Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven Poets, Courtesans, and Monks
Hangzhou at that time, like today, was a magical city, sometimes called "paradise on earth".This is Su Dongpo's second hometown. He wrote as soon as he came to Hangzhou:
This is his second hometown, not only because there are beautiful hills, forests, lakes, seas, bustling streets and magnificent temples, but also because the local people love him very much, and he spent the happiest time in his life day.Residents have the joyful nature of southerners, poets and beauties, and they love the young famous poet and appreciate his impulsive, enthusiastic and carefree personality.Beauty inspired him, and soft charms soothed his soul.Hangzhou won his favor, and he also won the love of Hangzhou people.As a general judge (assistant official) in Hangzhou, he didn't have the opportunity to do more for the people, but his status as a poet was enough; when he was arrested, people in Hangzhou set up shrines to worship him in the street to relieve him of the disaster.After he left, the beauty and warmth of the southern country have always fascinated him.He knew that he would come back. Eighteen years later, he came back again to serve as the prefect. He made a lot of contributions to the city and left an immortal memory in the hearts of Hangzhou people. Everyone said he was from Hangzhou.Today, thousands of years after his death, if you go to West Lake, Gushan Island or Fengshan, or drink tea in a restaurant by the lake, you will hear the shopkeeper from Hangzhou repeatedly mentioning "Su Dongpo——Su Dongpo." He would not be happy if it was pointed out that Dongpo was from Sichuan.Hey, he thought Su Dongpo was born there, and had never been to any other place except the capital!
Su Dongpo's mood, wandering charm, love and joy are all 100% connected with West Lake.The poetry of the place and his works find the best play in each other.It is not easy for a city to find its representative poet. This person must be able to discover the local life, changes, and complex personalities, and write the essence, spirit, and beauty of the place in quatrains.In the most recognized poem chanting the West Lake, Su Dongpo compares the West Lake to the beauty Xi Shi in the Warring States Period; she is equally beautiful no matter she wears a dressing gown with light makeup or with heavy makeup.The West Lake has its own intoxicating charm in sunny days and rainy days:
This is of course only a metaphor.In any case, "Xizi" is more beautiful with makeup than without makeup.Su Dongpo beautified the lakeside and made everything appear natural with perfect artistic brushstrokes.Today, Su Causeway stretches into the center of the lake, and the charming reflection of the small islet is known as "Three Pools Reflecting the Moon", and the banks lined with weeping willows prove his skill in building scenic spots.The West Lake of Hangzhou and the "Little West Lake" of Yangzhou are two places where the genius of Chinese garden design has been fully developed, and human art and skill have improved the place without destroying it.The artist first grasps the natural pattern of the place, and strives for natural and integrated architecture. He just tightens, loosens or strengthens an outline sporadically, without doing much.
In the fourth year of Xining (1071), Su Dongpo arrived in Hangzhou with his wife and children on November 28.The official residence is located on the top of Fengshan Mountain. To the south, you can see groups of boats on the Qiantang River heading to the sea. To the north is the West Lake, surrounded by mountains, misty clouds, temples and villas of wealthy families.In addition to the prefect, Hangzhou has two adjutants, because it is a metropolis.The Su family lives on the north side of the residential area, which is the side by the lake.The high walls, bridges and ditches of the city are just under Fengshan Mountain, extending from the west lake to the Qiantang Bay in the north and south.Mrs. Su opened the window in the morning and saw the beautiful Pinghu Lake below reflecting the flowing clouds, mountains and villas. .Some parts of the city are brightly lit, and there are markets every night until two or three o'clock in the morning.There are all kinds of exquisite snacks, silk, embroidery, and incense fans that wives like, as well as various candies, toys and revolving lanterns that children like.Candy sellers in the Song Dynasty came up with all kinds of strange tricks to attract customers. Some used gambling to sell their goods, some dressed up as old men with white beards, and some wore masks to perform singing and dancing.Some people sell sugar shreds, some blow candies into the shapes of various animals, and some people make "sand sugar" which is similar to today's maple syrup.At the end of the Song Dynasty—about a hundred years after Su Dongpo’s death, and a hundred years before Marco Polo came to the east—someone wrote a book describing life in Hangzhou, vividly depicting the details of streets, canals, lakes, food and entertainment, such as Marco Polo's description is more detailed.Marco Polo mentioned that the prince went hunting by the lake, the princess bathed by the lake, and a large fleet of merchant ships traveled between Hangzhou and Quanzhou, but he was not familiar with sweets, pastries and common entertainment.Wu Zimu's book "Meng Liang Lu" lists many exquisite snacks over and over again, which makes readers extremely intoxicated.
Su Dongpo almost believed that he had lived here in his previous life.There are records in his own poems and miscellaneous notes of his contemporaries.One day he visited the Shouxing Courtyard, and the scene was very familiar as soon as he entered the gate.He told his companions that he knew that there were ninety-two stone steps leading to the confessional.The result is exactly right.He also described to his companions the architecture, courtyard, wood and stone of the apse.We don't have to believe in these reincarnation stories, but if the society believes in ghosts and reincarnation, there will always be many such stories, just like ghost stories, no one can prove whether it is true or not.In Su Dongpo's era, everyone believed in past lives, so this kind of story is not surprising. There is a story about Zhang Fangping's past life.One day he visited a temple and told everyone that he remembered being a Zen master here in a previous life.He pointed to the upstairs and said that he remembered copying a Buddhist scripture in the attic, and half of it was not finished.He went upstairs with his friends and found an unfinished manuscript with handwriting very similar to Zhang Fangping.He picked up the brush and started to pick up where he left off in his previous life.A similar story happened to a friend of Su Dongpo.The poet Huang Tingjian told others that he was a girl in his previous life, and his armpits had body odor.When he was working in Fuzhou in the lower reaches of Chongqing, Sichuan Province, one day a girl came to dream and said: "I am your predecessor, and I was buried in a certain place. The coffin is broken, and there is a big ant nest on the left. Please relocate me." ” Huang Tingjian followed suit, and the body odor in Zuoxiwo disappeared.
Su Dongpo served as the general judge, and he didn't have much responsibility except for the joint trial of the lawsuit.He hated it wholeheartedly, knowing that most of the people who got arrested were petty people who broke the New Deal laws, and he didn't approve of the New Deal at all.But the law has been set, and he cannot change it.Reading the poem written by Su Dongpo when he had to interrogate salt smugglers on New Year's Eve, perhaps it is easiest to understand his thoughts and mood at this time.The government monopoly system took over the salt trade, but merchants in the salt-producing areas near Hangzhou Bay refused to give up their business.Su Dongpo once wrote a letter to a cabinet member, explaining all the reasons for the private sale of salt.We don't care about the objective situation now, but only his attitude towards his fellow citizens, because he feels that he is no different from those prisoners:
He even wrote the truth for the pair: "What I have been ashamed of in my life is not ashamed now, and I am even more whipped when I sit next to the tired gangster. Dao Fengyang Hu shouted and said, knowing that it is not the only promise. What is the benefit of forgetting the truth?" , the integrity has shrunk to a very small extent.”
In another poem, he talked about the pain brought by the Baojia system to the people, and described the cry of the people when they were beaten, and even his wife and children were arrested and imprisoned.He was later arrested, and it was these lines that charged him with undermining the authority of the government.
At this time, whenever he had the opportunity, he would travel around the mountains and rivers.He wants to escape into the embrace of nature, and the most beautiful face of nature is under his feet.His poetic spirit indulged in the beauty of the neighborhood.In addition to the urban area and the West Lake, the high mountains ten or fifteen miles away from Hangzhou have also become his favorite places to go.Starting from the West Lake, tourists can travel in all directions, along the north bank to the famous Lingyin Temple, climb up Tianzhuding, and from the south bank to Geling, stay for a while at Hupao Temple, watch the famous springs, drink tea, and then walk along a winding road. Walking back through the beautiful mountain stream.There are 360 temples in the city and its suburbs, usually on the hills, where he can spend an afternoon chatting with the monks.Touring these mountains often takes a whole day, and he often comes back in the evening when the street lights are on.Passing through the brightly lit and crowded Xiaohetang Night Market, he often returns home half drunk, remembering some lines of poetry and then forgetting some:
