Writing Su Shi's Life
Su Shi (1037 - 1101), also known as Zizhan and Dongli, was a writer, painter, politician, and scientist in the Northern Song Dynasty of China. He was known as one of the "Four Scholars of Su School". Su Shi was born in Yucheng County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province today. His family was a local prominent family. His father, Su Xun, was a famous writer and essayist in the Northern Song Dynasty. His mother, Cai, was also a talented person. Su Shi was intelligent since childhood and was able to write articles very early. He was loved by his family and teachers. In 1066, Su Shi took part in the imperial examination and passed the imperial examination. Since then, he has served as secretary of the provincial government, bachelor's degree, doctor of equality temple, etc. He left a lot of footprints in the political, academic and cultural fields. In 1080, Su Shi was promoted to be the aide of the prime minister and participated in the anti-corruption struggle in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. However, due to Su Shi's opposition, this struggle eventually failed. After that, Su Shi was demoted to Qiongzhou (now Hainan Province) and began his ten-year exile. During his exile, Su Shi still paid close attention to the social reality and wrote many literary works that reflected the social situation and the weakness of human nature. He also studied natural sciences such as astronomy, geography, agriculture, and so on, becoming a versatile scholar. In 1087, Su Shi was recalled to Jingkou (now Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province) and became a writer and poet. His literary works were known for their bold, unrestrained, emotional, and deep thoughts, such as "Ode to the Red Cliff" and "Shuidiao Grotto". In 1101, Su Shi died of illness in Jingkou at the age of 63. His life had experienced political, cultural, literary, scientific and other fields of change, leaving a rich cultural heritage and far-reaching influence. He was regarded as one of the outstanding figures in the history of Chinese culture, and had a profound influence on the development of Chinese literature, culture, and history.