/Poetry_Genres.pptx Powerpoint presentation] -- [[User:Wantong|Wantong]] 19:46, 4 April 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=File:CHIN_LIT_-4.pptx&diff=2318 2012-04-15T21:44:53Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Talk:Ouyang_Xiu&diff=1974 2012-03-05T04:36:10Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>Hello!<br /> <br /> The poem, White Egret, seems to have every other line in a giant box. I don't think this is what you intended! I'll post more comments when they arise. Thanks~<br /> <br /> --[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 18:34, 3 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I really like the style, it is very comforting and nice. I think you need to length some segments. You said you'll talk about how you were a writer and literary critic but that didn't really develop well. There is also a broken picture, I'm sure you'll fix that in no time. Besides that I'm really liking how its going.<br /> --[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 03:34, 5 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Instead of a simple list of facts, I think your paper should read more like an essay, with full sentences and paragraphs. [[User:Name|Name]] 07:51, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Also, what is your thesis statement? I think it would be good if you put your thesis in the introduction, and then tried to carry it into each of your sections, and then made a final conclusion combining your mini conclusions from each sections. [[User:Name|Name]] 07:54, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> :I'm working on it- My thesis statement is still a little vague but it is in there- just not in the intro- next section. Hopefully, by the time I finish, the argument will seem clear. Right now, I think there will be two &quot;conclusions&quot; one for the first person part and one for the over all paper- and there, I plan to recap the paper's argument. Thanks for your suggestions.I need all the help I can get! [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 08:47, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Alchemist1330==<br /> maybe add in a little section that you argue something with, i'm not sure what or maybe have a section by you that you analyze one of his peoem and support your claims, which i think is an argument.<br /> anyway like it allot. If you want you can have more picture but i like the airy look.<br /> also add a works cited or references at the bottom i can't see any<br /> <br /> <br /> == Comment 6==<br /> Nice work so far. It would be nice to have some more pictures~ Also, one of the lines of the poem is formatted weirdly, maybe fix that? --[[User:Whatisthis|Whatisthis]] 03:54, 5 March 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Talk:Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1954 2012-03-05T04:25:03Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div> <br /> I suggest that you add in titles to separate information <br /> like this. <br /> <br /> ==Title==<br /> but you don't have to<br /> <br /> <br /> but overall it looks great, also make sure you use in text citations in addition to your list of refrences at the bottom and i would sugest instead of writting (source Edgar pg. 34) just have (Edgar pg. 34) you don't need to say source but it is really up to you.<br /> <br /> Alchemist1330<br /> <br /> == Comment 2 ==<br /> <br /> I think you should make the poems clearer, as in &quot;cleaner&quot;? Like right now it seems to blend in with the rest of the text, I think it should be more distinctive.<br /> Thanks,<br /> --[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 04:53, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == '''Proof Read!''' :) ==<br /> 1- You need to be sure to put a space before your source otherwise the parentheses are connected to the last word of the section you are citing.<br /> <br /> 2- Spelling and grammar errors are easier to spot after you take a break. I'm pretty sure you will spot what I'm talking about right away if you go to your paper now and try reading it out loud.<br /> <br /> 3- And, how about an argument? This is a nice autobiography, but, well, we were asked to defend something. Of course, it looks like you aren't finished yet- maybe the argument is still to come- right? [[User:Dekeo|Dekeo]] 06:44, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> == My Thesis Statement ==<br /> <br /> Thanks for the advice, guys! My Thesis statement will be &quot;I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time.&quot; Kind of a weird thesis,I know, but this is what I think of Su Shi, so that is what I will try to argue. Try and read my paper with this in mind. :) [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:43, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Comment 4==<br /> The stuff about what 'you' did is nice, but how are they things &quot;nobody else has attempted?&quot; As in, I don't know what other people normally did so I don't recognize what 'you' did as different, if this makes sense. --[[User:Whatisthis|Whatisthis]] 21:01, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == More from me ==<br /> <br /> I really like your &quot;A Renaissance Man&quot; section, its very beautiful and well done.&lt;br&gt;<br /> Its rather lengthy (of course not in a bad manner) and I also like how well your references was alphabetized!&lt;br&gt;<br /> I would like to see more citations, and I believe some of them aren't done correctly...&lt;br&gt;<br /> Thanks,--[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 03:36, 5 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :I ''would'' write down the year and page number in my citations, but hardly any of my sources have these things. Most don't even have authors. :( Therefore, I mostly just have to write the title of the page I'm citing, which looks kind of funny. [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 04:24, 5 March 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Talk:Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1953 2012-03-05T04:24:24Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div> <br /> I suggest that you add in titles to separate information <br /> like this. <br /> <br /> ==Title==<br /> but you don't have to<br /> <br /> <br /> but overall it looks great, also make sure you use in text citations in addition to your list of refrences at the bottom and i would sugest instead of writting (source Edgar pg. 34) just have (Edgar pg. 34) you don't need to say source but it is really up to you.<br /> <br /> Alchemist1330<br /> <br /> == Comment 2 ==<br /> <br /> I think you should make the poems clearer, as in &quot;cleaner&quot;? Like right now it seems to blend in with the rest of the text, I think it should be more distinctive.<br /> Thanks,<br /> --[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 04:53, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == '''Proof Read!''' :) ==<br /> 1- You need to be sure to put a space before your source otherwise the parentheses are connected to the last word of the section you are citing.<br /> <br /> 2- Spelling and grammar errors are easier to spot after you take a break. I'm pretty sure you will spot what I'm talking about right away if you go to your paper now and try reading it out loud.<br /> <br /> 3- And, how about an argument? This is a nice autobiography, but, well, we were asked to defend something. Of course, it looks like you aren't finished yet- maybe the argument is still to come- right? [[User:Dekeo|Dekeo]] 06:44, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> == My Thesis Statement ==<br /> <br /> Thanks for the advice, guys! My Thesis statement will be &quot;I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time.&quot; Kind of a weird thesis,I know, but this is what I think of Su Shi, so that is what I will try to argue. Try and read my paper with this in mind. :) [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:43, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Comment 4==<br /> The stuff about what 'you' did is nice, but how are they things &quot;nobody else has attempted?&quot; As in, I don't know what other people normally did so I don't recognize what 'you' did as different, if this makes sense. --[[User:Whatisthis|Whatisthis]] 21:01, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == More from me ==<br /> <br /> I really like your &quot;A Renaissance Man&quot; section, its very beautiful and well done.&lt;br&gt;<br /> Its rather lengthy (of course not in a bad manner) and I also like how well your references was alphabetized!&lt;br&gt;<br /> I would like to see more citations, and I believe some of them aren't done correctly...&lt;br&gt;<br /> Thanks,--[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 03:36, 5 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :I ''would'' write down the year and page number in my citations, but hardly any of my sources have these things. Most don't even have authors. :/ Therefore, I I mostly just have to write the title of the page I'm citing, which looks kind of funny. [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 04:24, 5 March 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1945 2012-03-05T04:16:35Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period (Egan 2010, p 410). I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;).<br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically (&quot;Su Shi Biography&quot;); for who could be a more interesting subject then myself? I did not only look introspectively, however, but I wrote of my experiences (&quot;Su Shi Biography&quot;), for I am happy to say I led an exciting and fulfilling life, unlike many scholars of the age who contented themselves with always writing from within four high walls. My writing was optimistic, fast and free, and relied heavily on inspiration (&quot;Su Shi Biography&quot;). <br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life (Egan 2010). I was never bitter, and even stayed good friends with Wang Anshi, exchanging many letters with him later in life (&quot;Su Shi Biography&quot;). Even when I was aloud to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path (Egan 2010). What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16 (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month&quot;'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《小兒》<br /> <br /> 小兒不識愁，<br /> <br /> 起坐牽我衣。<br /> <br /> 我欲嗔小兒，<br /> <br /> 老妻勸兒癡。<br /> <br /> 兒癡君更甚，<br /> <br /> 不樂復何為？<br /> <br /> 還坐愧此言，<br /> <br /> 洗盞當我前。<br /> <br /> 大勝劉伶婦，<br /> <br /> 區區為酒錢。<br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;My Young Son&quot;'''<br /> <br /> ''My young son knows no grief:''<br /> <br /> ''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''<br /> <br /> ''I was just about to lose my temper''<br /> <br /> ''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;But my husband's sillier than the son,&quot; she said.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;why not just be happy?&quot;''<br /> <br /> ''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''<br /> <br /> ''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''<br /> <br /> ''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''<br /> <br /> ''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46 (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com).<br /> <br /> Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66. <br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> [[File:Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly (Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]] <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink (Min Xu). You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style &quot;Su Shi Biography.&quot;. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu (&quot;Su Shi Biography&quot;). I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies (Theobald 2000). I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses (&quot;Su Shi Biography&quot;). There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way.<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com):<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from :Qi'an (Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When :the roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there :was something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was :shaking with fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and :drums unceasing in their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the :mountain there are rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and :chopping and knocking were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we :were about to enter the mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred :people. It was hollow in the center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and :thumping and clashing and bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, :I laughed and said to Mai: &quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and :clashing and bashing are the song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan :and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> :(&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject, dreaming of a world forever outside my grasp but always visible in the night sky:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story (Barnstone). Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping <br /> <br /> (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping <br /> <br /> (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Conclusion ==<br /> <br /> I have laid bear my whole life's story. You have seen my triumphs and my follies, my joys and my sorrows, and I hope that you have come to understand one very important fact that a few of my admirers may have forgotten to mention; I was simply a man. I was in possession of no extraordinary powers of perception or expression which no one else could acquire. My skills were earned through simple hard work and determination, which anyone can practice if they have the mind to set about it. My one happy virtue was my simple curiosity for everything new or old; I would investigate everything, looking at it from all angles for an aspect that everyone just happened to miss. The other distinguishing feature of my personality that has set me apart from many of the time, is not a virtue I am afraid, but a fault; my blatant stupidity. I was unable to keep my mouth closed, even at the most crucial of times, and so I was thrown into a variety of unique atmospheres to help with my writing. Once I was in those unique places, I was too stupid to realize my mistakes and learn from my misfortune, but I fancied myself happy. And finally, when I was recording all of my thoughts and experiences, I was too foolish and self-important to stick to the forms and subject matter prescribed by the ancient poets and philosophers, but like a simpleton, I deviated and wrote whatever popped into my head in whatever form it presented itself. No, I was no genius, I was a simple man who loved to write on a hill named Dongpo.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi Biography.&quot; Bio.com. A&amp;E Networks Television. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.biography.com/people/su-shi-39854&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1922 2012-03-05T03:49:48Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I wrote of my experiences, for I am happy to say I led an exciting and fulfilling life, unlike many scholars of the age who contented themselves with always writing from within four high walls. My writing was optimistic, fast and free, and relied heavily on inspiration (&quot;Su Shi Biography&quot;). <br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month&quot;'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《小兒》<br /> <br /> 小兒不識愁，<br /> <br /> 起坐牽我衣。<br /> <br /> 我欲嗔小兒，<br /> <br /> 老妻勸兒癡。<br /> <br /> 兒癡君更甚，<br /> <br /> 不樂復何為？<br /> <br /> 還坐愧此言，<br /> <br /> 洗盞當我前。<br /> <br /> 大勝劉伶婦，<br /> <br /> 區區為酒錢。<br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;My Young Son&quot;'''<br /> <br /> ''My young son knows no grief:''<br /> <br /> ''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''<br /> <br /> ''I was just about to lose my temper''<br /> <br /> ''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;But my husband's sillier than the son,&quot; she said.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;why not just be happy?&quot;''<br /> <br /> ''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''<br /> <br /> ''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''<br /> <br /> ''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''<br /> <br /> ''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read. She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com).<br /> <br /> Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66. <br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> [[File:Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly (Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]] <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from :Qi'an (Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When :the roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there :was something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was :shaking with fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and :drums unceasing in their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the :mountain there are rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and :chopping and knocking were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we :were about to enter the mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred :people. It was hollow in the center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and :thumping and clashing and bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, :I laughed and said to Mai: &quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and :clashing and bashing are the song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan :and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> :(&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject, dreaming of a world forever outside my grasp but always visible in the night sky:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Conclusion ==<br /> <br /> I have laid bear my whole life's story. You have seen my triumphs and my follies, my joys and my sorrows, and I hope that you have come to understand one very important fact that a few of my admirers may have forgotten to mention; I was simply a man. I was in possession of no extraordinary powers of perception or expression which no one else could acquire. My skills were earned through simple hard work and determination, which anyone can practice if they have the mind to set about it. My one happy virtue was my simple curiosity for everything new or old; I would investigate everything, looking at it from all angles for an aspect that everyone just happened to miss. The other distinguishing feature of my personality that has set me apart from many of the time, is not a virtue I am afraid, but a fault; my blatant stupidity. I was unable to keep my mouth closed, even at the most crucial of times, and so I was thrown into a variety of unique atmospheres to help with my writing. Once I was in those unique places, I was too stupid to realize my mistakes and learn from my misfortune, but I fancied myself happy. And finally, when I was recording all of my thoughts and experiences, I was too foolish and self-important to stick to the forms and subject matter prescribed by the ancient poets and philosophers, but like a simpleton, I deviated and wrote whatever popped into my head in whatever form it presented itself. No, I was no genius, I was a simple man who loved to write on a hill named Dongpo.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi Biography.&quot; Bio.com. A&amp;E Networks Television. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.biography.com/people/su-shi-39854&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1915 2012-03-05T03:40:47Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I wrote of my experiences, for I am happy to say I led an exciting and fulfilling life, unlike many scholars of the age who contented themselves with always writing from within four high walls. My writing was optimistic, fast and free, and relied heavily on inspiration (&quot;Su Shi Biography&quot;). <br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month&quot;'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《小兒》<br /> <br /> 小兒不識愁，<br /> <br /> 起坐牽我衣。<br /> <br /> 我欲嗔小兒，<br /> <br /> 老妻勸兒癡。<br /> <br /> 兒癡君更甚，<br /> <br /> 不樂復何為？<br /> <br /> 還坐愧此言，<br /> <br /> 洗盞當我前。<br /> <br /> 大勝劉伶婦，<br /> <br /> 區區為酒錢。<br /> <br /> :'''&quot;My Young Son&quot;'''<br /> <br /> ''My young son knows no grief:''<br /> <br /> ''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''<br /> <br /> ''I was just about to lose my temper''<br /> <br /> ''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;But my husband's sillier than the son,&quot; she said.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;why not just be happy?&quot;''<br /> <br /> ''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''<br /> <br /> ''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''<br /> <br /> ''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''<br /> <br /> ''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read. She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com).<br /> <br /> Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66. <br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> [[File:Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly (Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]] <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from :Qi'an (Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When :the roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there :was something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was :shaking with fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and :drums unceasing in their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the :mountain there are rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and :chopping and knocking were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we :were about to enter the mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred :people. It was hollow in the center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and :thumping and clashing and bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, :I laughed and said to Mai: &quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and :clashing and bashing are the song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan :and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> :(&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject, dreaming of a world forever outside my grasp but always visible in the night sky:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Conclusion ==<br /> <br /> I have laid bear my whole life's story. You have seen my triumphs and my follies, my joys and my sorrows, and I hope that you have come to understand one very important fact that a few of my admirers may have forgotten to mention; I was simply a man. I was in possession of no extraordinary powers of perception or expression which no one else could acquire. My skills were earned through simple hard work and determination, which anyone can practice if they have the mind to set about it. My one happy virtue was my simple curiosity for everything new or old; I would investigate everything, looking at it from all angles for an aspect that everyone just happened to miss. The other distinguishing feature of my personality that has set me apart from many of the time, is not a virtue I am afraid, but a fault; my blatant stupidity. I was unable to keep my mouth closed, even at the most crucial of times, and so I was thrown into a variety of unique atmospheres to help with my writing. Once I was in those unique places, I was too stupid to realize my mistakes and learn from my misfortune, but I fancied myself happy. And finally, when I was recording all of my thoughts and experiences, I was too foolish and self-important to stick to the forms and subject matter prescribed by the ancient poets and philosophers, but like a simpleton, I deviated and wrote whatever popped into my head in whatever form it presented itself. No, I was no genius, I was a simple man who loved to write on a hill named Dongpo.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi Biography.&quot; Bio.com. A&amp;E Networks Television. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.biography.com/people/su-shi-39854&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1618 2012-03-04T22:27:44Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month&quot;'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《小兒》<br /> <br /> 小兒不識愁，<br /> <br /> 起坐牽我衣。<br /> <br /> 我欲嗔小兒，<br /> <br /> 老妻勸兒癡。<br /> <br /> 兒癡君更甚，<br /> <br /> 不樂復何為？<br /> <br /> 還坐愧此言，<br /> <br /> 洗盞當我前。<br /> <br /> 大勝劉伶婦，<br /> <br /> 區區為酒錢。<br /> <br /> :'''&quot;My Young Son&quot;'''<br /> <br /> ''My young son knows no grief:''<br /> <br /> ''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''<br /> <br /> ''I was just about to lose my temper''<br /> <br /> ''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;But my husband's sillier than the son,&quot; she said.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;why not just be happy?&quot;''<br /> <br /> ''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''<br /> <br /> ''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''<br /> <br /> ''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''<br /> <br /> ''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read. She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com).<br /> <br /> Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66. <br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> [[File:Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly (Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]] <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :&quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> :(&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Conclusion ==<br /> <br /> I have laid bear my whole life's story. You have seen my triumphs and my follies, my joys and my sorrows, and I hope that you have come to understand one very important fact that a few of my admirers may have forgotten to mention; I was simply a man. I was in possession of no extraordinary powers of perception or expression which no one else could acquire. My skills were earned through simple hard work and determination, which anyone can practice if they have the mind to set about it. My one happy virtue was my simple curiosity for everything new or old; I would investigate everything, looking at it from all angles for an aspect that everyone just happened to miss. The other distinguishing feature of my personality that has set me apart from many of the time, is not a virtue I am afraid, but a fault; my blatant stupidity. I was unable to keep my mouth closed, even at the most crucial of times, and so I was thrown into a variety of unique atmospheres to help with my writing. Once I was in those unique places, I was too stupid to realize my mistakes and learn from my misfortune, but I fancied myself happy. And finally, when I was recording all of my thoughts and experiences, I was too foolish and self-important to stick to the forms and subject matter prescribed by the ancient poets and philosophers, but like a simpleton, I deviated and wrote whatever popped into my head in whatever form it presented itself. No, I was no genius, I was a simple man who loved to write on a hill named Dongpo.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1617 2012-03-04T22:23:54Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month&quot;'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《小兒》<br /> <br /> 小兒不識愁，<br /> <br /> 起坐牽我衣。<br /> <br /> 我欲嗔小兒，<br /> <br /> 老妻勸兒癡。<br /> <br /> 兒癡君更甚，<br /> <br /> 不樂復何為？<br /> <br /> 還坐愧此言，<br /> <br /> 洗盞當我前。<br /> <br /> 大勝劉伶婦，<br /> <br /> 區區為酒錢。<br /> <br /> :'''&quot;My Young Son&quot;'''<br /> <br /> ''My young son knows no grief:''<br /> <br /> ''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''<br /> <br /> ''I was just about to lose my temper''<br /> <br /> ''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;But my husband's sillier than the son,&quot; she said.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;why not just be happy?&quot;''<br /> <br /> ''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''<br /> <br /> ''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''<br /> <br /> ''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''<br /> <br /> ''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read. She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com).<br /> <br /> Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66. <br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> [[File:Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly(Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]] <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :&quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> :(&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Conclusion ==<br /> <br /> I have laid bear my whole life's story. You have seen my triumphs and my follies, my joys and my sorrows, and I hope that you have come to understand one very important fact that a few of my admirers may have forgotten to mention; I was simply a man. I was in possession of no extraordinary powers of perception or expression which no one else could acquire. My skills were earned through simple hard work and determination, which anyone can practice if they have the mind to set about it. My one happy virtue was my simple curiosity for everything new or old; I would investigate everything, looking at it from all angles for an aspect that everyone just happened to miss. The other distinguishing feature of my personality that has set me apart from many of the time, is not a virtue I am afraid, but a fault; my blatant stupidity. I was unable to keep my mouth closed, even at the most crucial of times, and so I was thrown into a variety of unique atmospheres to help with my writing. Once I was in those unique places, I was too stupid to realize my mistakes and learn from my misfortune, but I fancied myself happy. And finally, when I was recording all of my thoughts and experiences, I was too foolish and self-important to stick to the forms and subject matter prescribed by the ancient poets and philosophers, but like a simpleton, I deviated and wrote whatever popped into my head in whatever form it presented itself. No, I was no genius, I was a simple man who loved to write on a hill named Dongpo.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1612 2012-03-04T22:03:13Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month&quot;'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《小兒》<br /> <br /> 小兒不識愁，<br /> <br /> 起坐牽我衣。<br /> <br /> 我欲嗔小兒，<br /> <br /> 老妻勸兒癡。<br /> <br /> 兒癡君更甚，<br /> <br /> 不樂復何為？<br /> <br /> 還坐愧此言，<br /> <br /> 洗盞當我前。<br /> <br /> 大勝劉伶婦，<br /> <br /> 區區為酒錢。<br /> <br /> :'''&quot;My Young Son&quot;'''<br /> <br /> ''My young son knows no grief:''<br /> <br /> ''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''<br /> <br /> ''I was just about to lose my temper''<br /> <br /> ''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;But my husband's sillier than the son,&quot; she said.''<br /> <br /> ''&quot;why not just be happy?&quot;''<br /> <br /> ''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''<br /> <br /> ''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''<br /> <br /> ''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''<br /> <br /> ''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''<br /> <br /> <br /> My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read. She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy.<br /> <br /> Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66. <br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> [[File:Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly(Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]] <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :&quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> :(&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1611 2012-03-04T22:00:08Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month&quot;'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《小兒》<br /> <br /> 小兒不識愁，<br /> 起坐牽我衣。<br /> 我欲嗔小兒，<br /> 老妻勸兒癡。<br /> 兒癡君更甚，<br /> 不樂復何為？<br /> 還坐愧此言，<br /> 洗盞當我前。<br /> 大勝劉伶婦，<br /> 區區為酒錢。<br /> <br /> :'''&quot;My Young Son&quot;'''<br /> <br /> ''My young son knows no grief:''<br /> ''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''<br /> ''I was just about to lose my temper''<br /> ''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''<br /> ''&quot;But my husband's sillier than the son,&quot; she said.''<br /> ''&quot;why not just be happy?&quot;''<br /> ''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''<br /> ''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''<br /> ''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''<br /> ''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''<br /> <br /> My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read. She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy.<br /> <br /> Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66. <br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> [[Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly(Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]] <br /> <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :&quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> :(&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=File:Su_Shi_painting.jpg&diff=1610 2012-03-04T21:42:58Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1609 2012-03-04T21:25:18Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com). <br /> <br /> In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> :'''&quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month&quot;'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:<br /> <br /> <br /> :《小兒》<br /> <br /> 小兒不識愁，<br /> 起坐牽我衣。<br /> 我欲嗔小兒，<br /> 老妻勸兒癡。<br /> 兒癡君更甚，<br /> 不樂復何為？<br /> 還坐愧此言，<br /> 洗盞當我前。<br /> 大勝劉伶婦，<br /> 區區為酒錢。<br /> <br /> :'''&quot;My Young Son&quot;'''<br /> <br /> ''My young son knows no grief:''<br /> ''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''<br /> ''I was just about to lose my temper''<br /> ''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''<br /> ''&quot;But my husband's sillier than the son,&quot; she said.''<br /> ''&quot;why not just be happy?&quot;''<br /> ''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''<br /> ''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''<br /> ''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''<br /> ''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''<br /> <br /> My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited. <br /> <br /> My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, a former handmaiden who did not only posses the virtue of beauty, but <br /> Su's concubine Wang Zhaoyun (王朝雲, 1062-1095) was his handmaiden who was a former Qiantang singing artiste. Zhaoyun remained a faithful companion to Su after Runzhi's death, but died of illness on August 13, 1095 (绍圣三年七月五日) at Huizhou. Zhaoyun bore Su a son Su Dun (蘇遁) on November 15, 1083, who died in his infancy. After Zhaoyun's death, Su never married again.<br /> <br /> Su Shi had three adult sons, the eldest son being Su Mai (蘇邁), who would also become a government official by 1084. Su Dai (蘇迨) and Su Guo (蘇過) are his other sons. When Su Shi died in 1101, his younger brother Su Zhe buried him alongside second wife Wang Runzhi according to his wishes.<br /> <br /> <br /> Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66. <br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :&quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1602 2012-03-04T20:50:02Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My first wife, Wang Fu, was also as wise as any Zen master '''(Source:)'''.<br /> <br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> :江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢<br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> :Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :&quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> :(Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> '''The Moon Festival'''<br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?''<br /> <br /> ''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''<br /> <br /> ''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''<br /> <br /> ''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''<br /> <br /> ''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''<br /> <br /> ''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''<br /> <br /> ''It does not seem like the human world.''<br /> <br /> ''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''<br /> <br /> ''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''<br /> <br /> ''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''<br /> <br /> ''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''<br /> <br /> ''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''<br /> <br /> ''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''<br /> <br /> ''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1598 2012-03-04T20:42:59Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My first wife, Wang Fu, was also as wise as any Zen master '''(Source:)'''.<br /> <br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :&quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus: <br /> <br /> :&quot;isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”<br /> <br /> <br /> :“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?<br /> <br /> :“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> :The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?<br /> <br /> With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.<br /> <br /> I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.<br /> <br /> I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.<br /> <br /> Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.<br /> <br /> Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,<br /> <br /> It does not seem like the human world.<br /> <br /> The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,<br /> <br /> Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,<br /> <br /> Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?<br /> <br /> People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,<br /> <br /> The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,<br /> <br /> This has been going on since the beginning of time.<br /> <br /> May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,<br /> <br /> We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1596 2012-03-04T20:32:05Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My first wife, Wang Fu, was also as wise as any Zen master '''(Source:)'''.<br /> <br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> '''Painting'''<br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. <br /> <br /> '''Cooking'''<br /> <br /> I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> '''Poetry'''<br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> '''Travel Literature'''<br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; by writing a series of &quot;daytrip essays&quot;(&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my &quot;Record of Stone Bell Mountain&quot; in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:<br /> <br /> <br /> :The Waterway Classic says: &quot;At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain.&quot; Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that &quot;below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells.&quot; Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?<br /> <br /> :On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.<br /> <br /> :That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: &quot;That is a white stork.&quot; I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :&quot;Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!<br /> <br /> <br /> :Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!<br /> <br /> (&quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com)<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments:<br /> <br /> <br /> “Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?<br /> <br /> “Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?<br /> <br /> With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.<br /> <br /> I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.<br /> <br /> I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.<br /> <br /> Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.<br /> <br /> Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,<br /> <br /> It does not seem like the human world.<br /> <br /> The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,<br /> <br /> Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,<br /> <br /> Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?<br /> <br /> People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,<br /> <br /> The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,<br /> <br /> This has been going on since the beginning of time.<br /> <br /> May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,<br /> <br /> We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi.&quot; Absoluteastronomy.com. Absolute Astronomy. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Su_Shi&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1595 2012-03-04T19:51:41Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My first wife, Wang Fu, was also as wise as any Zen master '''(Source:)'''.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time, I also loved to paint (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).<br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments:<br /> <br /> <br /> “Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?<br /> <br /> “Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?<br /> <br /> With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.<br /> <br /> I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.<br /> <br /> I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.<br /> <br /> Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.<br /> <br /> Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,<br /> <br /> It does not seem like the human world.<br /> <br /> The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,<br /> <br /> Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,<br /> <br /> Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?<br /> <br /> People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,<br /> <br /> The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,<br /> <br /> This has been going on since the beginning of time.<br /> <br /> May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,<br /> <br /> We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1594 2012-03-04T19:39:30Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My first wife, Wang Fu, was also as wise as any Zen master '''(Source:)'''.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|(Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? Source: &quot;Dongpo Pork&quot;)]] <br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time, I also loved to paint (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010).<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments:<br /> <br /> <br /> “Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?<br /> <br /> “Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?<br /> <br /> With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.<br /> <br /> I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.<br /> <br /> I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.<br /> <br /> Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.<br /> <br /> Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,<br /> <br /> It does not seem like the human world.<br /> <br /> The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,<br /> <br /> Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,<br /> <br /> Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?<br /> <br /> People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,<br /> <br /> The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,<br /> <br /> This has been going on since the beginning of time.<br /> <br /> May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,<br /> <br /> We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=File:Dongpo_Pork.jpg&diff=1593 2012-03-04T19:37:44Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Talk:Ouyang_Xiu&diff=1579 2012-03-04T18:48:52Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>Hello!<br /> <br /> The poem, White Egret, seems to have every other line in a giant box. I don't think this is what you intended! I'll post more comments when they arise. Thanks~<br /> <br /> --[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 18:34, 3 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> Instead of a simple list of facts, I think your paper should read more like an essay, with full sentences and paragraphs. [[User:Name|Name]] 07:51, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Also, what is your thesis statement? I think it would be good if you put your thesis in the introduction, and then tried to carry it into each of your sections, and then made a final conclusion combining your mini conclusions from each sections. [[User:Name|Name]] 07:54, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> :I'm working on it- My thesis statement is still a little vague but it is in there- just not in the intro- next section. Hopefully, by the time I finish, the argument will seem clear. Right now, I think there will be two &quot;conclusions&quot; one for the first person part and one for the over all paper- and there, I plan to recap the paper's argument. Thanks for your suggestions.I need all the help I can get! [[User:Licia K|Licia K]] 08:47, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == HELP! ==<br /> <br /> 1. Licia, can you tell me what page in the textbook it says that Su Shi liked to write about manly things? Do you remember it saying that? It wasn't in the first section labeled Su Shi, but in a section afterwards I think. <br /> <br /> 2. Can you find where it says that Su Shi argued to keep one of Wang Anshi's reforms?<br /> <br /> 3. Is there a simple description of Su Shi's writing style? I want to say that he writes mainly autobiographically and also looks outside instead of just introspectively, but my internet souces aren't helping me too much on this.<br /> <br /> If you can find me any of these things, I would greatly appreciate it. And Professor Woesler should give you 100% for helping others. ;) Thanks! [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 18:48, 4 March 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1578 2012-03-04T18:41:17Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?<br /> I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.<br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My first wife, Wang Fu, was also as wise as any Zen master '''(Source:)'''.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time, I also loved to paint (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. I also excelled in cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010).<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments:<br /> <br /> <br /> “Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?<br /> <br /> “Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?<br /> <br /> With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.<br /> <br /> I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.<br /> <br /> I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.<br /> <br /> Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.<br /> <br /> Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,<br /> <br /> It does not seem like the human world.<br /> <br /> The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,<br /> <br /> Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,<br /> <br /> Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?<br /> <br /> People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,<br /> <br /> The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,<br /> <br /> This has been going on since the beginning of time.<br /> <br /> May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,<br /> <br /> We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1576 2012-03-04T18:26:11Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Introduction ==<br /> <br /> <br /> ''To what can our life on earth be likened?''<br /> <br /> ''To a flock of geese,''<br /> ''alighting on the snow.''<br /> <br /> ''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;) <br /> <br /> <br /> == Writing Style ==<br /> <br /> <br /> My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his &quot;New Policies&quot; which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:<br /> <br /> ''Families, when a child is born'' <br /> <br /> ''Want it to be intelligent.'' <br /> <br /> ''I, through intelligence,'' <br /> <br /> ''Having wrecked my whole life,'' <br /> <br /> ''Only hope the baby will prove'' <br /> <br /> ''Ignorant and stupid.'' <br /> <br /> ''Then he will crown a tranquil life''<br /> <br /> ''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;On the Birth of His Son”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?<br /> <br /> == Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (&quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius&quot;). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == No One Way ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the &quot;enlightened&quot; scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]] <br /> <br /> <br /> == Learning of My Follies ==<br /> <br /> <br /> Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:<br /> <br /> <br /> 稽首天中天，<br /> <br /> 毫光照大千； <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 端坐紫金莲。<br /> <br /> ''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''<br /> <br /> ''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''<br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:<br /> <br /> <br /> 八风吹不动，<br /> <br /> 一屁弹过江。<br /> <br /> ''The eight winds cannot move me,''<br /> <br /> ''One fart blows me across the river''<br /> <br /> <br /> I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == My Family ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My first wife, Wang Fu, was also as wise as any Zen master '''(Source:)'''.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 十年生死兩茫茫，<br /> <br /> 不思量， 自難忘。<br /> <br /> 千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。<br /> <br /> 縱使相逢應不識，<br /> <br /> 塵滿面，鬢如霜。<br /> <br /> 夜來幽夢忽還鄉，<br /> <br /> 小軒窗，正梳妝。<br /> <br /> 相顧無言，惟有淚千行。<br /> <br /> 料得年年腸斷處，<br /> <br /> 明月夜，短松岡。<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, “Dreaming”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart'' <br /> <br /> ''I do nothing to remember'' <br /> ''But I cannot forget'' <br /> <br /> ''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...'' <br /> <br /> ''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -'' <br /> <br /> ''Even if we met, how would you know me'' <br /> <br /> ''My face full of dust'' <br /> <br /> ''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home'' <br /> <br /> ''You by the window'' <br /> <br /> ''Doing your hair'' <br /> <br /> ''I look at you and cannot speak'' <br /> <br /> ''Your face is streaked by endless tears'' <br /> <br /> ''Year after year must they break my heart'' <br /> <br /> ''These moonlit nights?'' <br /> <br /> ''That low pine grave?''<br /> <br /> (History – Literature)<br /> <br /> <br /> == A Renaissance Man ==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time, I also loved to paint (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature. I also excelled in cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of &quot;Dongpo Fish&quot; or &quot;Dongpo Pork,&quot; you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu). <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called &quot;heroic abandon&quot; (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).<br /> <br /> <br /> My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of &quot;travel literature&quot; (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010).<br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==&quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot;==<br /> <br /> <br /> My best known work is perhaps the &quot;Red Cliffs Rhapsody&quot; (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 (&quot;The Life of Su Dongpo&quot; 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The &quot;Red Cliff Rhapsody&quot; also contained quiet philosophic moments:<br /> <br /> <br /> “Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?<br /> <br /> “Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”<br /> <br /> The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Dreaming of the Moon ==<br /> <br /> <br /> I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject:<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''When will the moon be clear and bright?<br /> <br /> With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.<br /> <br /> I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.<br /> <br /> I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.<br /> <br /> Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.<br /> <br /> Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,<br /> <br /> It does not seem like the human world.<br /> <br /> The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,<br /> <br /> Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,<br /> <br /> Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?<br /> <br /> People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,<br /> <br /> The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,<br /> <br /> This has been going on since the beginning of time.<br /> <br /> May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,<br /> <br /> We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''<br /> <br /> (Su Shi, &quot;Poem about the Moon&quot;)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> == Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==<br /> <br /> Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''<br /> <br /> ''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''<br /> <br /> ''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''<br /> <br /> ''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''<br /> <br /> ''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''<br /> <br /> ''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''<br /> <br /> ''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''<br /> <br /> ''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''<br /> <br /> ''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''<br /> <br /> ''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''<br /> <br /> ''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''<br /> <br /> ''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''<br /> <br /> <br /> ''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''<br /> <br /> ''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''<br /> <br /> ''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''<br /> <br /> ''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''<br /> <br /> ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> '''Works Cited'''<br /> <br /> Barnstone, Tony. &quot;Sudongpo.&quot; Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Egan, Ronald. &quot;The Northern Song (1020-1126).&quot; The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print. <br /> <br /> &quot;History - Anecdotes.&quot; Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Min Xu. &quot;Su Dongpo: Being Childlike and Guileless Are My Teachers.&quot; Association for Asia Research. 13 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2375.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month.&quot; Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo).&quot; Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://afe.easia.columbia.edu&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit.&quot; On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius.&quot; Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot;Poem about the Moon.&quot; Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml&gt;.<br /> <br /> Su Shi. &quot; Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo].&quot; Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html&gt;.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Life of Su Dongpo.&quot; China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm&gt;.<br /> <br /> Theobald, Ulrich. &quot;Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy.&quot; Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html&gt;.</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Talk:Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1558 2012-03-04T17:43:27Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div> <br /> I suggest that you add in titles to separate information <br /> like this. <br /> <br /> ==Title==<br /> but you don't have to<br /> <br /> <br /> but overall it looks great, also make sure you use in text citations in addition to your list of refrences at the bottom and i would sugest instead of writting (source Edgar pg. 34) just have (Edgar pg. 34) you don't need to say source but it is really up to you.<br /> <br /> Alchemist1330<br /> <br /> == Comment 2 ==<br /> <br /> I think you should make the poems clearer, as in &quot;cleaner&quot;? Like right now it seems to blend in with the rest of the text, I think it should be more distinctive.<br /> Thanks,<br /> --[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 04:53, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == '''Proof Read!''' :) ==<br /> 1- You need to be sure to put a space before your source otherwise the parentheses are connected to the last word of the section you are citing.<br /> <br /> 2- Spelling and grammar errors are easier to spot after you take a break. I'm pretty sure you will spot what I'm talking about right away if you go to your paper now and try reading it out loud.<br /> <br /> 3- And, how about an argument? This is a nice autobiography, but, well, we were asked to defend something. Of course, it looks like you aren't finished yet- maybe the argument is still to come- right? [[User:Dekeo|Dekeo]] 06:44, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> == My Thesis Statement ==<br /> <br /> Thanks for the advice, guys! My Thesis statement will be &quot;I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time.&quot; Kind of a weird thesis,I know, but this is what I think of Su Shi, so that is what I will try to argue. Try and read my paper with this in mind. :) [[User:Alexis Sagen|Alexis Sagen]] 17:43, 4 March 2012 (UTC)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Talk:Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1557 2012-03-04T17:43:05Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div> <br /> I suggest that you add in titles to separate information <br /> like this. <br /> <br /> ==Title==<br /> but you don't have to<br /> <br /> <br /> but overall it looks great, also make sure you use in text citations in addition to your list of refrences at the bottom and i would sugest instead of writting (source Edgar pg. 34) just have (Edgar pg. 34) you don't need to say source but it is really up to you.<br /> <br /> Alchemist1330<br /> <br /> == Comment 2 ==<br /> <br /> I think you should make the poems clearer, as in &quot;cleaner&quot;? Like right now it seems to blend in with the rest of the text, I think it should be more distinctive.<br /> Thanks,<br /> --[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 04:53, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == '''Proof Read!''' :) ==<br /> 1- You need to be sure to put a space before your source otherwise the parentheses are connected to the last word of the section you are citing.<br /> <br /> 2- Spelling and grammar errors are easier to spot after you take a break. I'm pretty sure you will spot what I'm talking about right away if you go to your paper now and try reading it out loud.<br /> <br /> 3- And, how about an argument? This is a nice autobiography, but, well, we were asked to defend something. Of course, it looks like you aren't finished yet- maybe the argument is still to come- right? [[User:Dekeo|Dekeo]] 06:44, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> == My Thesis Statement ==<br /> <br /> Thanks for the advice, guys! My Thesis statement will be &quot;I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time.&quot; Kind of a weird thesis,I know, but this is what I think of Su Shi, so that is what I will try to argue. Try and read my paper with this in mind. :)</div>

Alexis Sagen https://bou.de/u/index.php?title=Talk:Su_Shi_(Su_Dongpo)&diff=1556 2012-03-04T17:42:50Z

<p>Alexis Sagen: </p> <hr /> <div> <br /> I suggest that you add in titles to separate information <br /> like this. <br /> <br /> ==Title==<br /> but you don't have to<br /> <br /> <br /> but overall it looks great, also make sure you use in text citations in addition to your list of refrences at the bottom and i would sugest instead of writting (source Edgar pg. 34) just have (Edgar pg. 34) you don't need to say source but it is really up to you.<br /> <br /> Alchemist1330<br /> <br /> == Comment 2 ==<br /> <br /> I think you should make the poems clearer, as in &quot;cleaner&quot;? Like right now it seems to blend in with the rest of the text, I think it should be more distinctive.<br /> Thanks,<br /> --[[User:Checksum|Checksum]] 04:53, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> == '''Proof Read!''' :) ==<br /> 1- You need to be sure to put a space before your source otherwise the parentheses are connected to the last word of the section you are citing.<br /> <br /> 2- Spelling and grammar errors are easier to spot after you take a break. I'm pretty sure you will spot what I'm talking about right away if you go to your paper now and try reading it out loud.<br /> <br /> 3- And, how about an argument? This is a nice autobiography, but, well, we were asked to defend something. Of course, it looks like you aren't finished yet- maybe the argument is still to come- right? [[User:Dekeo|Dekeo]] 06:44, 4 March 2012 (UTC)<br /> <br /> <br /> == <br /> My Thesis Statement ==<br /> <br /> Thanks for the advice, guys! My Thesis statement will be &quot;I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time.&quot; Kind of a weird thesis,I know, but this is what I think of Su Shi, so that is what I will try to argue. Try and read my paper with this in mind. :)</div>

Alexis Sagen