Dongpo is undoubtedly a rare genius in the history of China, as Mr. Lin Yutang said: "There is no shortage of a Su Like Dongpo figure in the world. ..... We have to say that Su Dongpo is an optimist whose nature cannot be changed, a compassionate moralist, a good friend who benefits the people, an essayist, a new painter, a great calligrapher, an experimenter in brewing, an engineer, a hypocritical opponent, a yoga practitioner, a Buddhist, a scholar-bureaucrat, an emperor's secretary, a drinker. ..... Su Dongpo's character is profound, broad and humorous as a versatile genius, with a high degree of intelligence and childlike innocence ". It is undoubtedly challenging to accurately and truly describe "the first scholar in the history of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years" in a book, and Mr. Li has made great efforts to this end. In his biography of Su Dongpo, we know that Dongpo is not only a writer, but also a person who integrates Confucianism's entry into the WTO, the birth of Buddhism and the health care of Taoism. In the change of prosperity and adversity, he is not confused by the official position, but cares about the sufferings of the people. Living in a high temple, worrying about the people and being diligent; Stay away from rivers and lakes, be conscientious and be a good party. Young master Zhezong acceded to the throne and was recalled to the imperial court, Ren Zhongshu Scheeren. In two years, he drafted more than 800 imperial edicts for the emperor. During his relegation, he fought floods and exterminated locusts, helped the poor and saved orphans, and made many meritorious deeds. He also organized a community in Huangzhou to fight against rampant infant drowning, and founded the first public hospital in China's history in Hangzhou ... Su Dongpo's political career, like his poems and paintings, belongs to our precious cultural heritage. His poems and songs are always worth reading, and his way of being an official is also worth our in-depth study and taste. It is Dongpo's rare frankness, frankness and kindness that makes future generations feel more cordial when they mention him. As Li said, it is his awesome and great personality that has won wide respect from future generations.

Dongpo's most wonderful summary ...

Su Dongpo's preface, I thought.

I wrote Su Dongpo's biography for no particular reason, just for fun. The idea of writing a biography of him has been in my mind for many years. 1936 When my family went to the United States, we brought some rare ancient books about Su Dongpo and Su Dongpo, in addition to some selected and beautifully typeset Chinese basic reference books. As for taking up a lot of luggage, we forgot all about it. At that time, I hoped to write a book about Su Dongpo or translate some of his poems. Besides, even if I can't do this, I hope to have him with me when I live abroad. As creative, upright, laissez-faire and fascinating as Su Dongpo, the existence of his works on the bookshelf makes people feel rich in spiritual food. Now I can concentrate on writing his biography, which is naturally a great pleasure. What other reasons do you need?

People who are full of vigor and vitality are always hard to understand. Su Like Dongpo is an indispensable figure in the world. Generally speaking, it is always futile to explain this kind of person's personality. In a versatile and colorful person, it is easy to pick out some qualities that make people love him. We have to say that Su Dongpo is an optimist, a compassionate moralist, a good friend of the common people, an essayist, a new painter, a great calligrapher, an experimenter in wine making, an engineer, a hypocritical opponent, a yoga practitioner, a Buddhist, a scholar-bureaucrat, an emperor's secretary, an alcoholic and an alcoholic. But these may not be enough to outline the whole picture of Su Dongpo. If I mention Su Dongpo, China always has a kind and admirable smile, which may best sum up everything about Su Dongpo. Su Dongpo's personality is profound, broad and humorous, with a high degree of wisdom and childlike innocence-as Jesus said, with the wisdom of pythons and the gentleness of pigeons. In these respects, Su Dongpo is incomparable to other poets. The combination of these qualities is rare and uncountable in the world. And Su Dongpo is such a person! He is still naive and faithful all his life. Political intrigue and intrigue are incompatible with his character; His poems and articles are natural, natural and intense, whether they are improvisations or feelings when they are dissatisfied, just as he said, "the voice of spring birds and autumn insects"; It is also comparable to his poem: "The ape sings the crane unintentionally, and I don't know that there are pedestrians." He has always been involved in the political whirlpool, but he is only in the wind and moon, and he is above the political activities. He doesn't want to know much. He sings poems and writes poems anytime and anywhere, criticizes Zang and expresses his feelings simply. As for the consequences and benefits he will incur, he will ignore them. Therefore, until today, readers still like to read his works, because people like him always care about the world, always speak bluntly and are not shy at all. In his works, his nature is fully revealed, harmonious, vivid and powerful. Although he changed his interest according to the situation, he was sincere, sincere and completely heartfelt. He writes for no other reason than to amuse himself. Today, we read his poems without any reason, just because he writes so beautifully, so healthily and so simply, so every word comes from the heart.

Why have so many people in China loved this great poet for more than a thousand years? I tried my best to analyze the reason. Now it's time to say the second reason. This reason is actually not much different from the first one, just a different statement. That is, Su Dongpo has his own charming magic power. Just like magic in women, beauty and fragrance in flowers, it is easy to feel but difficult to explain. Su Dongpo's main divine power is the divine power possessed by a brilliant genius. Such a genius often causes his wife or people who love him very much to worry about him, making people wonder whether they should love him because of his fearless spirit, or discourage him and protect him in order to protect him from others. There is obviously a moral power in him, which is beyond people's control. This force began from his birth, and it was powerful until death shut up and interrupted his laughter. He waved his pen like a rafter, just like a child's play He can be arrogant and eccentric, solemn and serious, easy to joke, or solemn. From his works, we can hear the vibration of the strings of human emotions, with joy, joy, dreamlike awakening and submissive tolerance. He likes banquets and wine and is always warm and friendly. He claims to be impatient by nature, and when he encounters unpleasant things, he feels that "if a fly is eating, it will spit it out quickly." Once, he hated a poet's poem and said, "It was a Tokyo pedant who drank private wine, ate dead beef and got drunk."

Dongpo's most wonderful summary ...

He is joking, whether friends or enemies. Once, in front of ministers, he played a joke on a Taoist priest and stabbed him. Later, he had to bear the consequences. However, what others can't understand is that Su Dongpo will be angry because of something, but he won't hate people. He hates evil things, and he doesn't care to be an evil person. I just don't like such people. Because hating others is a sign of incompetence, Su Dongpo is no worse than others, so he never hates others. In a word, we get the impression that his life is full of singing and dancing, and he enjoys it and laughs when troubles come. I tried my best to describe his magic with this clumsy pen, and his magic also made countless scholars in China fall in love with him.

This book records the deeds of a poet, a painter and a close friend of an ordinary person. He has a keen sense, thorough thinking and beautiful writing. As a brave man, he will never waver for his own interests, nor will he change because of the secular. He is not good at making a living by himself. However, it is full of the spirit of living in harmony with the people. He is kind, warm, generous and kind to people. Although he didn't save a penny, he felt richer than the prince. Although he is stubborn and talkative by nature, he is witty, but sometimes he is too outspoken and witty; He is versatile, curious and thoughtful. Although he is deep, he can't help being frivolous. He doesn't stick to the rules, and his writing is natural and elegant. Being a father, a brother and a husband is based on Confucianism, but he is a pure Taoist in his bones, cynical and too discerning between right and wrong. As far as literary talent and knowledge are concerned, he is far above other scholars, so naturally there is no need to be jealous. Since he is great, he is naturally gentle and friendly to others and does no harm to himself. He is a simple and natural person and doesn't need to be noble. When he was bound by his official position, he claimed to be as short as a pony. In this troubled autumn, he is like a petrel in a political storm, an enemy of stupid bureaucrats, and a soldier who protects people from violence. Although emperors admired him and empresses were his close friends, Su Dongpo was repeatedly demoted, arrested and humiliated.

On one occasion, Su Dongpo said a few words to his younger brother Ziyou, saying it best and describing himself appropriately:

"I can accompany the jade emperor, I can accompany a beggar in British Columbia. There are no bad people in the world before me. "

So Su Dongpo lived a happy and fearless life, like a breeze, for no reason.

Su Dongpo's life experience is the natural expression of his nature. Metaphysics, he is a Buddhist. He knows that life is the expression of something in an instant and the form in which the eternal spirit exists in the body in an instant, but he refuses to accept that life is a burden and pain-he thinks it is not the case. As for himself, he enjoys every moment of his life. Metaphysics, he is a Hindu thought, but temperament, he is an authentic China temperament. From Buddhism's denial of life, Confucianism's face-up to life and Taoism's simplification of life, the poet's complex outlook on life came into being. The longest life span is only 36 thousand days, but it is long enough; Even if his pursuit of dewdrop elixir ultimately fails, every moment of life will be beautiful and gratifying as long as it lasts. Although his body will die, his spirit will become the stars in the sky and the rivers on the earth, which can shine and nourish nutrition, thus maintaining all living things. In this life, he is just a particle in an eternal moment. Which particle is he and why is it important? So life is immortal and beautiful after all, so he enjoys life to the fullest. This is the mysterious side of this prodigy optimist.

There is no footnote in the text of this book, but I have carefully quoted the information from the source and tried to use the original sentence, but the use of this information is not obvious on the surface. Because they all come from China. Footnotes for reference are not practical for most American readers. Sources of information can be found in the bibliography at the back of the book. In order to prevent readers from being bothered by the complexity of China's name, I have tried my best to eliminate the names of unimportant people. Sometimes I just use surnames and abbreviated names. In addition, people only use one name before and after, because China literati have four or five names. Some of the poems quoted in the original text are translated into English, and some are strange and unlike poems because there are allusions in the sentences. Without lengthy annotations, the meaning is still obscure. I just use prose to get a little meaning.