【Hot Spot Observation】

Recently, Su Dongpo has been on fire again. The reason why the word "again" is used is first, because Su Dongpo's popularity has never abated, and the people who chant, talk, study, and follow him in successive dynasties are as many as the sand of the Ganges, and there are countless of them; Second, because of the large number of Su Dongpo-themed literary and artistic works such as dance dramas, dramas, Beijing operas, musicals, dance poetry dramas, documentaries, cartoons, TV series, short videos, etc., various Sudongpo-themed cultural activities such as Dongpo Cultural Festival, Dongpo Cultural Season, and Dongpo Cultural Tourism Conference have also appeared in various places. When Su Dongpo entered the modern era from ancient times and from the field of traditional culture to the field of popular culture, he began to change from a specific figure to a cultural symbol and cultural IP.

His story is told by all

"Su Dongpo" has become a rich mine of literary and artistic creation, and countless literary and artistic works, cultural and creative products, literary performances and cultural activities derived from it are numerous. In terms of film and television art, there are documentaries "Su Dongpo", "Ancient Style Su Dongpo", TV series "Su Dongpo", cartoon "The Legend of Young Su Dongpo"; In the field of stage arts, there are musical "Su Dongpo", dance poetry drama "Dongpo", dance drama "Dongpo Hainan", drama "Su Dongpo", Peking opera "A Smoke and Rain", music and dance poetry "The Immortal Dongpo"; His literary works include "Su Dongpo", "Su Dongpo Biography" and "Su Dongpo Complete Biography". At the same time, a large number of short videos related to Su Dongpo have also become popular, and many bloggers who specialize in Dongpo have become Internet celebrities.

In addition, last year, the country's first 3D hyper-realistic "digital human Su Dongpo" appeared. During this year's Spring Festival, "Digital Man Su Dongpo" appeared in CCTV's "Chinese Poetry Conference" and presented questions for the contestants in the form of historical scene reproduction, interacting with the audience, which caused heated discussions on the Internet.

Various places also regard Su Dongpo as a cultural business card to enhance their popularity. For example, in January 2021, Huangzhou, Hubei Province held the "Commemoration of the 1th Anniversary of the Birth of Su Dongpo - Gengzi Year Huangzhou Shousu Meeting", which is the fifth consecutive "Shousu Meeting" held in Huangzhou in recent years. In June 984, Huizhou, Guangdong Province held the Dongpo Litchi Cultural Festival and the international cooperation activities of Longlychee docking RCEP in Huiyang Town to promote Huizhou Litchi to "go global". In November 2022, Meishan, Sichuan held the 6th Dongpo Cultural Festival, inviting international friends, experts and scholars, and Su clans at home and abroad who are engaged in Dongpo cultural research to worship Dongpo, Pin Dongpo, read Dongpo, and write Dongpo. In February 2022, Hainan held the first China (Hainan) Dongpo Cultural Tourism Conference to help the construction of cultural tourism in Hainan Free Trade Port.

All of the above corresponds to the lyrics: his good name is passed down all over the world, and his story is told all over the world.

The legendary life is fascinating

Su Dongpo has become the protagonist of so many literary and artistic works and cultural activities, thanks to Su Dongpo's legendary life, which has provided rich nourishment and materials for literary and artistic creation and cultural activities.

In the second year of Emperor Renzong of Song (1057), the 21-year-old Su Dongpo responded to the event, expounding the Confucian idea of governing the country with "On the Ultimate Theory of Punishment and Loyalty and Loyalty", the words are simple, easy to reach, sweep away the floating and difficult wind, and win the favor of Mei Yaochen and other people in the dynasty, not only know the chief examiner Ouyang Xiu said that "the old man should avoid this person and release a head of land", and even Emperor Renzong, the final clapper of the imperial examination, also said "Now I have two prime ministers of Taiping for my descendants"... This level of "Little Red Heart" praise made Su Dongpo quickly famous all over the world.

Unlike many scientific research heroes who suddenly became famous and became silent, Su Dongpo's life is extremely exciting.

First of all, he can hold up the "circle of friends". In Su Dongpo's circle of friends, emperors, generals, monks, tianfu, wild elders, prostitutes... Learn and make friends, do not avoid the noble. No matter who he interacted with, he was open and honest. This so-called "immaturity" in dealing with people has led many people to say that he is "full of learning and childlike nature". Although he inevitably offended some people, he also gained a large number of friends in acquaintance, singing, courtesy and heart-to-heart.

Secondly, he had to open the iron pole and bend the waist pole of the doctor below. Su Dongpo was constantly belittled, and traveled almost half of China - Huangzhou, Dengzhou, Hangzhou, Yingzhou, Yangzhou, Dingzhou, Huizhou, Danzhou, Changzhou, etc. In this rich resume, Su Dongpo bent the waist pole of the following doctor, built embankments, promoted culture and education, "spoke" for characteristic agricultural products in various places, and wrote heroic poems on the Chinese land. All these provide extremely rich materials for today's Dongpo theme literary and artistic creation. For example, the dance drama "Dongpo Hainan" begins with Su Dongpo's boat journey and ends with Qiongbei, through the five acts of "Weng Tan Southern Wilderness", "Li Han Brothers", "Bright Moon of the Hammer", "Tianya Academy" and "Hongxue Big Dream", it reproduces the deeds of Su Dongpo who threw himself into Hainan for three years, opened up the wilderness, built a school, and dug wells to obtain water, and wrote a magnificent epic of a smiling and bumpy and optimistic life.

The above are just a few aspects of Su Dongpo's legendary life. The legend of Su Dongpo's life and the multifaceted nature of the characters are far more than that. Lin Yutang wrote in the "Biography of Su Dongpo": "Su Dongpo is an optimist with an unchangeable temperament, a moralist who is compassionate to the heavens, a good friend of the common people, a prose writer, a painter of the new school, a great calligrapher, an experimenter of winemaking, an engineer, an opponent of false Taoism, a practitioner of yoga, a Buddhist, a scholar, a secretary to the emperor, a drinking addict, a compassionate judge, a political adherent, a moon walker, a poet. He is a witty and joking person by nature. These may not be enough to summarize Su Dongpo's whole picture, but when he is mentioned, he will always cause a cordial and admiring smile in the middle of the Chinese - this point may highlight Su Dongpo's charm. It is these that allow us to read Dongpo and write Dongpo more, and the more we can touch the respectable and lovely of Su Dongpo.

Cultural personality resonates

Today, Su Dongpo is deeply loved by the Chinese people, and is even called "top male god" and "national idol" by netizens. "Su Dongpo" has long been not only an ancient literary figure and political figure, but also a growing cultural symbol. People love Su Dongpo not only for his legendary and rich life story and talent for integrating Confucianism and Taoism, poetry, writing, calligraphy and painting, but also for creating a fascinating cultural personality.

What is special about Su Dongpo's cultural personality?

First of all, Su Dongpo has always adhered to the family and country feelings and people-based complexes of asking for the people's life and helping the people all his life, "not worrying about the country with one misfortune." In the court, he was able to directly state his gains and losses when Wang Anshi changed the law, and he could speak out when the old party abolished the law, regardless of personal interests; In the midst of the disparagement, he was not discouraged, let alone lie down and live in confusion. Everywhere he went, he always rolled up his sleeves and worked hard to benefit the people, such as dredging West Lake in Hangzhou, leading the people to fight floods in Xuzhou, catching and exterminating locusts in Mizhou, building bridges and roads in Huizhou, and lecturing and educating people in Danzhou.

Secondly, Su Dongpo has a transcendent and open-minded personality. Throughout Su Dongpo's life, he had a great name, a big official position, greater ups and downs in life, and suffered from depreciation, but he found the state of "a smoke and rain in his life" in the life of chicken feathers, so that life blossomed in suffering. Specifically, he can go up, sit firmly as a leader in the literary world, and should be a solid bachelor and scholar; Although occasionally he is melancholy, resentful, and lonely like ordinary people, he can always solve himself in chanting, making friends, painting, cooking vegetables, drinking and laughing.

Today, we tell Su Dongpo and chant Su Dongpo in various literary and artistic works, in fact, we are also calling for the kind of cultural personality in Su Dongpo. At the same time, through Su Dongpo's literary and artistic works, we can find a mirror for ourselves, through this mirror, we imitate and follow Su Dongpo's kind of heroism, expansiveness, forbearance, and goodness, and complete self-solace, self-redemption, and self-sublimation from adversity.

Wang Guowei said: "There is no noble and great personality, but there is no noble and great article. "Today, people's understanding of Su Dongpo comes from his good poetry, but what everyone does not know is that Su Dongpo writes good poetry, relying not only on technology, technique, and skill, but also on the enthusiasm and blood flowing in his bones, which is the charm of personality. Although this charm will also be temporarily dusted by time, events, and changes in the world over the years, it will surely shine again when the dust is blown away by later generations. Just as Su Dongpo said in the "Chaozhou Hanwen Gong Temple Stele", the qi of Haoran "does not stand according to the form, does not act with force, does not wait for life to exist, and does not die with death." Therefore, in the sky is the stars, in the earth is the river, the ghost is the ghost and god, and the ming is the man." The strength of this cultural personality has made "Su Dongpo" a cultural symbol that has been passed down for thousands of years.

(Author: Jing Cheng, researcher of Xinhua Wenxuan Postdoctoral Research Station)