(Dongxi asked) Dai Lu: Why do Chinese people always "smile" when it comes to him?
China News Agency, Chengdu, June 17th: Why do Chinese people always "smile" when they mention him?
——Interview with Dai Lu, Deputy Secretary General of China Su Shi Research Society
China News Agency reporter He Shaoqing
The middle period of the Northern Song Dynasty in China was an era of comprehensive cultural renaissance.
In this era, great figures of glorious history appeared almost at the same time in various fields. The "Three Sus" of Sichuan, namely Su Xun, Su Shi, and Su Zhe, were among them.
Compared with the characters of the same period, what is special about "Sansu"?
What influence has Meishan, the "hometown of the Sansu", brought to the "Sansu"?
Why does Lin Yutang say, "When Su Dongpo is mentioned, the Chinese always give a warm and friendly smile"?
Are there people like Su Shi in the West?
What value does the Dongpo Spirit have for mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations?
Dai Lu, deputy secretary-general of the China Sushi Research Society and deputy director of the Sushi Research Center of Sichuan University, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions" to give an in-depth interpretation.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Agency reporter: Compared with the characters of the same period in the Northern Song Dynasty, what is special about the "Three Sus"?
Dai Lu:
Wang Guowei once said: "In the Tianshui Dynasty, the activities of human intelligence and the many aspects of culture were beyond the reach of the Han and Tang Dynasties before and the Yuan and Ming Dynasties later."
In the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, ancient Chinese society entered an era of comprehensive cultural revival.
Compared with the literati of the same period, the number of preserved works of the "Three Su" is extremely rich.
For example, Su Shi has left more than 4,800 essays, more than 2,700 poems, and more than 300 words in his writing career for more than 40 years, the largest number of writers in the Northern Song Dynasty.
These works can establish a system, allowing readers to go deeper into the spiritual world of the "Three Sus" through the mutual verification of texts.
The works of "Three Su" can be widely related to the era before and after the Song Dynasty, just as "Song Shi: The Biography of Su Shi" said that "a vision of all generations".
Su Xun's study of "Book of Changes" was not completed, Su Shi continued to write "Book of Changes", Su Zhe studied "Book of Songs", Su Shi and Su Zhe brothers studied "The Analects of Confucius".
For Jia Yi and Sima Xiangru in the Han Dynasty, as well as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi and other literati in the Tang Dynasty, the "Three Sus" are elaborately discussed in their poems.
The "Three Sus" not only had close contacts with everyone in the Northern Song Dynasty, but in the later period, the literary circle of Su Shi's main alliance also included the four scholars of the Su family, including Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan, Zhang Lei, and Chao Buzhi, as well as a large number of Su Zhe, Li Lai, and Chen Shidao. scribe.
Most of the famous literary figures in the Northern Song Dynasty were inextricably linked with the "Three Sus".
By understanding the "Three Sus", you can grasp the key to understanding the culture of the Song Dynasty.
After the Southern Song Dynasty, there were more and more ways of commemorating the "Three Sus". In addition to compiling anthologies, making chronology, and collecting anecdotes, activities such as "Shousu Meeting" were also held.
These activities are not limited to ancient Chinese society, and the extensive influence of the "Three Soviets" can also be seen in the Korean Peninsula, Japan and other countries.
Respondents read "The Complete Works of the Three Sus" (Qingdao lithograph) in the library of Sichuan University.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Lang
China News Service reporter: What influence did Meishan, the "hometown of Sansu" have on the father and son of "Sansu"?
Dai Lu:
"The Former Residence of Sansu" is located in today's "Sansu Temple" in Meishan, Sichuan.
"Three Sus" put forward a series of groundbreaking propositions and conclusions in the fields of philosophy, politics, history, ethics, literature, art and other humanities. Culture is closely related.
Professor Zhou Yukai once pointed out that, unlike Qilu Culture, which has Confucianism in one statue, scholars in Sichuan have the characteristics of "viewing wonders" since ancient times. Sima Xiangru, Yang Xiong, Chen Zi'ang, Li Bai and later Yang Shen were all like this.
In the process of learning, Su Shi brought the Shu people's tradition of "watching strange books" to the extreme.
Extensive reading has cultivated Su Shi's broad vision and open mind, enabling his thoughts to open up various disciplines and integrate various schools of thought.
Meishan "Sansu Temple".
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Lei
The education the "Sansu" received in the Su family's former residence is directly related to their growth.
In Su Shi's Tongmeng education, a Taoist priest once served as a teacher, and his elder brother, Master Baoyue Wei Jian, once served as the abbot of the Daci Temple Zhonghe Shengxiangyuan.
Therefore, Su Shi had been exposed to the knowledge and ideas of Buddhism and Taoism as early as adolescence.
He opposed the conflict between Confucianism and Buddhism, and also opposed the mutual attacks between sects within Buddhism, and believed that each sect had its own merits.
There are 16 Su family relics preserved in Meishan Sansu Temple, and thousands of related cultural relics and documents are collected. From these relics, cultural relics and documents, as well as plaques and couplets, we can better understand the "Sansu".
Some of these scenic spots come from the "Three Su" poems, such as Baipo Pavilion, which is "scattered as Baidongpo, and it will be here again in an instant".
In the temple, there is a huge stone engraved with the characters "Keeping the original intention", which is from Su Shi's "Hangzhou Summoning and Returning the Beggar County".
The plaque in the Sansu Temple.
Photo by Gao Jiaqi issued by China News Agency
China News Service reporter: The biography of Su Shi written by Lin Yutang said: "When Su Dongpo is mentioned, the Chinese always smile warmly and kindly." Why? Are there people in the West like Su Shi?
Dai Lu:
In the Chinese folk, Su Shi is always a talented, knowledgeable, humorous, innocent, respectful of women, detached aesthetics, and a very friendly image. Beggars in the Tianyuan, I see no bad people in the world before my eyes."
When he was the prefect of Xuzhou, the simple village women "worn red makeup to see the envoy", when they were demoted to Huizhou, "the elders and the elders came together to welcome this man", and when they were demoted to Danzhou, "the elders and the elders competed to see the black horn scarf".
No matter whether Su Shi was in court or in opposition, he regarded himself as a "literate farmer" and became one with the common people.
People love Su Shi because although he has suffered a lot in life, his human nature has become more detached and philosophical, without losing his "pureness".
In Mizhou, although Su Shi was a little depressed, he wrote in "The Story of Transcendental Taiwan" that "everything is impressive", no matter whether the scenery is extraordinary or ordinary, you can find the beauty in it.
This detached attitude gradually deepened with Su Shi's experience of being demoted, and can be seen in Huangzhou's "Red Cliff Fu", Huizhou's lychee poems, and Hainan's crossing the sea and returning to the north.
Regardless of whether the government is right or wrong, the ups and downs of officialdom or personal honor and disgrace, it does not affect the integrity of a person.
The image of Su Dongpo in historical dramas.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Song Xiujie
We often compare the Song Dynasty in China with the Renaissance in the West, and find many similarities between the two in terms of human nature, ideological tolerance, and cultural diversity.
Lin Yutang once compared Li Bai to Western Shelley and Byron, and Du Fu to Milton.
But Su Shi's complexity makes it difficult to find a completely similar figure in the West.
Therefore, Lin Yutang compared Su Shi to the British novelist Thackeray in terms of characters, compared him to French Hugo in terms of political activities and poetic names, and compared him to British Johnson in terms of moving characteristics.
Lin Yutang wrote at the beginning of his English book "The Biography of Su Dongpo": "If Milton is at the same time like the British painter Gainsborough, like Pope who criticizes British current affairs with poetry, and like the British tormented satire Swift, and without his growing acerbicity, we have an Englishman like Su Tungpo."
Regarding Su Shi and Milton, Professor Zhang Longxi once compared them from the perspective of how to face the pain in life.
In his magnum opus Paradise Lost, he argues, Milton turns to "God's arrangement" as a way to provide a solace in the pains of life.
The sixth-century Roman writer Boethius had a similar experience to Su Shi, but he sought comfort more from a fervent belief in God than from philosophy.
Su Shi, on the other hand, is devoted to landscapes and seeks comfort from philosophy.
In 2020, the Palace Museum in Beijing will hold the "Characters of the Ages - Special Exhibition of Su Shi's Paintings and Calligraphy Collected by the Palace Museum".
Viewers flooded.
Photo by Du Jianpo issued by China News Agency
China News Service: For more than 900 years, Su Shi's influence has gone beyond China and spread to the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Vietnam, and even Europe and the United States. Why are scholars at home and abroad still studying Su Shi? What is the value of Su Shi's cultural spirit for mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations today?
Dai Lu:
Su Shi is a rare cultural giant in Chinese history.
When he was alive, his poetry collections were printed and printed, which not only had a wide audience in the Song Dynasty, but also flowed into the bookstores of neighboring countries through the envoys of Khitan and Goryeo.
Dongpo culture was first popularized in the East Asian Han culture circle. The Korean peninsula literati came to China to visit the Sansu Temple in Meishan. The entry point for Japanese literati from Wushan to learn Chinese culture was Su Shi's poetry. Many people made notes on Dongpo's poetry. There are also many anthologies of Su Shi's works in the Edo and Meiji eras in Japan.
After the 20th century, Su Shi's works gradually became known to the West.
In the West, Su Shi's research sequence is very rich, including biographies, translations, anthologies, and treatises.
Lin Yutang once described Su Shi as "an ancient man with a modern spirit".
Su Shi "All things must first rot, and then insects grow" ("Fan Zeng Lun"), "The worst thing to do in the world is to make peace without incident, but in fact there are unforeseen worries" ("Chao Cuo Lun"), " Once Ji Gang is abolished, why won't things happen?" ("Book of Emperor Shenzong") and other discussions still have enlightenment significance for the governance of the country today.
Su Shi's poems have been mentioned many times in diplomatic occasions between the East and the West.
For example, "What comes but cannot be lost is the time; what is not lost is the opportunity." International exchanges should assess the situation, change their thinking and innovate their thinking, and constantly open up new prospects for cooperation.
In 2018, Thai Princess Sirindhorn wrote an inscription in front of the statue of Su Dongpo in Sansu Temple during her visit to Sichuan.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Lang
The French "Le Monde" named the "Millennium Hero" (the world's great man who lived around 1000 AD), and there are 12 people in the world. Su Shi is the only Chinese selected.
The deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper Jean-Pierre Langirier said: "The most important reason why Su Dongpo was selected as a Millennium Hero is that he has a free soul." A free soul is actually an open and tolerant attitude, an attitude towards the basics of human nature. Respect, a call for cultural diversity, and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations today, we need such a background.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Lang
Dai Lu, Deputy Secretary General of the China Sushi Research Society, Deputy Director of the Sushi Research Center of Sichuan University, Director of the Sichuan Du Fu Research Society, and Associate Professor of the Institute of Chinese Folk Culture of Sichuan University.
The main research directions are Song Dynasty literature and ancient Chinese literature.
Author of "Southern Song Dynasty Lizong Dynasty Poetry Research".