Chapter 3 Chapter 2 Meishan

If you go up the Yangtze River, cross the city of Hankou, pass through the Three Gorges into Sichuan Province in the far west, and then follow the river to its source through Chongqing, you will see a 360-foot-tall Buddha standing on the edge of the mountain wall on the bank. carved.This is the western border of this province, Leshan at the foot of Mount Emei, the highest peak in mainland China, was called Jiazhou in Su Dongpo's time.The Minjiang River flows into the Yangtze River here.The Minjiang River flows down from the mountainous area of ​​Xishi where the Xiyi people live. It surges down, joins another river flowing from Mount Emei, and rushes straight to the Leshan Giant Buddha. Then the river slowly turns to the southeast, bends eastward, and flows directly into the East China Sea.In the shadow of the cloudy Mount Emei, forty miles north of Leshan, there is a town of Meishan, which belongs to Meizhou and is the seat of the most famous literary family in the history of Chinese literature.That is the Su family, known as the "Three Sus".Father Su Xun gave birth to two outstanding sons, Su Shi (Dongpo) and Su Zhe (Ziyou), all of whom were listed in the "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties".

Travelers from ancient to modern times can go up the Glass River from Leshan and take a sailboat to Meishan.This river is transparent and dark blue in winter, hence the name.In summer, the torrent from the mountain makes it turbid and yellow.The river is a tributary of the Min River, and Meishan lies between Leshan and the provincial capital, Chengdu, through which travelers must pass to reach the provincial capital.If you go up by sailing boat, you will see Mount Mayi standing upright on the stream.It was a low and round hill, similar to the common hills in Jiangsu.This is Meishan, the hometown of Sansu.Thanks to the engineering talents of Li Bing and his son at the end of the third century BC, there is a perfect water control and irrigation system, which has been effective for more than a thousand years; making western Sichuan a fertile plain in four seasons without floods.The hill stands on a plain of rice fields, orchards, and vegetable gardens, occasionally dotted with bamboo forests and exotic palms.You can enter the city from the south and enter the city center along the neat stone steps.

It wasn't a big city, but it was a comfortable place to live.A poet in the twelfth century described that the streets were clean. Meishan was famous for its lotus flowers in May and June. The cultivation of lotus flowers has become an industry, because nearby cities buy lotus flowers from here.When I walked to the street, I saw many lotus ponds on the side of the road, and the fragrance was everywhere.When we arrived at Sahang, we could see a medium-sized house.As soon as I entered the gate, I saw a green lacquer screen to resist the visits of passers-by.Inside the screen is a small house with a courtyard.There is a tall pear tree near the house, as well as a pond and a vegetable garden.Various flowers and trees and fruit trees are planted in the small garden, and outside the wall is a jungle densely covered with bamboo.

Song Renzong Jingyou three years (1036) - 30 years before the Battle of Hastings - on December 19th, a baby boy was crying and kicking his feet in his swaddle.Due to the premature death of his eldest son, he became the eldest son of the family.There is nothing special about this baby, let's take a look at everything in the family.But let's talk about this birthday first, so that foreign writers who write biographies of Chinese people will not be confused.Chinese dolls are considered "one year old" when they are born, because everyone wants to reach the age of respect and respect as soon as possible.In the new year, everyone is one year older, and he will be "two years old".According to the Chinese algorithm, compared with the Western algorithm, people always count two years more before their birthday, and one year more after their birthday.The ages in this book are all calculated according to the Western method, regardless of the actual birthday, but Su Dongpo himself needs to be more precise.He is considered "one year old" after his birth on December 19th, and he is considered two years old during Chinese New Year—in fact, it is less than two weeks old.He was born at the end of the year, and his actual age is always two years younger than the Chinese algorithm.

Regarding this birthday, the second thing to mention is that he belongs to Capricornus (Scorpio) house.According to his own statement, he suffered many hardships in his life, and was slandered by people, good and bad, and many unfounded rumors, all because of this reason-the fate is the same as Han Yu, he also belongs to the same constellation, and was exiled because of the discussion. In one of the rooms there is a picture of immortals hanging on the central panel.The baby's father was twenty-seven years old and was facing the greatest spiritual crisis in his life. When he saw this portrait in the market, he bought it back with a jade bracelet.For seven years, he worshiped Zhang Xian every day.His wife had given birth to a daughter a few years ago, and a baby boy had died in infancy.He had always wanted a son and finally got his wish.He must have been happy; but we know he was feeling intense shame and torment.

They are well-to-do, with land, perhaps a little richer than the average middle-class family.There were at least two maids, and the family hired a wet nurse for Su Tungpo and his sister.But after the younger brother was born, another one was hired. According to the Chinese custom, the two nurses lived with the children they raised all their lives. When Su Dongpo was born, his grandfather was still alive at the age of sixty-three.When he was young, he was tall and handsome, healthy and strong, loved to drink, and was generous and generous.Su Dongpo became a contemporary top-ranking scholar, and one day he moved into a new residence near the imperial palace after the official worship of "Zhigao".Several friends and protégés came to see him, and it happened to be his grandfather's birthday, and he began to tell anecdotes about the strange old man.He was illiterate, and they lived in the country at the time, with a large piece of land.Unlike others hoarding rice, he exchanged rice for grain and saved four thousand shi.Others did not understand why he did this, and when the famine came, my grandfather opened barns to release grain, first to his family and relatives, then to his wife's relatives, and then to the tenants and the poor in the village.Now everyone understands why he hoarded rice. Millet can be preserved for many years, but milled rice will be damp and rotted.He is carefree, has enough food and clothing, and often takes his jug and friends to wander around, sitting on the grass to enjoy the happiness.They laughed, drank and sang loudly, which surprised the quiet and dignified peasants.

One day when there was a lot of trouble, a big news came.His second son - Su Dongpo's second uncle - passed the Jinshi examination.The son of a nearby family also passed the exam.That was the Cheng family, Su Dongpo's mother's family.The two families are related by marriage, which is really a double blessing.However, the Cheng family was very wealthy and belonged to the nobles with land, so they had already prepared to celebrate, but the grandfather of the Su family was not prepared.Knowing his father's style, the son personally sent people to deliver notices, official hats, official robes and wats, as well as a grand master's chair and a beautiful teapot.When the good news came, my grandfather was very drunk with a big piece of beef in his hand.He saw the red buttons on the official hat protruding from the bundle, and he knew what was going on.However, the drunkenness still persisted, so he took the official document, read it aloud to his friends, and stuffed the piece of beef together with the notice, official hat, and official robe into the bag.He asked a young man in the village to carry the burden, and rode a donkey into the city by himself.This is the happiest moment of his life.The people on the street had heard the news, and they couldn't help laughing when they saw this drunk old man riding on the back of a donkey with a strange bag behind him.The Cheng family felt ashamed, but Su Dongpo said that only good literati could appreciate that innocence.The old man was also a free thinker. One day he got drunk and ran into a temple and smashed the idol to pieces.He is particularly disgusted with this god, but the people of this district are afraid of it.Maybe he is a temple official who hates making money.

Su Dongpo did not inherit his grandfather's drinking capacity, but he did inherit his preference for good wine, as we will find out later.The wisdom of this illiterate old man was latent in his blood, but later it blossomed in his grandson.The old grandfather had special physical and mental vitality, a broad mind, and a strong and decisive righteousness.Like many prominent families, the rise of the Su family is also in line with the laws of evolution and natural selection.We can find no record of the intelligence of Su Dongpo's mother's family, but the combination of the Su and Cheng bloodlines gave birth to this literary genius.

Besides, the old grandfather did not have much influence on the literary life of this great poet, he only knew that his name was Su Xu.This is the most embarrassing thing for a writer. As a famous scholar, Su Dongpo had to write many prefaces.He avoids using the word "preface", so "preface" in his works is called "yin".Denying the names of parents or grandparents is an ancient custom, sometimes with embarrassing consequences.The word "Tan" cannot be found in the great work of the great historian Sima Qian, because it is his father's name.There was a man named Zhao Tan—he had to change his name without authorization.In the same way, the author of the Later Han Dynasty had to avoid the character "Tai" in his father's name. Today, there is not a single "Tai" in the 120 volumes of the Later Han Dynasty.The father of the poet Li Ao happened to be named "Jin" alone, so he had to use an ancient character to describe the moment in front of him.Denying the names of contemporary emperors often had the same result.Those who take part in the palace examination will be expelled from the palace if their scientific name has one character that is the same as that of the previous emperors.The emperors are usually known by their year names or posthumous titles, and many scholars often forget the names of the first emperors and are kicked out.Sometimes the emperor himself will forget, no one can always remember the names of ten generations of ancestors.The emperor was forgetful for a while, and chose a name for the new hall, only to remember later that he used a taboo word - the name of the ancestor.The temple name had just been obtained and had to be changed.

Su Dongpo's father, Su Xun, was taciturn. As far as political ambitions were concerned, he died frustrated, but his two sons before his death fulfilled his desire for literary and political fame.Su Xun is very intelligent, with a strong temper, independent thinking, and weird personality. He is not an easy person to get along with.To this day, everyone still knows that he is a university student who started studying seriously at the age of twenty-seven.We usually use this example to prove to children that as long as we are determined and willing to work hard, success is always waiting for us; however, smart children may come to the opposite conclusion, thinking that there is no need to study hard in childhood.In fact, Su Xun had ample opportunities to learn to read and write when he was a child; this man seemed to be straightforward, rebellious, and hated the formal education at that time.We know many bright kids who are like this.It's impossible that he never learned to read and write when he was a child, it's just that he wasted his childhood time.But the Cheng family had a good impression of this young man, so they chose him as their son-in-law.Strange to say, although he was only twenty-seven years old when he studied furiously, he won the highest literary fame, and his reputation was not completely overshadowed by his outstanding son.

About after the birth of his son, he became serious, regretting that he had wasted his youth.He must feel very ashamed when he saw that his brother, brother-in-law and two brother-in-laws had all passed the exam and became officials outside.Such things do not affect mediocrity, but to a man of superior intellect, as can be seen from his "Complete Works," the situation must have been hard to bear.He later noted in his wife's epitaph that she had always inspired him because Su Tungpo's mother was a well-educated woman.But the old grandfather didn't say anything to his son, and he didn't care about him. From all appearances, he seemed to be just a stubborn, eccentric, idle wit.When friends asked him why his son didn't study, and why he didn't care, he said calmly, "I'm not worried."Expressing his confidence, he knew that this wise and lost son would one day see his mistake. Even in that era, the people of Sichuan were hard-working, eloquent, self-confident, and mostly self-governing people. Like many people in border regions or colonies, they still retained some ancient customs and culture.In particular, thanks to the invention of printing in this province a hundred years ago, people in Sichuan were suddenly eager to study. In Su Dongpo's era, many officials or successful scholars came from Sichuan.At that time, the general academic standard there was higher than that of the provinces that are now classified as Hebei and Shandong. People from these two provinces who came to Beijing to catch the exam often couldn't write poems.Chengdu is a cultural center known throughout the country for its fine letter paper, Shu brocade and beautiful temples.There were famous courtesans with great talent and beauties with extraordinary talents. In the century or two before Su Dongpo, at least two famous poetesses appeared there.The works of scholars still abide by the simple and ancient style of the pre-Han Dynasty, which is completely different from the decadent, empty and gorgeous styles popular in various places at that time. Sichuan people in ancient and modern times are good at debating, and finally write powerful novels.Even the conversations of the middle class are full of profound cases and wise allusions, which have an atmosphere of classical elegance in the eyes of outsiders.Su Dongpo also shared this inner eloquence and determination not to admit defeat.Needless to say, he has argued many times with gods and ghosts, even his strategies are well-known for their clarity and force.The enemies of Su and his sons attacked them like sophists in the Warring States Period.Friends praised them for being as eloquent as Mencius, with appropriate allusions.People from Sichuan should be good lawyers. For this reason, Meizhou people get the notoriety of being "difficult to manage".Su Dongpo once argued that the people here are not like the people in low-educated areas, they will not be easily intimidated by the chief.The family of the gentry has a code of laws, and they talk freely about the laws and regulations without "taking the blame".These gentry abide by the law and live by the law, and they also want the officials to abide by the law.If the magistrate is fair and upright, everyone will hang his portrait at home and worship him for fifty years after his term expires.But they are like modern students with new teachers, they have their own set of naughty tricks.When a new official takes office, they will test him. If he is shrewd and capable, they will stop making trouble.If he was nosy and domineering, life would be difficult, Su Tungpo explained, and only unmanly officials found them difficult to manage. In addition to some strange customs and habits, Meizhou people also have a social family system.The famous old family can be divided into "A" and "B", called "Jiang Qing".Jiang Qing's children do not marry with other families, no matter how rich and powerful the other party is, as long as they are of different kind, they will not marry each other.There is also a custom of farmers cooperating.Every February, the farmers start to plant the field and mow the grass in early April. Hundreds of farmers work together.They choose two people as leaders, one is in charge of the leak, and the other is in charge of beating the drums. Everyone starts or stops work according to the sound of the drums.People who are late or lazy will be fined, and families with more people and fewer fields will have to pay for public funds.The whole village comes together to celebrate the harvest.They broke the "more leakage" and used fines and fees to buy meat and wine to wish a good harvest.The Saturnalia Festival will be held first, and then everyone will eat, drink and have fun, and return home having fun.