On the first day of the first lunar month in 1080 AD, the sky over Tokyo, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, was filled with thick clouds and falling snowflakes. The capital was immersed in a strong festive atmosphere.
At the age of 44, Su Shi, who had been arrested and imprisoned for 130 days for the "Wutai Poetry Case", walked out of the "Wutai" black jail with bruises all over his body, accompanied by his eldest son Su Mai , left the capital in the storm and snow, and embarked on the road to Huangzhou where he was demoted.
Twenty-three years ago, Su Shi went to Beijing with his father to take the exam. "The fate of heaven and earth", he met Ouyang Xiu, ranked second, passed the Jinshi, and became famous in the capital for his talents.
From a proud examination prodigy to a lonely and frustrated criminal officer, he is no longer the brilliant young man he once was, and what he sees in his eyes is no longer what he saw in his youth. "Peaceful World".
The sky was high and high in Huangzhou at that time. Along the way, he climbed over the Dabie Mountains from Guangzhou and looked at the smoked green mountains in the distance. The Yangtze River was like a long river and plum blossoms were falling. He could not foresee what kind of fate was waiting for him.
He didn’t know that in that desolate land, free from all the impetuousness and temptation in the world, he would eventually gain the ultimate wisdom after enduring many hardships, and his mind would be as still as water, and he would understand the world.
Su Shi, who had just arrived in Huangzhou, had no place to stay for a while. The abbot of Dinghuiyuan lent him a small house that had been dusty for a long time.
He said in a letter to Uncle Li Duan: Since he was demoted to Huangzhou, he has basically cut off contact with the outside world. He can only place his affection on the mountains and rivers and hang out with fishermen and woodcutter. No one knows who he is. . None of my relatives or friends wrote to express condolences. Even if I wrote to them, I could not receive any reply.
Feeling that his life is like a feather in a whirlwind, when he woke up from a dream in the middle of the night, in the mood of desolation, depression and nowhere to go, he wrote about the loneliness deep in his heart: "Pick up the cold The branches refuse to rest, and the lonely sandbank is cold."
In Dinghui Yuan, you can hear the morning bells and evening drums from the nearby Anguo Temple every day. Su Shi walked into Anguo Temple and met the abbot of the temple, Monk Jilian.
After that, he went to Anguo Temple every few days. In addition to talking about Zen and playing chess with Jilian, he also recited Buddhist scriptures and read Zen meanings. In the difficult situation, his life gradually became more peaceful. taste.
"Burning incense and sitting in silence, introspecting deeply, you will forget about things and myself." With the deepening of Zen's adaptable life attitude and the return of Lao Zhuang's indifferent thoughts, Su Shi, who was in adversity, became increasingly inner. Peace and quiet.
Since Su Shi went to Huangzhou in name only, he had no actual income. In order to solve his plight in life, the prefect Xu Junyou gave Su Shi a piece of wasteland in the city to cultivate for free. This is an unknown highland. Because it is located in the east of the city, Su Shi named it after "Dongpo" and called himself "Dongpo layman".
In 1081 AD, Su Dongpo began his farming career. He took off his scholar's robe, put on his farmer's short coat, and bought oxen, sickles, hoes, etc. In this wasteland covered with thorns and rubble, burn the dead grass and clear the land for sowing.
Many times, he would chat and joke with farmers and vendors in the fields and mountain markets.
At dusk, after returning from work, the soldiers guarding the city when they passed the city gate all knew that the old farmer was a great scholar, but they did not know why he had fallen to this. Sometimes people would make fun of him, but he would always look calm and smile without saying a word.
Lin Yutang said: "A figure like Su Dongpo is indispensable in the world, and it is difficult to have two. His life was about singing and dancing, deeply enjoying himself, and smiling away when troubles came."
What he pursues is not transcendence, but to deal with the embarrassment of life with a calm and inclusive demeanor. He strives to create an atmosphere, give himself a sense of humor and a smile, and use the warmth of the world to relieve the depression in his heart and enjoy the great world. Nature’s bountiful gifts and the joy every day brings.
The upper class in the Northern Song Dynasty only ate beef and mutton and disdained pork. Su Dongpo in Huangzhou was so poor that he could only eat pork that was "as cheap as mud" if he wanted to satisfy his craving. After repeated experiments, he , not only invented "Dongpo Pork", but also wrote his experience in "Ode to Pork".
One time Su Dongpo and his friends went to "Dongpo" for a drink in the middle of the night. There was no appetizer, so he "fooled" a young man to kill his sick cow, roast the beef and drink wine, and got drunk. When he was drunk, he climbed over the wall and entered the city gate in the middle of the night.
Another time, when he was walking and singing in the fields with a big watermelon on his head, an old woman in her seventies said to him: "You used to be a high official in the imperial court. Now that you think about it, don't you?" Like a spring dream?"
From then on, Su Dongpo called the old woman "Spring Dream Woman".
In Huangzhou, he turned himself into a farmer, worked hard to integrate into the lives of the locals, and explored new ways of writing about himself.
The ancient Chinese scholar-bureaucrat class emphasized: "There are great scholars when talking and laughing, and there are no white people when coming and going." Su Dongpo said about himself: "I can accompany the Jade Emperor when I am above, and I can accompany the beggars in Beitian Court when I am below. I can see no one in the world before my eyes." "Not a good person."
"Be content without being humiliated, know that you are still without danger." He integrated the two attitudes of scholars into one value standard and accepted the world with a broad aesthetic vision. There is something to behold in everything, and you can get rid of your inner confusion step by step.
At this time, Su Dongpo gradually moved away from sadness and resentment, and became more tolerant and warm, a kind of optimism that could accept everything.
Since the "Dongpo" outside the city belongs to the government, he followed the advice of his friends and went to Shahu to buy his own land. Halfway down the road, a sudden heavy rain fell from the sky, and everyone around him ran away in a hurry.
Faced with the sudden changes in nature, he took it calmly, chanting and walking in the rain calmly. After a while, the rain passed and the sky cleared. In the rapidly changing clouds and clear skies, he was deep in thought. After returning, he wrote "Ding Feng Bo" which has been passed down through the ages:
Don't listen to the sound of beating leaves in the forest, Why not scream and walk slowly? Bamboo sticks and mango shoes are easier than horses, who is afraid? A coop of mist and rain will last a lifetime. The steep spring breeze blows away the drunkenness, it is slightly cold, but the mountain tops are shining slantingly. Looking back at the desolate place where I came from, there was neither wind, rain nor sunshine.
The vicissitudes of the world, the myriad changes in nature, the ups and downs of life, and the joys and sorrows of emotions are all included in Su Dongpo's life.
He used his detached heart to express his attitude towards life in which external things were not enough, and he was reborn at the bottom of his embarrassment.
At this point, he has been completely reborn and has successfully broken through. He is completely free of sobriety, carelessness and joy. He has returned to purity and emptiness, being wildly romantic and upright like the wind and the rain.
When Su Dongpo devoted his abundant life to the vast land of Huangzhou, he deduced the most perfect historical legend in the history of literature and art.
In 1082 AD, on the midsummer night of July 16th, the breeze blew slowly on the river. The water was calm and the moonlight was like water. Su Shi and a few friends drove a small boat to Red Cliff. Drink and admire the moon.
There was tranquility between heaven and earth. All the hustle and bustle in the world had faded away, leaving only the moonlight, the color of the water, and the red cliff next to the river.
That night, his own figure and the small boat seemed so small. Facing the breeze and the bright moon, among the sky and the water, Su Dongpo wrote "Ode to the Former Red Cliff". .
"...Between heaven and earth, everything has its own owner. Even if it is not my property, I will not take any of it. But the cool breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains can be heard by my ears. The eye encounters it and forms it. It can be taken without restraint and used inexhaustibly. It is the endless treasure of the Creator, and this is what I and my son are most comfortable with."
His ethereal and broad-mindedness lies in the depth. It has reached the limit of life in terms of scope and scope. His voice crossed the vast expanse of river and lingered for thousands of years, with lingering echoes.
The sky is forever, and the moon is shining in one day. This moment is eternity.
On a late autumn night in September, Su Dongpo and his friends had a hearty drink in the Dongpo Snow Hall. After getting drunk, they returned to Lingao's residence. Unexpectedly, the family boy had already fallen asleep, and there was no answer after knocking on the door for a long time. He came to the river alone, listened to the turbulent waves of the river, and couldn't help but have his thoughts ups and downs. He chanted "Linjiang Immortal·Returning to Lingao at Night":
Drinking at Dongpo at night and waking up drunk, returning is like the third watch. The boy's breath is thundering. No one knocks on the door, but leans on the stick and listens to the sound of the river.
I always regret that this body is not mine, when will I forget Yingying? The wind is quiet at night and the grain is flat. The boat passed away from now on, and the river and sea left it for the rest of my life.
Su Dongpo has always admired Tao Qian and once wrote a poem saying that Tao Qian was his predecessor.
Perhaps he has always longed for a moment when he could "send the rest of his life", but he can easily accept an optimistic attitude towards life. What can really liberate him is the current life.
On October 15th, he and his friends revisited Chibi and wrote "Post-Chibi Ode". In the same year, he also created "Niannujiao·Chibi Nostalgia" and "Hanshitie", which is known as "the third running script in the world".
Regarding the expression of artistic form, he said: "I have no ability to create calligraphy, so I can only guess at stipple painting." He also said: "Innocence is my teacher."
Experience In spite of the ups and downs of fate, his lyrics and calligraphy transcend time, space and boundaries. They move according to his heart and act at will, reaching the rhythm of life in nature and entering the realm of freedom and innocence.
In early March 1084 AD, the imperial court issued a decree to transfer Su Dongpo's exiled residence from Huangzhou to Ruzhou.
"After traveling thousands of miles and half the world, a monk lay down in a nunnery and grew old."
As if it was fate, his feelings about his ups and downs and wandering thirteen years ago came to him again. Once confirmed in himself.
Before leaving, at the banquet held by his neighbors and friends to see him off, Su Dongpo wrote "Man Ting Fang·Come Back, Come Back":
Come back, come back, Where will I return... There are still rumors that the elders in the south of the Yangtze River are fishing in the sun.
From the grief and indignation when he first arrived in Huangzhou to the freedom and ease when he was about to leave, it was a process in which Su Dongpo and Huangzhou tolerated and complemented each other.
For Su Dongpo, Huangzhou was the pure land where he realized Nirvana and was reborn from the ashes; for Huangzhou, Su Dongpo was no longer an insignificant passerby in heaven and earth.
Advances and retreats in life often involve different variables.
Su Dongpo went from being the center of attention when he became famous to being at the end of his rope after everything was taken away by fate. After experiencing ups and downs, in complete embarrassment, Su Dongpo created works that will go down in history, combining his life's ups and downs with The wisdom was passed on to future generations and became a guide for countless others.
From this perspective, he is enough to be the voice of the Song Dynasty for thousands of years.
This may be another way of compensation from fate.