Haikou, 4 Apr (ZXS) -- Why do Western scholars also speak highly of Su Shi?

——Interview with Wan Yi, Deputy Dean and Professor of the School of Humanities, Sichuan University of Light and Chemical Technology

China News Agency reporter Zhang Xiyi

Su Shi is an outstanding figure in the history of Chinese literature, aesthetics and ideas. Since the 20s of the 70th century, Su Shi's derogatory literature in Huangzhou and Lingnan has been particularly valued by scholars at home and abroad.

Why do Western scholars also speak highly of Su Shi? In their eyes, what kind of cultural personality does Su Shi embody in his derogatory experience? What is the contemporary value of his wisdom in dealing with spiritual dilemmas? From the multi-perspective research and interpretation of Su Shi in the West, how to view the international construction of the image of the Chinese nation?

Professor Wan Yi, deputy dean and professor of the School of Humanities of Sichuan University of Light and Chemical Technology, has devoted himself to Su Shi's research for many years. She was interviewed by China News Agency's "East-West Question" during the first China (Hainan) Dongpo Cultural Tourism Conference in Hainan to interpret this.

The following is a summary of the interview:

China News Agency: In the mainstream perception of the West, what kind of figure is Su Shi?

On the one hand, Su Shi is a great "multi-faceted genius", a philosopher who pursues freedom, individuality, pluralistic values and "wisdom in the ordinary", and a wise man who loves life and actively integrates into the world; On the other hand, Su Shi also has the struggles and struggles of ordinary life individuals in spiritual difficulties, constantly exploring the relationship between self and the world with difficulty and tension, trying to obtain reconciliation and tranquility in spiritual conflicts.

China News Agency: Su Shi was denigrated three times in his life, during which he not only continued to write excellent works in poetry, but also sublimated his personal ideological realm. In the eyes of Western scholars, what kind of cultural personality does Su Shi embody in his derogatory experience?

Wan Yi: Western scholars believe that during the period of disparaging, Su Shi as a writer gradually improved. He had time to reflect on his experiences and personality, explore new ways of writing, and discover the inner source that sustained him through his exile.

Unlike the disparaging image of Su Shi as a "cultural hero" that is more affirmed by domestic academic circles, Western scholars mostly regard Su Shi as an ordinary person who copes with spiritual difficulties. They mostly deeply analyzed Su Shi's inner world from the perspective of how to fight challenges, believing that he has been difficult, tense and persistent in coordinating the relationship between himself and the world, and participated in various affairs to transform the world as an active activist, still benefiting the people, including disaster relief, building fortifications, building dikes and water control, and improving medical facilities. Su Shi also spared no effort to persuade some officials to join, a rare occurrence in history that has happened to degrading officials and has no ideological support in either the Confucian or Taoist tradition.

Therefore, in the eyes of Western scholars, Su Shi has the feeling of caring for the world and loving all natural things, and has abundant energy and amazing creativity in specific administrative management, which can be called a model of active contact and integration with the surrounding world. In this sense, Su Shi proved his greatness and embodied his unique cultural personality.

On January 2023, 1, Chengdu, Sichuan, the Sichuan Museum's New Year's Eve exhibition "Alpine Looking Back at the Eastern Slope - Su Shi Theme Cultural Relics Special Exhibition" ushered in the new cultural relics, "Xiaoxiang Bamboo Stone Map", "Dongting Spring Color Fu Zhongshan Song Mash Fu Scroll" and "Yang Envy Post" three authentic Su Shi handscrolls gathered. The picture shows Su Shi's "Xiaoxiang Bamboo Stone Drawing" in the collection of the National Art Museum of China. Photo by China News Agency reporter An Yuan

China News Agency reporter: "Ask Ruping's life achievements, Huangzhou, Huizhou, Danzhou." "Even if he is degraded, Su Dongpo still works tirelessly to benefit the people of Huangzhou, Huizhou and Danzhou, and is loved and respected by the people. Why do Western scholars also speak highly of Su Shi?

Wan Yi: Su Shi has been a sea of ups and downs in his life, less proud, less frustrated, three times belittled, full of blows and ostracism, long-term poverty, but his name has been eternal. Western scholars praise Su Shi, mainly because of his personality charm and spiritual realm, Su Dongpo's indomitable will and character, optimistic and open-minded attitude to life will always inspire people. Su Shi's title of "Po Xian" is because of his free-spirited, ethereal and relaxed personality.

On this point, Western scholars spoke highly of Su Shi, which is consistent with domestic scholars. It's just that the academic interests of Western scholars focus more on Su Shi's transcendence of suffering, such as Ronald Egan's "Words, Images, and Actions in Su Shi's Life", Michael Fuller's "The Road to the Eastern Slope: The Evolution of the "Voice of the Poet" in Su Shi's Poetry", Kathleen Tomlonovic's "Su Dongpo's Debasement and Return", and Beata Grant's "Goodbye Lushan - The Influence of Buddhist Thought on Su Shi's Life and Works" and other works are intended to emphasize the transformation and sublimation of Su Shi's inner spirit, and finally reach the realm of self-transcendence. The most representative is Fu Junjiao's statement in the History of Chinese Literature in Colombia: "The literati and doctors adhere to the Confucian ideal of self-realization, but they are increasingly shifting their focus from the career path to the more internalized realm of saints." "Western scholars are good at using the method of close reading of texts to carefully and deeply explore the rich connotation of the personality charm and spiritual realm displayed in Su Shi's works, so as to explain his poetic life and aesthetic transcendence.

Book "Literature Lessons of the Eight Great Families of the Tang and Song Dynasties"

China News Agency reporter: "A cloud of smoke and rain is a life. "In the eyes of Western scholars, Su Shi has been belittled many times in his life, how did he cure his spiritual internal friction in the face of many difficult lives? How do Western scholars view the value and significance of Su Shi's wisdom in dealing with spiritual difficulties in the current era?

Wan Yi: Western scholars believe that Su Shi gradually achieved spiritual "reconciliation" in the pain of experiencing "alienation", and completed the process of role change and personality independence from "minister" to "person". The hardships of life forced Su Shi to repeatedly think about the meaning of being a "person", and finally formed the idea of being a "minister", being a "person", and finally boiling down to the origin of "people". It is also believed that Su Shi gained spiritual liberation and transcendence by downplaying his derogatory identity and emphasizing a hidden image. His wisdom in dealing with spiritual difficulties lies in transforming his forced "exile" into a voluntary "return", returning to the true nature of life, to a simple and natural way of life.

In the view of Western scholars, changing perspectives, adjusting cognition, finding favorable factors to maintain physical and mental balance under existing environmental conditions, and always maintaining his own poetic optimistic attitude to life are Su Shi's unique life wisdom, and it is also of enlightenment to people in today's era.

On the rock wall of Damai Ridge in Nanshan Mountain of West Lake, there is an inscription left behind "Su Shi Wang Yu Yang Jie Zhang Xuan Traveled Tianzhu Over Mai Ling", which is a day trip to West Lake in the fifth year of Yuan You (1090), when Su Shi of Hangzhou Zhizhou. Photo courtesy of Wei Zhuting

China News Agency: In the study of Western sinology, how did Su Shi draw spiritual resources from the three schools of thought of Confucianism and Taoism?

Wan Yi: Western sinologists believe that Su Shi entered and exited the three religions, integrated the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and pioneered and innovated in various cultural fields with his rich practice. For example, he did not define "good" and "bad" in the traditional Confucian view of good and evil, and insisted on the rationality of human emotions as the ultimate source of all etiquette, that is, all values. In Su Shi's view, the so-called "good" refers to those behaviors that can bring public welfare, and the so-called "bad" refers to the benefits of only certain individuals.

Western scholars believe that Su Shi's acceptance of Buddhist thought was selective, and that Buddhist thought did not lead Su Shi in a negative direction away from secular affairs. During Su Shi's debasement, Buddha practice became an important way for him to cope with the challenges of his situation, and in the process he gradually developed a kind of open-minded state of mind. Su Shi drew on the Taoist idea that "man and nature are one" and redefined his identity in the universe. He places his own pain and suffering in the context of heaven and earth, and his personal suffering is insignificant in the endless human race and the ancient universe.

Sansu Temple. Photo by Zhang Lang

China News Agency: From the multi-perspective research and interpretation of Su Shi in the West, how do you see the international construction of the image of the Chinese nation?

Wan Yi: Compared with the romantic label of "cultural icon", Western scholars prefer to call Su Shi a wise man who copes with challenges, an active activist, an amazing changemaker, and a cultural liberal. Relevant research by Western scholars has constructed a unique image of Su Shi - credible, cute and respectable, reflecting the charm of China's excellent traditional culture.

With the continuous enhancement of China's comprehensive national strength, the in-depth advancement of international exchanges, and the construction of the image of the Chinese nation, it is necessary to dig deeper into the ideological concepts, humanistic spirit and moral norms contained in the excellent traditional Chinese culture represented by Su Shi, combine with the requirements of the times to inherit and innovate, and vigorously disseminate to the outside world, so that Chinese culture can show its permanent charm and the style of the times.

On February 2023, 2, the first Dongpo Culture International High-end Forum was held in Haikou, Hainan, and the picture shows the opening ceremony of the forum. Photo by Luo Yunfei

There is a saying that in every Chinese's heart, there is a Su Dongpo. With the increasingly close and deepening of economic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, Dongpo culture has gradually become familiar and loved by people all over the world, and has become an important platform for people all over the world to understand China. Su Dongpo's open, inclusive and inclusive cultural spirit conforms to modern values, has a cosmopolitan character, and contains the common spiritual pursuit of mankind. More and more foreign friends read and love China through Su Dongpo. Carrying forward the Dongpo culture and continuing the cultural spirit of openness, inclusiveness, inclusiveness, self-improvement and innovation of Dongpo culture are of great significance to promoting exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations. (End)

Respondent Profile:

Wan Yi, Professor, Deputy Dean (presiding), School of Humanities, Sichuan University of Light and Chemical Technology, is a reserve candidate for academic and technical leaders in Sichuan Province. His main research interests are comparative poetics, overseas sinology, and Chinese language teaching. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and World Literature from Sichuan University, a postdoctoral fellow in Journalism and Communication Studies, Culture and Media at Sichuan University, a visiting scholar at the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at The Ohio State University, a visiting scholar at the International Institute of Chinese Culture and Communication at Beijing University of Foreign Chinese, won the first Su Shi Research Young Scholar Award, and published an academic monograph "Studies on Song Poetry in the Sinology of North America".