Su Shi

Su Shi (蘇軾) (1037-1101) was a poet and statesman of the Song Dynasty. His courtesy name is Zidan (子瞻), self-titled Dongpo Jushi (東坡居士, The one lived in DongPo) and is often referred to as Su Dongpo (蘇東坡).

Biography

He was born in Meishan in what is now Sichuan province. His brother Su Che (蘇轍) and his father Su Xun (蘇洵) were both famous literati. In 1057, he and his brother passed the civil service examinations to attain the degree of jinshi, a prerequisite to holding high government office at that time. Throughout the next twenty years, he held a variety of government positions throughout China; most notably in Hangzhou, where he was responsible for constructing a pedestrian causeway across the West Lake that still bears his name.

He was often at odds with a political faction headed by Wang Anshi. This faction's rise to power eventually resulted in Su being exiled twice to remote places; first (1080-1084) to Huangzhou (now in Hubei province), and the second time (1094-1100) to Huizhou (now in Guangdong province) and Hainan island. In Huangzhou, he lived at a place called Dongpo (the "Eastern Slope"), from which he received his literary name. He died in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.

Work

Su Dongpo was a prolific poet, artist and calligrapher; some of his notable contributions include Chibifu (The Red Cliffs, written during his first exile) and Suidiaogetou (Remembering Su Che on the Mid-Autumn Festival). His poetry tended to have more vivid descriptions of natural phenomena than his contemporaries. He also wrote essays on politics and governance such as Liuhoulun.