This is one of Dongpo's best works, Feihong symbolizes the human spirit.In fact, the life story of Su Dongpo written in this book is just the occasional footprint left by a great mind. The real Su Dongpo is a soul like a phantom bird, who may still be sleepwalking among the stars today. Fengxiang is located in the west of Shaanxi, close to the Weihe River. Shaanxi is the cradle of Chinese culture. The entire Weihe River Valley is full of historical place names and names related to ancient history.However, due to repeated disputes with Xixia, a powerful neighbor in the south of Gansu, this place lacks manpower and the people are destitute.In his first year in office, Su Dongpo built a garden cottage as an official residence. There was a pond in front of the house, thirty kinds of flowers were planted in the garden, and a small pavilion behind the house.

Now that he has settled down, the judge doesn't have much responsibility.He can walk around and play for a few days in the high mountains to the east and south.Once he went to the nearby area to investigate the case on business, so as to resolve unsentenced cases as soon as possible and release as many prisoners as possible.He is most suitable for tours, and has visited temples in Taibai Mountain, Heishui Basin, and the birthplace of the founding monarch of the Zhou Dynasty.Sometimes when he had nothing to do, he even went to Zhongnan Mountain near Xi'an to see the rare or authentic works of the famous painter Wu Daozi collected by a friend of his.

Su Dongpo was still young and out of his mind.He moved out with his wife and children for the first time.Now he has had his first taste of being an official, and it is not as good as he imagined.Far away from the stimulation of the capital, he felt very bored to be the deputy head of joint documents and trials in remote areas.Sometimes he feels lonely, but sometimes he looks happy when he looks at the moon's shadow in his wine glass. The first few years were immature, and he needed his wife's advice.Mrs. Su seems to be more practical than he is.Su Dongpo was clear about the big things, but confused about the small things; but life is often composed of many small things, and the big things are usually not many, and the time is far away, so Dongpo had to listen to his wife.Mrs. Su reminded him that this was the first time he had left his father's guidance.Dongpo trusts everyone, but his wife is better at distinguishing good from bad.She often stood behind the curtain and listened to her husband and the guests.One day, after the visitor had left, she said to her husband: "Why are you wasting your time talking to this man? He's been paying attention to what you have to say so he can try to please you."

She told him to be wary of casual acquaintances who were too explicit, and friends he made on the basis of the theory that no one is evil.That was his trouble; he couldn't see what was wrong in other people.His wife said to him: "Beware of those friends. Friendships established too quickly will not last long." Dongpo admitted that her words always come true, and I think her wisdom in this regard comes from the Chinese saying that "a gentleman's friendship is as light as water" Old saying - no exciting taste, but never boring.Sincere friendship never shows too much.True friends don't write very often, because they trust each other's friendship with all their heart and don't need to write at all.After being separated for several years and meeting again, the friendship remains the same.

Su Dongpo is a person who is uncomfortable and upset when he has nothing to do.However, a drought seemed imminent.It has not rained for a long time, and the farmers are worried about the harvest.There is no other way but to pray for rain.Praying for rain is the job of local officials, and Su Dongpo suddenly became active.Something must be wrong, the god is angry, and if the rain doesn't come soon, the farmer will suffer, so he intends to use all his eloquence to appeal to the god for the farmer, so he does it. There is a high mountain in the south of the Weihe River, commonly known as the Qinling Mountains, and the tallest and most famous mountain is Taibai Mountain.There is a small pond in front of a Taoist temple on the top of Taibai Mountain. The "Dragon King" lives in it and can transform into various small fish.Su Dongpo entered the temple to pray.He begged for the peasants, but he was like a lawyer, trying to make the dragon king know that the drought was not good for the gods.After flattering the Dragon King for a while, he said in the official rain-prayer article: "It's the winter and the spring, and there will be no rain or snow. What the small people rely on for their living is just wheat. If it doesn't rain this ten days, it will be a disaster." Years old; people's food is not sustainable, and thieves are on the rise. Is it only the ministers who guard the land who worry about it, and it is not the place where the gods should sit and look at it. The holy emperor is above, and everyone who is gentle is prepared. Down to the fool Small people, there are no other people who run around and are afraid of things. Everyone thinks it is today. The gods also learn from it? The above is to not disappoint the meaning of the Holy Son of Heaven, and the bottom is to not disappoint the hope of the foolish people."

After coming down from Taibai Mountain, he visited several places, especially the places he missed last time.He offered prayers for rain on the seventh day and returned to the city. On the sixteenth there was a light rain, but it was not enough for the farmers' crops.He looked for the reason, and someone told him that the prayer in Taibai Mountain did not fail, but the emperor of Song Dynasty only awarded the title of Marquis of the Mountain God, and begging him was useless.Su Dongpo looked through Tang history and found that the Taibai Mountain Lord in the previous dynasty was named Shen Yinggong.In fact, the title of the mountain god has been demoted, and he may be unhappy about it.He immediately wrote a memorial for the prefect, asking the emperor to restore the dukedom of Taibai Mountain.Then he and the prefect took a bath, and sent a special envoy to inform the mountain god that they had won a high position for him, and at the same time brought back a basin of "dragon water" from the pond on the mountain.

On the 19th, Su Dongpo went out of the city to meet "Longshui".The whole village is very excited, and everyone is concerned about the success or failure of this time.Thousands of people came from the countryside, making a lot of noise. "Longshui" hasn't arrived yet.But a large cloud came over and the sky was getting dark.We waited for a long time, but it still didn't rain.Su Dongpo went to the city again and accompanied Song Taishou to Zhenxing Temple to pray.On the way, he saw a bunch of dark clouds flying low and drifting towards him.He borrowed a basket from the farmer, grabbed a handful of clouds into the basket, and covered it tightly.He entered the city and prayed to the cloud, "If you open the seal, you will still let it go, and if you stop it, it will still change. When you return to the mountain, the high officials will not be afraid."After speaking, he and Song Taishou went out of the city again.As soon as we arrived in the suburbs, it was very cold and windy.Banners, pennants, and tassels on guns swayed violently in the wind, and dense clouds descended from the sky like a herd of wild horses.Thunder rumbled in the distance.At this time, "Dragon Water" came.Su Dongpo and Song Taishou stepped forward to greet him, placed the water basin on the temporary shrine, and said another prayer, which is now included in his "Complete Works" with other blessings.As if answering a prayer, the showers filled the four townships.Two days later, there was another heavy rain, which lasted for three consecutive days, and the withered wheat and corn came back to life.

Now everyone is beaming, but the happiest thing is himself.In order to commemorate this happy scene, he named the pavilion behind the official building "Xiyu Pavilion" and wrote a stele.This inscription is one of Su Dongpo's favorite essays in the school, because the words are simple and can represent Su Dongpo's personality. He is most happy to share the happiness of the common people. As a result, the Taibai Mountain God was promoted and was made a duke by the emperor.Su Dongpo and Song Taishou went up the mountain to express their thanks and congratulations.There was another drought in July of the following year, and there was no response to this request for rain.Su Dongpo was very disappointed, so he went to Panxi to pray for Jiang Taigong's heroic spirit.Taigong is still a very popular deity in China today. He was an old wise man in the 12th century BC. Legend has it that he often raised his fishing line three feet above the water when fishing.It can be seen that he is a kind and just person. If the fish jumps three feet out of the water to take the bait, it is the fish's own fault.

Whether Su Dongpo’s sacrifice to Jiang Taigong was effective or not is not recorded in history, but any good man or woman—whether he believes in Buddhism or an old tree—has no reason to doubt the function of prayer.No one can prove that prayer is useless.According to the teachings of Buddhism, if there is a problem, it is always the wrong person to pray, and it is usually a relationship that is not sincere enough.All gods are spirits, otherwise humans would not be interested in them.Furthermore, prayer is also based on one of the deepest human instincts.After all, praying or praying with heart is the most important thing, and whether you are spiritual or not is second. However, Su Dongpo was an official in various places, and he continued to pray for rain when necessary.He knows he's doing the right thing.He believes that God is just and reasonable.Since he believed in the existence of gods, he naturally believed that the gods would try their best to relieve the pain of life and bring happiness and justice.If reasoning is the highest attribute of human beings, God must also be reasonable and willing to listen to people's persuasion and theory.However, in his future report on natural disasters, he also relied on Chinese orthodox sayings, saying that the government should lift the style of oppression so that prayers will be effective.This is the belief of Chinese common sense, so the earliest ancient books once said, "Do your best and obey the destiny".I've seen all the stupid things the Chinese do, and this statement restores my confidence that the Chinese are really great thinkers after all. I simply want to say that Su Dongpo's spirit represents "fire". He struggled with floods and droughts all his life, and he was busy building water supply systems, water transportation systems and wells wherever he went.The fire symbol is apt, because he is full of life; in other words, his temper and life are like flames, giving life and warmth everywhere, and burning something along the way. According to records, the flames argued with the devil twice.Su Dongpo always believed that not only gods, but even ghosts should accept his logical debate.He hates unreasonable things, and even the devil should see if there is any reason in what he does.Ghosts may sometimes be forgetful or confused, but if they can see the wrongness of their actions under Su Tungpo's persuasion, they will stop their evil deeds. Later, he returned to Beijing from Fengxiang, walked straight along the mountain road, once passed Baihua Mountain, a guard was suddenly possessed by a devil, and began to take off his clothes all the way, completely naked.Su Dongpo asked someone to force him to put on clothes, tied him up, and stripped him naked.Everyone said that the mountain god was angry and the soldiers were bewitched.So Su Dongpo went to the temple to offer a letter of congratulations: After Su Dongpo prayed, he walked out of the temple gate, and a gust of cold wind blew in his face.Soon, sand and rocks flew, and tourists couldn't see the way.Su Dongpo said to his entourage: "Is the mountain god even more angry? I'm not afraid." He continued walking, and the storm became more violent than before.Only the luggage-bearer followed him, and the others were all looking for shelter from the wind, and everyone felt that it was difficult to move.Someone persuaded him to go back to the temple to apologize to the mountain god. "My fate is in the hands of heaven," Su Dongpo replied, "If the mountain god wants to be angry, let him be angry. I want to move forward. What can the mountain god do to me?" The storm gradually subsided, and everyone was safe. Nothing happened, the soldier also recovered. Su Dongpo always believed that his wit could fight invisible gods and ghosts, and he even bargained with ghosts once.A few years later, he served as a senior official in the capital. His second daughter-in-law was Ouyang Xiu's granddaughter, who had just given birth and was possessed by a devil.The daughter-in-law showed the personality of a deceased person, and said to the people present: "My name is Wang Jing. The ghost is still here, and I have been lingering here for a long time." Su Dongpo said to the bewitched woman: "I am not afraid of ghosts. What's more, there are many Taoist priests in the capital who can drive away evil spirits, and they can also drive you out. Don't be stupid! You were obviously a fool when you were alive, so you died unjustly, and now you want to make trouble after death." Then he explained to the ghosts that the Buddhist family is popular and told her: "Go away quietly now, and tomorrow evening I will pray to the Bodhisattva for you." So the ghost clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you, sir." His wife recovered.In the evening of the next day, he wrote a prayer to the Bodhisattva, and burned incense and prepared wine and meat to drive away the ghosts. Soon his second son's child said that he saw a thief running around in the inner room. He looked black and thin and was dressed in black.Su Dongpo asked his servants to search, but there was no one there.Suddenly the nurse fell to the ground and screamed.When Su Dongpo came up to look at her, the nurse shouted: "I'm the thin man in black! I'm not a thief, I'm a ghost. If you want me to leave this maid's body, you can invite a wizard." Su Dongpo calmly said to the ghost, "No, I won't invite you." "My lord refuses, and I don't insist either," the ghostly voice slowed down, "Can you write a prayer for me?" "No." Su Dongpo said. Ghost began to lower the conditions, begging for some wine and meat in a softer tone, but Su Dongpo was unmoved.The ghosts are suppressed by the unbelievers, and now they only need to burn a little paper money.He still doesn't agree.In the end, the ghost only wanted a glass of water, and Su Dongpo said, "Give it to her." After drinking the water, the nurse fell to the ground again, and soon regained consciousness.But the milk has since dried up. There was an episode during Fengxiang's term of office, which Su Dongpo seemed ashamed later on, and he didn't like to talk about it much.He got along well with his boss, the prefect Song, who was an old friend of his family.But when the new prefect came, the situation changed.The new prefect Chen is an old soldier, he is very strict with himself and others, his skin is dark and strong, and his eyes have severe squint.He is from the same area as Su Dongpo, and he likes to think of him as a young boy who suddenly pops up.Chen Taishou has an excellent official reputation.Once he arrested a powerful and corrupt monk in Changsha and brought him to justice, which surprised the local people.Another time, he arrested more than 70 wizards who oppressed good people, forced them to go home to farm, and demolished several temples that corrupted public morals.I heard that he ordered the soldiers to stand at attention, even if the enemy's arrows and crossbows were shot from the sky, they would not miss it. Now that Su Tungpo met this officer, all civil and military officials bowed to him. As for Su Tungpo, we can guess that two unyielding characters met head-on.The two often confronted each other.Su Dongpo was young and smart, and it was not easy for an outstanding young man with his own opinions to submit to external authority.Perhaps what Su Dongpo was most angry with was that the prefect repeatedly deleted and revised the official documents he had drafted.To express his displeasure, when Su Dongpo visited, Chen Taishou often refused to meet him, and sometimes made him wait for a long time, enough time for Su Dongpo to take a nap.In the end, the two had a very unpleasant quarrel, and Chen Taishou went to Beijing to impeach Su Dongpo for disobedience. Soon Su Dongpo's chance of revenge came.The prefect built a platform in the official residence, so that he can enjoy the scenery of the four fields when he is leisurely.For some unknown reason, Taishou Chen asked Su Dongpo to write an article, which he wanted to engrave in stone as a record.This opportunity was so good that he couldn't bear to turn it down, he wanted to make a joke.The inscription carved on stone will be handed down to future generations; it should be solemn, beautiful and poetic.Of course he couldn't attack Chen Taishou directly, but he could shoot a mocking arrow with no consequences. "Lingxu Terrace" has been handed down to this day: If Su Dongpo was older, his tone would be more mature, and the arrow's edge would be hidden.This inscription quietly ponders the situation of the collapsed platform, insinuating that the old man has never heard of the hills outside the city, and is indeed unique among inscription works.However, the old magistrate was so generous that he accepted it. This time he asked someone to engrave the article on the stone without changing a single word. Chen Taishou is actually not bad at heart.After the two separated, Su Dongpo gradually saw this, and worked hard to get rid of the previous suspicions.One of the burdens of a successful writer is to be asked to write the epitaph for someone by his grandchildren and relatives.The epitaph always praises the dead in a tactful manner, which has no literary value at all and is often close to hypocrisy.Writing this kind of epitaph was called "flattering the dead" by the ancients.But this is a favor that writers find hard to refuse.Su Dongpo set strict regulations on this point and implemented them earnestly; even the prince asked him to write an epitaph, but he refused to accept it.He only wrote seven epitaphs in his life, each of which has a special reason, because he really has something to say in his heart.A few years later, he also wrote an epitaph for Chen Taishou.Apart from Sima Guang's epitaph, this is the longest one.In the end the two developed a great respect for each other. We must mention Chen Zhen, the son of Chen Taishou, who later became Su Tungpo's lifelong friend.Chen Zhen likes drinking, riding horses, dancing swords and hunting. He is a big spender.One day Chen Zhen led two soldiers to shoot and hunt on horseback. Su Dongpo met him in the mountains.A magpie appeared in front of him, but the groom missed.He cursed secretly, rushed out of the dense forest, and shot down the bird with one arrow.A certain temperament on his face attracted Dongpo.Later, Chen Zhen's father, who was an official in another place, was accused of accepting bribes and sentenced to death.It is said that when Su Dongpo was exiled, Chen Zhen was living in seclusion in Huangzhou.Su Dongpo's enemies, remembering that he had once quarreled with Chen Zhen's father, drove him to this place, and let him fall into Chen Zhen's grasp.Maybe Chen Zhen wanted to avenge his father, so Su Dongpo's enemies didn't have to do it.In fact, Su Dongpo had nothing to do with Chen's father's execution. As a result, Chen Zhen became his best friend during his demotion to Huangzhou. Another "friend" Su Dongpo knew, Zhang Dun, was destined to hit his career for the rest of his life.Zhang Dun, who later became a vicious political opponent, was serving as prefect in a nearby area.I don't know if Mrs. Su warned him to pay attention to Zhang Dun. Zhang's intelligence and enthusiasm are exactly the type Su Dongpo likes.Legend has it that Su Dongpo once predicted Zhang Dun's future.Once on a trip to Luguan, the two of them went deep into the mountains, headed for the Black Water Basin, and came to a deep pit.There is a small wooden plank bridge over the pit, and there are rapids flying a hundred feet below, surrounded by vertical canyons.Zhang Dun himself was very brave. He bowed to Su Shi and asked him to walk across the wooden bridge and leave a few words on the opposite cliff.Su Dongpo refused, and Zhang Dun crossed the bridge alone, calmly.He gathered his robe, grabbed a sling, and wrote six characters along the cliff to the other side of the stream: "Su Shi Zhang Dun came to swim".Then walk back as if nothing happened.Su Dongpo patted his friend on the back and said, "One day you will kill someone." "Why?" Zhang Dun asked. Su Dongpo replied, "If you can play with your own life in the palm of your hand, you can also kill people." Whether Su Dongpo's prediction is right or not, we will know later. Except that during Renzong's death, he was ordered to supervise the transportation of materials for the imperial mausoleum, and he was very busy for a while, Su Dongpo was always depressed, and he was very homesick.In the autumn of the eighth year of Jiayou (1063), he wrote to Ziyou and said: In December of the first year of Hidemune Zhihei (1064), he was dismissed from his former post.His wife's elder brother came to live with him from Sichuan, and the whole family returned to the capital in January of the following year.Usually after three years of office, local officials have to pass the test of "grinding".Based on this meeting, officials can be recommended for other official positions.Now that Su Dongpo returned to Beijing, Ziyou could relax, and he immediately went to Daming Mansion—then it was called "Beijing".In fact, it is more than a hundred miles south of what is now Beijing - working. The new emperor, Yingzong, had heard of Su Dongpo's name for a long time, and wanted to make an exception and promote him to Hanlin, and take on the paperwork of drafting imperial edicts for the emperor.Prime Minister Han Qi objected, and advised the emperor to think of Su Dongpo, let him hone his talents slowly, and not suddenly be promoted to a high position.So the emperor suggested that he take charge of the records of official affairs of the palace.The prime minister objected again, saying that this position is not much different from "making an imperial edict".He recommended jobs in the cultural and educational departments and asked Su Shi to pass formal exams.The emperor said: "We don't know a person's real talent and learning, so we need an exam. Why take Su Dongpo's exam?" But the prime minister insisted on his approach. Su Dongpo passed the exam and worked in the history museum.Officials in this department worked in the royal library in turn, and Su Dongpo was very happy to have the opportunity to look at the rare books, manuscripts and famous paintings in the royal collection. In May of that year, Su Dongpo's wife died at the age of twenty-six, leaving behind a six-year-old son.His father said to him: "Your wife has followed you, but she can't enjoy your achievements. You should bury her beside her mother-in-law." On the tenth anniversary of his wife's death, Su Dongpo once wrote a short poem to express his full heart Sorrowful, poignant and beautiful, full of soul-stirring melody, it is a pity that it cannot be sung now.