Su Shi's manuscripts have been read a hundred times, especially "Crossing the Sea".
"Shi will cross the sea" and "Your Excellency Mengde Secret School", the two heavy lines are like two unsolvable riddles, forming two bizarre mysteries, attracting and tempting me.
Is "Shi will cross the sea" a literary exaggeration?
If not, why did he cross the sea, when did he cross the sea, did he really cross the sea, or was it a fake one?
The sea a thousand years ago would feel more turbulent and frightening than it is today.
Su Shi, aren't you afraid?
After reading "Crossing the Sea Posts" repeatedly, I learned about Su Shi's journey across the sea.
This letter was written to Mengde Secret School on June 13, 1100, when Su Shi was about to leave Hainan.
The secret school of Mengde is Zhao Mengde, a friend Su Shi made in Chengmai, Hainan in 1097. Su Shi was 60 years old that year and was demoted from Huizhou to Danzhou, Hainan.
Su Shi has been demoted many times, but the road to relegation in the past has ground to rely on. Although the road is far and deep, walking on it requires a lot of peace of mind.
The only way to go to Danzhou is to cross the sea. Before that, Su Shi had no experience in crossing the sea.
Su Shi, who has finished writing "Crossing the Sea", is about to cross the sea for the second time.
Interestingly, he landed in Chengmai, Hainan, got acquainted with Zhao Mengde, left Hainan, and left a lot of affectionate "Crossing the Sea Posts" where he met Zhao Mengde.
I stared at "Crossing the Sea" countless times, read the text and read the words, and I was relaxed and happy, so I thought about how Su Shi crossed the sea.
Crossing the sea once at the age of 60, once at the age of 63, and crossed the sea twice, what kind of life experience did he leave behind?
Su Shi's situation is worrying at night, and he may be demoted to any place at any time.
At the age of 59, he was demoted to Huizhou, and just after the settlement, he was demoted to Danzhou.
As a court official, he had no choice but to be at the mercy of fate.
On April 19, 1097, Su Shi left Huizhou, the first stop was Guangzhou, and then took a boat from Guangzhou to Wuzhou, and then went south to Leizhou Peninsula.
In Leizhou, he met Su Zhe, who was demoted to Leizhou.
Brothers meet, mixed feelings, many worries about the world.
Su Zhe and his elder brother Su Shi are deeply in love. He accompanied his elder brother to Xuwen Dijiaochang in Leizhou, ready to cross the sea.
Now surrounded by seawalls and planted with mangroves, Xuwendijiaochang was a famous traffic fortress during the Northern Song Dynasty.
Zhou Qufei of the Southern Song Dynasty preached in "An Reply to Bianshuaimen": "The Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty beheaded Nanyue and sent envoys from Xuwen to cross the sea and set up Zhuya and Dan'er counties. Today, Xuwen County, Leizhou, Dijiaochang, Directly facing Qiongguan, sailing to the sea, it can be reached in half a day, which is the road from which it came. In the Yuan Dynasty, the sea was closed and abandoned. Liang Fu set up Yazhou." Zhao Rushi, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty, also said the same in "Zhufan Zhi" According to the record: "Xu Wen has handed over the field and confronted Qiong. They are about 360 miles away, and the wind can help in half a day."
"With a sail to the sea, it can be reached in half a day", Zhou Qufei said it easily; Zhao Rushi even put it lightly, "It is about three hundred and sixty miles away, and the wind can help in half a day."
However, how could the voyage of more than 360 miles be smooth sailing.
Faced with the "half-day" voyage, Su Shi was worried.
From Huizhou to Guangzhou, I met Wang Minzhong, who was impeached from the office of the Minister of Punishment and was then the prefect of Guangzhou. Before leaving Guangzhou, he wrote sadly in a note with Wang Minzhong: "A certain old man has gone into the desert and has no hope of surviving. Yesterday, my eldest son, Mai Jue, has dealt with the aftermath. When I arrive in Hainan, the first is used as a coffin, and the second is used as a tomb, but I leave my hands to be with the sons, and when I die, I will be buried overseas. Shi's son, the only son who can't be Shi's father? He can't live without his family, he can't help his coffin in death..." Su Shi had no plans to come back alive when he went to Danzhou, Hainan.
Xuwen County, under the jurisdiction of Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, is already a small modern city.
In the Song Dynasty, Xuwen salt industry was developed and the economy was prosperous. Naturally, a convenient transfer field was needed. Xuwen transfer field became an important transportation fortress in southern China, and many salt products went to the whole country and the world from here.
Xuwen and Hainan Island face each other across the sea, and it is also the only place to go to Hainan Island.
Su Shi arrived in Xuwen, with Su Zhe as his company, and the brothers would still disagree about the current situation. Thinking back to that time, when the two brothers achieved outstanding results in the Kaifeng examination, Song Renzong said with pride when he saw the strategies they wrote: The descendants will have two prime ministers." Ironically, when the brothers were old, one was relegated to Danzhou and the other to Leizhou.
Su Shi and Su Zhe are full of proverbs, and I don't know who to tell them. They can only cry and sigh on the lonely seaside, waiting for the day of separation.
On June 11, 1097, Su Shi and Su Zhe said goodbye at the corner of Xu Wendi. With the help of his son Su Guo, he boarded a passenger ship.
In Xuwen, time was hard to pass, and Su Shi recorded that complicated emotional experience in his poem "He Tao's "Stop Wine" and Citing"—
"Ding Chou Sui was exiled from Hainan, and Ziyou was also demoted to Leizhou. On May 11th, he met Teng and traveled to Lei. On June 11th, he said goodbye and crossed the sea. During the rest of the year, Ziyou died. In the evening, I couldn't sleep, because I recited Yuanming's poems to persuade Yu to stop drinking.
Times come and things pass away, and the road is poor.
Do what you want with your son, and fall together in a hundred barbarians.
Xiao Ran drove away, each with a child.
There is Meng Guang in the son's room, but Faxi is the only one in my room.
When we meet in the valley, we lie down together in January.
In the vast north and south of Hainan, roughness is enough for physiology.
I persuade my teacher Yuanming to do what he is doing.
Sit on a cup and drink with a slight boil, and when you stop drinking, you will be sick.
Although Wang Dao was not finished, he vaguely saw Jin Zhuan.
From now on in the Dongpo room, there will be no Dukang ceremonies.
"
After reading this poem, it was as if a scene of life from a thousand years ago appeared in front of my eyes. The hot and humid sea breeze was blowing, and the four fields were pitch black. Su Shi and Su Zhe couldn't sleep at night, and at dawn was the moment when the brothers parted. Like a knife, you have tasted the misery of life.
The passenger boat that Su Shi was on left Xu Wendi Jiaochang and headed for the opposite bank.
During this period of life, Su Shi was unforgettable, and wrote many poems with deep affection and meaning.
Read it one by one, imagine Su Shi's voyage at sea, and constantly ask himself what kind of passenger ship he takes to be able to "sail across the sea and arrive in half a day".
It should be said that the Song Dynasty had a clear line of maritime traffic, trade needs, the shipbuilding and navigation industries were developed, and the shipbuilding and navigation technologies were greatly improved.
Since the Song Dynasty, Chinese sea ships have sprung up and frequently shuttled on the route from China to India.
Chinese ships are large, stable, and well-equipped. The application of compass ensures the safety of ships, so they are favored by foreign businessmen.
More than 20 years after Su Shi's death, Song Huizong dispatched Xu Jing as an envoy to Korea, and Song Huizong ordered Mingzhou Zhaobaoshan Shipyard to build "Xunliu Yitongji Shenzhou" and "Dingxinli She Huaiyuan Kangji Shenzhou", each cabin is divided into three layers , 180 sailors.
Xu Jing and a group of people arrived in Goryeo by "Shenzhou", which shocked the government and the opposition in Goryeo.
On the boat, Xu Jing had personal experience. He recorded the scene he saw: "You can't live in the ocean, but you can only watch the stars. , The crew observe the stars at night, the sun during the day, and rely on the compass to guide the direction of sailing on cloudy days.
Song Dynasty shipbuilding industry and navigation technology, this can be seen.
Su Shi was a "five-grade Qiongzhou do not drive" who was demoted by the imperial court. He was a vacant post and was naturally ineligible to travel on the "Shenzhou".
However, from the point of view of the shipbuilding technology and craftsmanship level of the Northern Song Dynasty, there are still some famous ships sailing on the seas of the Song Dynasty.
That is to say, when Su Shi crosses the sea, he will have navigational equipment and technical support.
But after all, this is the first time to cross the sea, and I must be anxious and sigh at the sea.
This feeling comes not only from the unpredictable mystery of nature, but also from political obscenity.
Political enemies far away in Kaifeng wanted to put Su Shi to death. They resolutely banished Su Shi to the island regardless of his old age and frailty. Of course Su Shi understood.
We don't know what kind of boat Su Shi took to cross the sea. Who else was there with his relatives and friends besides Su Mai?
How was his life on the boat?
Reading Su Shi's "General Fubo Temple Monument", I saw some clues.
This inscription was written by him in Danzhou, and one of the paragraphs stated what he saw and felt when crossing the sea: "Since Xuwen crossed the sea, it is suitable for Zhuya, and the mountains are in the south. dizzy." Su Shi crossed the sea, it is possible to "sail the sea and reach it in half a day." However, when drifting on the sea, the masts and sails in his eyes must be grotesque. , dizzy trembling soul" sigh.
It is true that Su Shi was in a deep spiritual predicament. After he arrived in Danzhou, he wrote to Song Zhezong "Thanks to the Changhua Army": "...and the ghost gate and the east, and moved south to the sea of floating miasma. There is no return. Period, death has more than responsibility. Chen Shi (Zhong Xie), Fu Nianchen met by chance, and occasionally coveted. Kindness is heavy but life is light, but blame is deep and shallow. This cover meets His Majesty the Emperor, Yao Wen Binghuan, Tang Dekuanren. When the sun and the moon shine, the heaven and earth will be reborn. For example, to wriggle, give a little pity; In order to save his life. But the ministers are lonely and old without care, and the miasma attack. The children and grandchildren weep on the riverside, and they are dead; Tears, I don't know what to say. The minister has no responsibility." Su Shi's road to relegation can be described as confusing.
Su Shi and his entourage arrived in Chengmai County, Hainan Island on the night of June 11, 1097. After staying in Tongchaoyi for one night, they went to Qiongzhou Fucheng to report, went through relevant procedures, and returned to Chengmai to live in Zhao Mengde's house.
Since then, he has forged a deep friendship with Zhao Mengde.
During Su Shi's stay in Danzhou, Zhao Mengde went to Kaifeng, Chengdu, Xuzhou and other places to visit Su Shi's family and bring Su Shi's greetings.
Su Shi remembered Zhao Mengde's true feelings in his heart.
He presented the book "Zhao" character list, and inscribed "Qing Si" for one pavilion in the Zhao family compound in Chengmai, and inscribed "Wuqin" for another pavilion.
At the same time, he also sent his own calligraphy of Tao Yuanming and Du Fu's poems as well as his own poems.
Su Shi's life in Danzhou became more and more stable, and his mood became brighter. He and Zhao Meng obtained a handwritten note and invited him to drink tea together: "Old Canglong Roasting, please come and taste it together. You can drink tea with no other people's language, and sip it alone behind closed doors. I feel ashamed." Zhao Mengde's weight in Su Shi's heart can be measured here.
As Su Shi himself said, "It is advisable to give up three times and not to end, and to travel thousands of miles to be alone." He has experienced countless storms. He overcame his inner anxiety on a desolate island, fought against a tragic fate, and worked hard to open his heart and let the light shine in. He still has visions for the future.
At the end of April in the third year of Yuanfu (1100), Song Huizong issued an edict that Su Shi moved to Lianzhou with the official position of Qiongzhou Biejia, and he took a long breath.
This year, Song Zhezong died, and Zhao Ji succeeded him as Huizong.
The prime minister, that is, Su Shi's political opponent Zhang Dun, fell by the side of the power.
After receiving the edict, Su Shi packed his bags, left Danzhou on June 10, and settled in Chengmai.
When he came to Chengmai, when he went to Chengmai, Su Shi was heartbroken. Seeing every scene and one thing in Chengmai, especially the Tongchaoyi station where he had just arrived in Hainan, gave him endless imagination, so he recited "Chengmai Station" "Tongchao Pavilion Two", the first one: "The tired guest is sad to hear that the way back is far away, and the flying pavilion overlooks the long bridge. I greedily watch the egret across Qiupu, but I don't realize that there is no late tide in the green forest." The second one: "I want to grow old for the rest of my life. In Hainan Village, the emperor sent Wu Yang to call my soul. The sky is low and there is no place for falcons, and the green hills are the Central Plains.”
About to leave Hainan Island and say goodbye to friends one by one.
Of course, he wanted to meet his old friend Zhao Mengde and agreed on the next meeting time. Unfortunately, Zhao Mengde was not in Chengmai, so he wrote a handwritten note to him: "Shi will cross the sea, Su Chengmai, Chenglingzi. During the interview, those who knew that the followers did not return. I also said that I am afraid that I have already arrived at Guifu. If Gore, the concubine will meet at Haikang; if not, the date of the meeting is unknown. Er. I hurriedly left this paper order, let alone re-seal it, no sin or no sin. Shi nodded, Your Excellency Mengde Secret School. June 13th."
"Shi will cross the sea", this letter is called "Crossing the Sea Post", the language is simple and gloomy, and the handwriting "covers all things and cuts into one picture", which is a dazzling light in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
On the seventh day after writing this letter, Su Shi crossed the sea again. He boarded the ship from Chengmai and landed at Xu Wendi Jiaochang, ending his last relegation in his life.
Xu Wendi’s corner field is also a place where Su Shi will be unforgettable. As soon as he got off the boat, he came to the poetic spirit, so we read his Seven Laws “Crossing the Sea at Night on June 20th”: “When you join the fight and turn around, the bitter rain will end in the wind. Xie Qing. Who embellishes the clouds and moonlight? The color of the sky and the sea is clarified. In the spare time, Lu Sou takes advantage of his thoughts and knows Xuanyuan's music. I don't hate it when I die in the Southern Wilderness.
Crossing the sea twice has added a new life experience.
For the literati, this is suffering and growth, but more of it is suffering.
Su Shi went to Lianzhou, and according to the custom, wrote Song Huizong's "Moving to Lianzhou Xie Shang Table". Soon, he continued to return north to Changzhou in May 1101. He passed away after only 48 days of living here.
His spirit in the sky would hear the chirping of seagulls and the roar of the waves.
(Author: Zhang Ruitian)