According to legend, Su Shi had a very good relationship with the monks in the temple. One day, he asked the bookworm to put on a straw hat and wooden shoes and go to the temple to get something. When asked what to take, Su Shi said, "The monk will know as soon as he sees you." Sure enough, as soon as the monk saw the extremely dressed up, he immediately understood what Su Shi wanted. So, he gave Su Shi what he needed.
Su Shi's preface
Su Shi was a literary leader in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, and made great achievements in poetry, ci, writing, calligraphy and painting. Poetry has a wide range of themes, fresh and healthy, uses exaggerated metaphors and has a unique style. Also known as "Su Huang" with Huang Tingjian. Xin Qiji is the representative of the unconstrained style, also known as "Su Xin".
His prose is bold and unconstrained, and he is called "Ou Su" with Ouyang Xiu, and "Eight Masters in Tang and Song Dynasties" with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun, Su Zhe, Wang Anshi and Ceng Gong. He is good at calligraphy and is called "Song Sijia" with Huang Tingjian, Mi Fei and Cai Xiang. He is good at literati painting, especially ink bamboo, strange stones and dead wood.
His works include Seven Chapters of Dongpo, Dongpo Yi Zhuan, Dongpo Yuefu, Xiaoxiang Bamboo Stone Map, Strange Stone Map of Dead Trees, etc. Su Shi's views on society and thoughts on life are undisguised in his literary works, among which poetry is the most hearty.