The original biography of Su Shi and its translation

2026-04-16 05:03

The following is part of the original text and translation of the Biography of Su Shi: ** Original text **: Born ten years ago, his father Xun traveled around to study, his mother Cheng personally taught him books, heard of the success and failure of ancient and modern times, he can talk about its main points. When Su Shi was ten years old, his father, Su Xun, was traveling around to study. His mother, the Cheng family, personally taught him how to read. Whenever he heard about the successes and failures of ancient and modern times, Su Shi could always point out the key points. ** Original text **: Cheng read the Biography of Fan Pang of the Eastern Han Dynasty and sighed with emotion. Su Shi asked,"If Su Shi becomes Fan Pang, will mother allow it?" "You can be Pang's wife, but I can't be Pang's mother," said Lady Cheng. Once, when his mother read the Biography of Fan Pang in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Su Shi asked his mother,"If my son becomes a person like Fan Pang, what do you think, mother?" "If you can be Fan Pang, can't I be Fan Pang's mother?" ** Original text **: Biguan (guàn), knowledgeable in classics and history, belonging to (zh) articles of thousands of words a day, good Jia Yi, Lu Zhi books. Then he read Chuang Tzu and said with a sigh,"I have seen it before, but my mouth could not say it. Now that I have seen it in this book, it has touched my heart. When he was twenty years old, Su Shi was already proficient in classics and history. He could write thousands of words a day and liked to read the books of Jia Yi of the Western Han Dynasty and Lu Zhi of the Tang Dynasty. Not long after, when he read Zhuangzi, Su Shi sighed and said,"I used to have some opinions that I could not express accurately. Now that I have read this book, I can finally resonate with my heart." ** Original text **: At that time, Ouyang Xiu, the chief secretary, thought that he had a way to save Shi Shi's "On Loyalty and Reward of Punishment." He was surprised and wanted to promote Shi Shi to the top of many scholars. He suspected that his guest Zeng Gong had done it, so he only put it in the second place, and ranked first with the Spring and Autumn Annals. In the second division of the court examination. Later, he sent a letter to see Xiu. Xiu said to Mei Shengyu,"I should avoid this person and go out." The people who heard it began to make noise, but they were convinced after a long time. At that time, the shortcomings of the article were very serious. Ouyang Xiu, the chief examiner, tried to save this kind of drawback. When he saw Su Shi's "On the Loyalty of Punishment and Reward", he was very surprised. He wanted to promote the author of this article to the first place among many examinees, but he suspected that this was written by his henchman Zeng Gong, so he only rated this article as the second place. He also won the first place with the "Spring and Autumn". Su Shi took part in the court examination and won the second division. Later, Su Shi took a letter to meet Ouyang Xiu. Ouyang Xiu said to Mei Shengyu,"I should avoid this person and let him stand out." The people who heard this began to clamor and refuse to accept it. After a long time, they were convinced. ** Original text **: Transferred to Xuzhou. The Yellow River burst its dike in Caocun, flooded Liangshan Lake, overflowed in Nanqing River, and gathered under the city. The flood did not stop and the city was about to collapse. The rich people rushed out to avoid the flood. Su Shi said,"When the rich go out, the people will be shaken. Who will defend me? With me here, the water must not destroy the city." The emperor ordered him to go in again. Su Shi went to the camp of Wu Wei and called out to the commander of the soldiers, saying,"The Yellow River will harm the city. The matter is urgent. Even the imperial guards will do their best for me." "The prefect is not afraid of water," said the chief soldier."We villains will serve him." He led his men out of the city with bamboo sticks and built a long dike in the southeast. It rained day and night, and the city did not sink three times. Su Shi built a hut on the city wall. He did not enter the house when he passed by. He sent officials to block the city wall separately and finally saved the city. Su Shi was transferred to Xuzhou Zhizhou. The Yellow River burst at Cao Village and overflowed to Liangshan Lake, flowing into the Nanqing River and gathering at the foot of Xuzhou City. The water level rose but did not drain in time. The city wall was about to be washed away, and the rich people scrambled to leave the city to avoid the flood. Su Shi said,"When the rich leave the city, the people will be shaken. Who will defend the city with me?" I'm here, the flood can't destroy the city walls." Drive the rich back into the city. Su Shi went to the Wu Wei camp and called for the commander."The Yellow River is going to harm the city walls. It's urgent. Even the imperial guards have to do their best for me." The soldier said,"Prefect, you don't even avoid the mud. We villains should serve you.". He led his soldiers out with the pikes to build the long dike in the southeast direction. The rain continued day and night, and there were still three sections of the city wall that were not submerged. Su Shi lived in a house on the city wall. He did not enter the house when he passed by. He sent officials to defend it in sections and finally saved Xuzhou City. ** Original text **: At the beginning, when the ancestors, the corvee for a long time produced malpractices. Wang Anshi was the prime minister of Shenzong and was exempted from service. Sima Guang, as prime minister, knew the harm of exemption from service, but did not know the benefits. He wanted to restore the corvee. Su Shi said,"The corvee and exemption from service have their own advantages and disadvantages. The harm of exemption from corvee is to plunder the people's property. If the money is collected at the top, there will be a shortage of money at the bottom. The harm of corvee is that the common people are often in office and cannot devote themselves to farming, and corrupt officials can take advantage of it to commit evil deeds. The severity of these two evils is roughly the same." Huo Guang disagreed. Su Shi also stated in the government affairs hall, Huo Guang very angry. Su Shi said,"In the past, Han Wei, the Duke of Wei, assassinated the brave soldiers of Shaanxi Province. You, as a remonstrant, fought hard for it. Han Wei was not happy, and you did not care. I have heard of the details of justice in the past. Is it because I am the prime minister today that I am not allowed to say everything?" Huo Guang laughed at him. At the beginning, during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, the law of corvee had been implemented for a long time, resulting in drawbacks. Wang Anshi was the prime minister of Shenzong and changed the corvee law into the exemption law. When Sima Guang was prime minister, he knew the harm of the exemption law but did not know its benefits. He wanted to restore the corvee law. Su Shi said,"The corvee law and the exemption law each have their own advantages and disadvantages. The harm of the exemption law was to plunder the people's money. The money was gathered above the court and there was a shortage of money below. The disadvantage of the corvee law was that the common people were often ordered by the government and could not concentrate on farming, while greedy officials and cunning petty officials could use it to do bad things. The severity of these two kinds of harm is probably equal." Sima Guang didn't think Su Shi was right. Su Shi stated his opinion in the political affairs hall again, and Sima Guang was very angry. Su Shi said,"In the past, Han Wei Gong (Han Qi) was the commander of the Shaanxi volunteer army. You were the remonstrant and argued vigorously. If Han Wei Gong was unhappy, you did not have any scruples. I've heard you talk about this matter in detail before. Don't tell me that you won't allow me to finish speaking today that you're the prime minister?" Sima Guang smiled. ** Original text **: In the first year of Jianzhong Jingguo, he died in Changzhou at the age of 66. Su Shi and his younger brother Su Zhe, their master Su Xun wrote articles, and soon obtained them from heaven. Even the words of laughter and scolding can be written and recited. His style is full of brilliance, outstanding for hundreds of generations, since the beginning of the article, is also very rare. Since he was elected as a son to enter and leave the court, he must take loving the monarch as the foundation, be loyal and upright, and be upright and upright. There is no one better than him among the ministers. However, because of the villain's jealousy and evil, he was excluded from the court and could not be content with the court. In the first year of Jianzhong Jingguo, Su Shi died in Changzhou at the age of 66. Su Shi and his younger brother, Su Zhe, learned to write articles from their father, Su Xun. Not long after, they became self-satisfied with their talent. Even words of ridicule and anger could be written and read aloud. His articles were vigorous and contained light, dominating hundreds of generations. Ever since there were articles, it was probably rare. From his position as a juren to his position as an attendant in the palace, he must have loved the monarch as his foundation. His words were loyal and upright, and he had great integrity. Many ministers could not surpass him. However, he was being ostracized by the vile people and could not hold a stable position in the imperial court.