Su Shi’s hometown is Sichuan. Sichuan is a place with outstanding people.
Many famous figures in our history are from Sichuan, too many to count. Everyone knows that Li Bai, Wu Zetian, and Deng Xiaoping are all from Sichuan.
Our impression of Sichuan people is that they are hard-working and brave, not afraid of difficulties, and have an indomitable spirit. At the same time, they also have an attitude of daring to be critical and rebellious.
Su Shi was from Meishan, Sichuan. Meishan is not a big place, but the local people have a very strong sense of reading. It is said that when Su Shi took the scientific examination, 45 people took the examination in a small place in Meishan, and one-third of the people passed the examination. This shows the local reading atmosphere.
Su Shi was born in Meishan, Sichuan, into a well-off family with a good cultural atmosphere.
The reason why I introduce Su Shi’s hometown at the beginning is because the folk customs of a place have a profound and far-reaching impact on people, just like the family tradition, or even more powerful than the family tradition. A sense of history and heritage.
I think that throughout his life, Su Shi was not afraid of power, hated evil as much as hatred, was not afraid of difficulties, and his smiling attitude towards life also had the spiritual inheritance of the Shu people.
Return to Su Shi’s family.
We now know that his father Su Xun and his two sons Su Shi and Su Zhe are collectively known as the "Three Sus", and they are both on the list of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties".
As for Su Xun, we know that he had profound reasons and expectations for naming his son "Shi" and "Zhe". In our hearts, he is a rigorous and strict father.
Don’t you know that Su Xun has been a rebellious child since he was a child? He is extremely individual and disobeys discipline.
Such children often have their own independent thoughts. But in society, people like this who have nothing to do and are idle every day are still worrying. Even today is no exception.
But the strange thing is that Su Xun’s father is not in a hurry and said, "I don’t worry about this." It can be seen that he understands his talented and intelligent son quite well and believes that one day he will be able to succeed. Wake up.
Sure enough, a son is better than his father, this day has finally come! Su Xun, 27, began to study hard with the encouragement of his wife Cheng. Insert a sentence here, this Cheng is not an ordinary woman, we will introduce it later.
Su Xun’s choice should be based on his rich life experience.
However, from then on, the two brothers Su Shi and Su Che saw their father studying hard and studying seriously. However, their father was rebellious, idle and did not do his job properly when he was young, but they never had the chance to meet each other.
So, responsible parents grow up with their children. Only parents who are ahead of their children can give guidance to their children.
Let’s imagine that Su Xun, who has just become a father, is studying hard and preparing to take the imperial examination. At the same time, two children are mentored academically.
When Su Shi was demoted to Hainan Island in his 60s, he once wrote a short poem. The main idea was that he dreamed that his father asked him to read "Spring and Autumn" when he was a child. But his father was coming back soon, but he had only finished 1/3 of the reading, so he was very nervous, worried that his father would come back to check his homework. At that time, he felt like a fish with a fishhook in its mouth, anxious and uneasy.
Through Su Shi's dream, we can see how deeply his father Su Xun's strict requirements for him left a deep impression on his heart when he was a child.
It can be said that Su Xun’s education of his two sons at this time was both verbal and personal.
Teaching by example is often more important than words.
Su Xun is rigorous in his studies, but he is not a scholar. He has his own unique perspective on learning. This is not unrelated to the fact that he did not clarify his life direction until he was 27 years old. At this time, he was very mature in thinking about the problem.
When writing articles, Su Xun always adhered to the simple style of articles, and was very opposed to the gorgeous writing style that was popular at the time and emphasized the ideological nature of articles.
Although Su Xun was not politically successful in his life, his articles were still outstanding in terms of literary and ideological qualities.
This style also deeply influenced the brothers Su Shi and Su Che. So when Su Shi first emerged in the literary world, he happened to catch up with the new poetry reform movement of the great writer Ouyang Xiu. Their understanding coincided, so Su Shi became the vanguard and charger of Ouyang Xiuxin's poetry reform movement.
Su Xun also has some contradictions in his academic attitude. He disdained the fixed and dead knowledge of the imperial examination, but he also felt that if he wanted to realize his lofty political ambition of serving the country, he could only take the imperial examination.
He always had lofty political ideals. But after repeatedly failing in scientific examinations, he reconciled with himself by placing his hopes on his two talented sons. On the one hand, he strictly required his two sons to study for the imperial examination; on the other hand, he himself kept writing and wrote a book on the way of government, which was very insightful.
At that time, the court also had another way of appointing officials, which was through the recommendation of famous officials. Su Xun, who still longed for an official career, brought his book to visit Zhang Fangping, the then local governor of Chengdu. Zhang Fangping thought highly of the talents of the three father and son, so he wrote to the then literary leader Ouyang Xiu to recommend them.
Finally, 47-year-old Su Xun, carrying two letters of recommendation and his own book, took 20-year-old Su Shi and 18-year-old Su Che on their way to Beijing to take the exam.
I think Su Xun, who has failed many scientific examinations, must be determined to win this time! This stems from his full understanding and confidence in his two sons, and at the same time, it is also his confidence in his own talents!
Su Shi passed the examination of the Ministry of Rites with second place, and Su Che was also on the list. At this time, Lao Su took his two outstanding sons with a letter of recommendation to visit Ouyang Xiu, a leading literary figure at the time, and received his appreciation and recommendation.
This experience of his father made Su Shi have his own views on the imperial examinations as an adult. He believed that real knowledge can only be achieved through his own thinking and learning about things in many aspects. of. Studying purely for exams and fame often fails to acquire real knowledge.
Su Xun, as a father, undoubtedly had a huge influence on Su Shi. Likewise, Cheng, as a mother, also played an indispensable role in the formation of Su Shi's character.
(waiting for...)