Keywords: Su Shi; Many career paths; Insist on telling the truth; Do things that benefit the people; Self-improvement; Refuse to accept bribes and oppose corruption
Su Shi is from Meishan, Sichuan. As one of the "Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties", Su Shi's status as a writer is well known to Chinese people, but he actually has another identity-a politician. His father named him "Shi", hoping that he could be as dexterous as "Shi" (a crossbar used as a passenger armrest in front of an ancient car to ensure stability). However, Su Dongpo cannot be such a person. He is too angular to distinguish right from wrong and can't tolerate the filth of feudal officialdom. Although he has a long career and has been relegated repeatedly, he has ordinary people in his heart. In any post, he is diligent and honest, and strives to do things that are beneficial to the country and the people.
First, Su Shi insisted on telling the truth all his life.
Su Shi has been in politics for 40 years and was demoted three times. However, he has always insisted on serving the officials and the people, insisting on honesty as the head and honesty as the first way to govern. He insisted on telling the truth all his life.
According to Su Shichuan, the History of Song Dynasty, when Su Shi just became an official, the court sent a letter to Song Renzong to celebrate Song Jun's victory in the northern frontier, and many red lights were hung in the palace. There were not enough red lights in the palace, and officials in charge of buying lanterns from the people forced the people to sell them at a reduced price, causing complaints both inside and outside the capital. After learning the truth, Su Shi criticized Renzong in court and said, "The victory of the Anti-Japanese War is certainly gratifying, but the forms of celebration can be varied. If the law is implemented as it is now, it will turn good things into bad things and lose people's hearts. Please take back your orders, reduce the number of red lights and give the people a peaceful living environment. " Su Shi's sharp words directly refuted the emperor's face, but Renzong thought it was reasonable after careful consideration, so he ordered that it was forbidden to buy red lights from the people at low prices, and it was only a small-scale celebration.
During the reign of Song Shenzong, Wang Anshi was especially valued and was prepared to appoint him for reform. Wang Anshi is also happy to see such a wise master, and there are inevitably flattering words about Zongshen's arbitrariness. When Su Shi heard this, he immediately retorted: "Emperor Wu of Jin acted arbitrarily and unified the whole country; Fu Jian attacked Jin in disorder and perished; Qi Huangong is in charge of Guanzhong, dominating the world; Wei Yan was in charge of his son and was killed. " As soon as Wang Anshi heard his sore spot, he never mentioned these words again.
Before Wang Anshi's political reform, Su Shi expressed his opposition to letting Wang Anshi preside over major policies, saying: "Like Li Kui and Shang Yang in the Warring States period, Wang Anshi was a man who was eager for quick success and instant benefit and gambled on state affairs with a lucky attitude. I hope your majesty can unite the hearts of civil servants and officials, attach importance to the customs and habits formed over thousands of years, and maintain a fixed political system. Otherwise, your majesty will lose the hearts of the people. " However, Zong Shen did not listen to Su Shi's words and insisted on appointing Wang Anshi to carry out comprehensive reforms in politics, economy, military affairs and education in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Wang Anshi's political reform was opposed by conservative officials headed by Sima Guang at that time. There was a heated debate in the court. Finally, the reformists supported by Zongshen gained the upper hand, while the old school headed by Sima Guang was transferred from Beijing and demoted to local officials. Su Shi was dissatisfied with Wang Anshi's political reform, but now his dissatisfaction is even stronger when he sees them using their power to crowd out opponents from the court. At the same time, through careful investigation and study, he found that some policies are divorced from reality, and in the implementation, evil officials are traitors because of their careers, and the law of benefiting the people has become a law of disturbing the people. Su Shi criticized and discussed, and was demoted for this. Song Shenzong died, Wang Anshi lived in seclusion, and the old school abolished the new law and changed the exemption law to the officer law again. Su Shi knows that officials "have many disadvantages for a long time", officials abuse them at will, and the people lose everything because of them. He, who has given up his family and returned, stood up and resolutely opposed it, saying that "exemption from service cannot be changed, and officers cannot be reinstated." Therefore, the conservatives expelled him from the DPRK.
Second, Su Shi insisted on doing things beneficial to the people all his life.
Although Su Shi's career was bumpy and ups and downs, he always loved the people and always benefited them. Even after being demoted, he still focused on doing practical things for the people. In Xuzhou, he personally led officials to prevent floods, build dikes and introduce floods into the Yellow River. In Hangzhou, he dredged the West Lake, built the Su Causeway and founded a hospital to help the victims. Catch locusts in Mizhou to fight disasters, pray for rain in Changshan, adopt abandoned children and collect famine; In Huizhou, he drew spring water into the city for the people to drink; In addition, there are Dongpojing, Dongpo Academy, Huizhou Dongpo Orphanage and Hainan Dongpo Clinic ... all of which are achievements made by Su Shi for the people.
In the fourth year of Xining in Song Shenzong (107 1 year) and the fourth year of Yuan You in Song Zhezong (1089), Su Shi came to Hangzhou twice and was appointed as the provincial judge (supervisor) and provincial judge (judge) of Hangzhou, which can be said to have forged an indissoluble bond with Hangzhou. Hangzhou has a humid climate and dense rivers. Due to poverty and lack of medicine, ancient plagues occurred frequently. In the spring of the fifth year of Yuan You (1090), an epidemic broke out, which coincided with the appointment of Su Dongpo as the satrap. He ordered more thick porridge and medicine, sent officials and doctors to many places to treat patients, and countless people were saved. But at this time, there were too many poor and sick people in Hangzhou, so he raised 2000 taels of public funds and donated 50 taels of his own gold for the operation of hospitals in the city. This free hospital, called Anlefang, obviously has the nature of helping the needy.
After Su Shi left Hangzhou, he returned to Beijing for promotion. A close friend sent five taels of gold and 150 taels of silver as gifts. In order to thank you for your kindness, hardworking and honest Su Shi gave this gift to Anlefang. At this time, Anlefang, with thousands of kilometers rented as a fund every year, operated normally, so Su Shi bought the land with a gift and helped Anlefang after making a profit.
It is worth mentioning that Anlefang and its operation mode have attracted great attention from the imperial court. In the first year of Chongning in Song Huizong (1 102), the imperial court began to set up Anjifang in various places to treat the poor. Soon, Anlefang was also named Anji by the court, so it was officially put into operation.
In the seventh year of Xining (1074), Su Shi became well-known in Mizhou (now Zhucheng, Shandong). The following spring, a serious locust plague occurred in Michigan. Wherever locusts go, nothing grows, and the affected people go out to hide, and some even abandon their babies on the roadside. In the face of such a tragic disaster, Su Shi actively organized locust control and disaster relief, and at the same time wrote to the court asking for exemption from taxes of the people of Mizhou. After discovering the phenomenon of abandoned babies, he tried every means to allocate food from the state treasury to help these abandoned babies, saving thousands of people in total. Under the leadership of Su Shi, the people of Mizhou finally overcame the plague of locusts and returned to normal life.
In the tenth year of Xining (1077), Su Shi suffered a catastrophic flood only three months after learning about Xuzhou. On July 17, the Yellow River burst its banks, and the flood reached the gate of Xuzhou on August 2 1 7. Within a month, it flooded 45 counties and destroyed countless farmhouses in grain fields. During this period, the rich people in Xuzhou began to flee to avoid the flood. After learning about it, Su Shi thought: "The people are rich, the people are shaken, and the city is difficult to keep!" So I personally took the chief to guard the city gate and forced the rich to return to the city, which stabilized the people's hearts. When the flood reached Xuzhou City, the water level rose rapidly because it was blocked by the mountains in the south, which was 10 feet 9 inches higher than the flat land in the city. Seeing that Xuzhou city is in danger. Su Shi, who is calm and rational, is "in distress". In addition to immediately arranging officials to block the city gate, he personally set foot on a muddy path to transfer troops in Wuwei camp. He sincerely and affectionately said to the commander: "The river will harm the city, and it is urgent! Although you are forbidden, you must do your best for me! " Hearing this, the commander of the pawn also moved his heart and said to his men, "The prefect still refuses to avoid scribbling, and our villain will serve in autumn!" " Soldiers also have the responsibility to guard the city walls. Su Shi himself is responsible for himself and has always adhered to the city wall. He slept with the soldiers and civilians on the southeast wall and ate and lived in a shed on the wall. If he is too sleepy, he will close his eyes and have a rest. He looked around and directed the project of heightening and thickening the city wall day and night, desperately protecting the city, and finally kept the rising flood out of the city.
After more than a month's efforts, the flood finally returned to the old course of the Yellow River on 10/5, and Xuzhou City was saved! The officers and men of the whole city were ecstatic, decorated with lanterns, celebrated the victory of flood fighting, and praised the good satrap who loved the people and fought floods more unanimously. However, Su Shi was not satisfied with the status quo, but considered how to better fight floods and protect the city in the future. He wrote the paper in time, reported it to the court, and asked for funds to build the flood control outer wall. In February of the following year, the emperor not only issued a decree in recognition of his great contribution in fighting floods and protecting the city, but also allocated 30,000 yuan, 1, 800 stone grains and 7,200 migrant workers, and approved the construction of a flood control outer wall in the southeast of the city.
In Xuzhou, Su Shi succeeded in developing coalfields for the first time. Apart from water control and drought resistance, he also encouraged farming and mulberry planting. Xuzhou is rich in coal, but no one has ever known it. After Su Shi came to power, in order to solve the problem of smelting and casting coal, he sent people to look for mines everywhere and finally found a coal field with rich reserves in Baitu Town, five miles southwest of Xuzhou. Therefore, Su Shi wrote a poem entitled "Carboniferous Age", praising Xuzhou people's feat of self-reliance and coal mine development. He wrote in the introduction of the poem: "Pengcheng has no Carboniferous period. In December of the first year of Yuanfeng, people were sent to the southwest of Guizhou and the north of Baitu Town for inspection. Taking smelting iron as a soldier is sharper than a cloud. "
Third, Su Shi has been striving for self-improvement all his life.
Throughout his life, Su Shi always refrained from extravagance and frugality, and was clean and self-sustaining. Therefore, although he was an official in many places, he left a reputation of being honest, honest, diligent and loving the people everywhere, which was praised by the local people for generations. He has been an official for 40 years. Whether he is promoted or demoted, he always pays attention to frugality and often leads a cautious life. Especially when we are demoted, we can be optimistic, easy-going and self-reliant.
In the third year of Yuanfeng (1080), Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou and served as assistant ambassador to Yingyong. Because the salary has been reduced a lot, I once lived a life of "begging"; Later, with the help of my friends, I made a slope in the east of the city. Su Shi cultivated land to solve the problem of eating. Due to frequent hard farming, Su Shi was as black and thin as an old farmer in the countryside after a long time. Su Shi, who became attached to his work and poetry, named his cultivated land "Dongpo" just like Bai Juyi, a poet he admired in the Tang Dynasty (there are poems such as "Two Flowers on Dongpo" praising Dongpo outside Zhongzhou City and planting flowers and trees there many times), and called himself a Dongpo layman. Therefore, Su Shi was honored as "Su Dongpo" by later generations.
In Huangzhou, in order not to spend a penny indiscriminately, he also plans to spend: first calculate all the money, and then divide it into 12 shares on average, one for each month; Each serving is divided into 30 small portions on average, and only one small portion is used every day. After all the money is paid, hang it on the beam according to the amount, and take a bag every morning as the living expenses for the whole day. After getting a small amount of money, he should weigh it carefully. If he can't buy it, he will definitely not buy it. Only surplus is allowed, and overspending is not allowed. Su Shi keeps money in a bamboo tube in case something goes wrong. In the face of difficulties and adversity, Su Shi made a living by staying at home diligently, so as to tide over the difficulties.
Although life was hard, Su Shi found sustenance and pleasure in literary creation. In Huangzhou, he wrote more than 80 poems that have been handed down through the ages, such as Niannujiao Chibi Nostalgia and Chibi Fu. Su Shi wrote in Qian Chibi Fu: "Besides, between heaven and earth, everything has its own owner, and those who are not me are not worth taking." In Su Shi's view, if everything in the world is not what you should have, you won't even get a penny.
In the sixth year of Yuan You (1092), after Su Shi was demoted to Huiyang (now Huizhou City, Guangdong Province), his family's income was reduced and he had no food and clothing. He still planted sweet potatoes in the old way and lived in a hut by himself. Living without a fixed address was his biggest worry at that time. He spent some time in a government house called Hejiang Building, which is near the river and has a good view. Later, he was not allowed to live, so he moved out and lived in a pavilion halfway up the mountain. This pavilion is called Songfeng Pavilion. At that time, the court was in crisis, and there was no hope of returning to the DPRK, and he was old again. If most people are too sad to sleep, Su Dongpo sleeps too much. He wrote a poem about sleeping in Songfengting. The last two sentences are "it is said that Mr. Wang sleeps beautifully in spring, and the Taoist taps the five-watch clock." That is to say, I tell you, Mr. Dongpo was sleeping soundly, and the Taoist priest rang the bell so as not to wake him.
After returning from northern Guangdong, Su Shi chose to live in Yangxian (now Yixing, Jiangsu). Shao, a local scholar who worships him, accompanied him to see the house. Su Shi spent all his money before he was able to buy it. Later, he chose an auspicious day to live in his new home. When he and Shao were walking under the moon, he heard a woman crying very sadly and pushed the door and went in. The woman said to Su Shi, "I have a house that has been handed down for a hundred years, but my son failed and sold it to someone else. The old house that lived for a hundred years is gone forever. I can only live in such a small house. How can I not be sad? " Ask her where the house is. It turned out to be the one that Su Shi just bought. Su Shi repeatedly comforted her and said, "I bought your house. Don't be sad. I'll pay you back today. " With that, he took out the deed from his body and lit it with an oil lamp. The contract immediately turned to ashes. The next day, Su Shi called the woman's son and took his mother back to her original residence without even asking him for money to buy a house.
Born four years less (1097), 62-year-old Su Shi was sent to Danzhou, Hainan Island by boat. It is said that in the Song Dynasty, banishing Hainan was only a lighter punishment than copying others. Su Shi, on the other hand, regards Danzhou as his second hometown: "I am a Boer and live in Xishu. "He runs a school here and promotes the style of study. Many people traveled thousands of miles to Danzhou to study Su Shi. In the 100 years after the founding of the Song Dynasty, no one in Hainan ever did it. But soon after Su Shi returned to the north, his student Jiang Tangzuo presented a tribute to his hometown. In the past, Su Shi gave him Zeng Zeng's poem: "The sea has been broken, but there is nothing before the white robe. "Jiang Tangzuo did not live up to Mr. Wang's earnest hope. Hainan people have always regarded Su Shi as the pioneer and sower of Hainan culture. Dongpo Village, Dongpo Well, Dongpo Field, Dongpo Road, Dongpo Bridge, Dongpo Hat, etc. What has spread in Hainan so far has expressed people's feelings of remembering, and even the language has a kind of "Dongpo dialect".
It is precisely because Su Shi has people in his heart that he can do practical things for the people, and at the same time he is not afraid of traitors and strictly enforces the law. In Hangzhou, the rich man Yan Xun and his sons Yan Zhang and Yan Yi are traitors, who bend the law and take bribes, and also gather people to disturb one side. Su Shi arrested Yan and his son according to law, stabbed the city and harmed the local people. In Dingzhou, he was strict with bureaucracy, kept the corrupt and perverted the law away from evil places, deterred gamblers from entering, and strengthened discipline and trained soldiers, thus consolidating the northern border defense.
Fourth, Su Shi insisted on refusing bribes and fighting corruption all his life.
When Su Shi was an official in Beijing, once, his fellow villagers wanted to ask him or his brother Su Zhe for help and got an official position with a generous gift. The feelings of fellow villagers are inconvenient to hurt, so Su Shi told a fable that there was a poor man who went to dig Boyi's grave. I thought to myself: Boyi was the eldest son of the monarch of the solitary bamboo country in the late Shang Dynasty. There must be a lot of gold and silver treasures in the ancient tomb. Digging this tomb is sure to make a fortune. In the tomb, Boyi said, "I starved to death in shouyangshan. I have nothing but a handful of bones. Can I do what you mean? " The grave robber said, "Then I'll dig your brother's grave." Boyi went on to say, "Even I am so powerful, and my brother Shu Qi can't help!" "The poor man was disappointed after hearing this, so he went back angrily. Su Shi's implication is: I know your difficulties, but none of our brothers can help you seek personal gain! Hearing this, the villagers walked away with discretion. Su Shi's good use of fables not only saved the face of his fellow villagers, but also skillfully rejected their request, which was passed down as a much-told story for a while.
Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, had a developed real estate industry. At that time, Kaifeng was one of the world's megacities, with intensive personnel exchanges and outstanding housing problems. In order to maximize their interests, some dignitaries have bought land and built houses in Kaifeng and set up industries widely. In addition to living in your own home, the extra money is also used for renting. As revealed in Zi Tong Zhi Jian, many relatives and friends engaged in real estate development, and even Xia Song, a powerful man in the Three Dynasties, invested in building shops, and the huge profits can be imagined. The difference between ancient real estate development and today is that it is generally only rented and not sold. In addition to the court's exclusive building institutions. After they built palaces and city walls, they were transformed into "income generation" by the central government. The imperial court allocated them a large area of land, built houses and shops, and sold or leased them to the public after they were built. Of course, due to "too many monks and too few porridge", such expensive Kaifeng prices are not only prohibitive for ordinary people, but also unbearable for some celebrities and gentlemen, so they have to become "house slaves".
Su Shi has been a big official in Beijing for many years, so he should not be short of money, but he has no chance to own his own "real estate" in Beijing, let alone a garden villa-style "mansion". My son got married in Kaifeng and had no money to buy him a new house. Finally, he borrowed a friend's house for the wedding. Of course, this also proves from the side that Su Shi is an honest and self-disciplined "honest official". Su Shi's younger brother Su Zhe is also an "official writer" who has been in politics for many years and can't afford to buy a house. His self-deprecating poems prove that "my hair is half white and I have no feet in the world" and "I have never had a house, and all the scholars think it is true".
Su Shi has always adhered to the ethics of "I don't possess, although I don't take it" and hates corruption extremely. There is a widely circulated story that when he was a guest in Hangzhou, his friends invited him to dinner for his birthday, and the local magistrate Yang Gui and the county magistrate Wang Bi were also guests. At the banquet, it was suggested that whoever can write a good poem should be the guest of honor. Wang Bi, the county magistrate, recited a poem: "Friends have the same color of frost and snow for two months. I don't know which month it will be frosty, and I don't know which month it will snow. " After Wang Bi recited poetry, he was complacent and waited for praise. At this time, a guest also wrote a poem: "A mountain, coal and charcoal of the same color. I don't know which mountain produces coal, and I don't know which mountain produces carbon. " Yang Guifei, the magistrate, praised the two poems for being well written, and then recited another poem: "One Lu character has two mouths, and tea and wine are the same color. I don't know where to drink tea, I don't know where to drink tea. " The poem of the county magistrate certainly won the praise of several people.
Su Shi had long heard that Yang Gui and Wang Bi were corrupt officials, bribing officials, perverting the law, harming the public and enriching themselves, and running rampant in the countryside, so he wanted to take this opportunity to scold them, so he recited a poem: "One word is two ones, and turtles are the same color." I don't know which one is the tortoise, and I don't know which one is the tortoise. " After Su Shi recited the poem, all the guests cheered in unison. After Wang Bi, the county magistrate, admired him, he thought about it carefully and felt that it was not a taste-this homonym of "turtle" and "expensive", "turtle" and "pen" was clearly a curse to him and Yang Guifei! He angrily rebuked Su Shi: "Bold fanatics! How dare you insult the magistrate and the county magistrate! "
Su Shi replied unhurriedly: "Why did the magistrate Wang make such a statement? If you want to scold, your poem is scolding! " ! Because frost and snow are afraid of the sun, coal can be burned to ashes, and tea and wine are discharged in the stomach. As for my poems, this turtle and tortoise are symbols of longevity. I wrote it for my birthday. Why should I be scolded? "After hearing these words, the other party was suddenly speechless.
Su Shi was loved by the people before his death and remembered by the people after his death. The reason lies in his honesty, honesty and pragmatism. He has a grand plan to strengthen the country and enrich the people, cares about the sufferings of the people, and tries his best to seek welfare and do practical things for the people. He doesn't care about honor and disgrace, regardless of difficulties and pressures, and he doesn't talk. Su Shi, who is honest, capable and beneficial to the people, won the heartfelt support of the people at that time and the respect and love of the people thousands of years later with his outstanding performance and clean character.