Song Huizong’s circle of friends——(7) Not getting along well at both ends

(7) The two ends are not in harmony

The representative of the conservative faction who opposed the repeal of all new laws and made the strongest appeal was Su Shi.

Su Shi was very famous when he was alive, and even after his death nearly a thousand years ago, his fame still remains. I think that as long as Chinese civilization lasts forever and human civilization continues to exist, Su Shi will always be a dazzling star shining in the sky of Chinese history and culture. Because of his existence, Chinese history appears plump, lovely, lively and lively.

Of course, here we do not pay attention to his literary and artistic achievements, but only talk about his ups and downs in officialdom.

Before the age of thirty-four, Su Shi's official life could be said to be uneventful. Drinking and banqueting, singing and singing, leaning against the red and green trees, singing poems and lyrics, drinking and drinking together, and taking some time to deal with daily tasks. This is basically Su Shi's living condition.

It’s not that Su Shi wanted to be lazy and enjoy himself, nor was it that he was born absurd and excessive, but it was the social atmosphere at the time.

The Song Dynasty implemented the national policy of supporting scholars. In the same official position, there were many officials filling the actual and false positions. In addition, some departments were originally set up to accommodate idle personnel, so there were many people working. With less things to do, officials at all levels are left idle.

Therefore, officials in the Song Dynasty had plenty of free time, and leisure activities such as banquets and entertainment became an important part of their lives.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty did not like the scholar-bureaucrats being enthusiastic about politics, so he did not interfere with their enjoyment of life. The emperor not only did not interfere in the private lives of officials, but also rewarded them with land, houses, gold, silver, children, and treasures. This further encouraged the luxury and enjoyment of scholar-bureaucrats.

Su Shi was a proud young man with a graceful literary talent. He was not as clean and refreshing as a moral model like Sima Guang when it came to the conduct of men and women. He did some ridiculous things when he was young, and his personal history was somewhat confusing. Behind his back, someone used his name to claim him as his father, and it was hard for his descendants to come forward to refute. After all, the history of my ancestors is not very clean, not to mention that they are still conservative family members who are suppressed by the reformist faction of the court (Cai Jing is in charge). They have no right to defend themselves, so just let them go. This may be a psychological reason why Su Shi's descendants do not argue.

If life continues in such a plain and uneventful way, Su Shi in history may just be an ignorant literati who is good at erotic lyrics and slang, and his literary achievements will be greatly reduced.

The change in his destiny originated from Wang Anshi's political reform; the change in his writing style also began at this time.

Wang Anshi is always worried that the new law will not be implemented and is disgusted with any opposition. A group of conservative ministers such as Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhen, and Sima Guang expressed different opinions on the new law, but could not get the emperor's support. In order not to anger Wang Anshi, out of sight and out of mind, they all requested to leave the court and stay away from the place of right and wrong.

Su Shi clearly knew that speaking ill of the new law would be risky, but he saw many problems in the implementation of the new law, and finally couldn't help but write a letter discussing the shortcomings of the new law.

Wang Anshi was very angry when he saw it, so he tried to find ways to squeeze him out. Su Shi also knew that his opinions would not be taken seriously. Staying in the court was not interesting except for chatting, so he wrote an application and asked to work somewhere.

Both Shenzong and Wang Anshi found him annoying and approved immediately because he had no vision and often spoke against him.

In the next eight years, Su Shi worked conscientiously as a local official, not only implementing the new laws of the court, but also appropriately revising them in order to benefit the people, and achieved excellent political achievements.

During this period, Su Shi's life could be said to be peaceful. But under the calm surface, there was an undercurrent, and a huge disaster quietly befell him.

Su Shi was ordered to be transferred to the post of magistrate of Huzhou. After taking office, he wrote a "Huzhou Express of Appreciation" to the emperor as required. Thanking the emperor was originally a routine matter, but as a poet, Su Shi inevitably incorporated some personal emotions into his article. He wrote, "If you are stupid and untimely, it is difficult to follow the newcomers." Wait for the complaints.

These anachronistic words made the reformists seize the pigtails. Well, this guy doesn't feel at ease in his work at the local level, and he still dares to complain. It's just a matter of complaining. He also writes sarcastic words in the donation form in black and white. His heart is to be punished.

When the reformists with ulterior motives saw this memorial, they extended it further and said that it was Su Shi's wanton attack and slander against the emperor and the reform and new policies.

So they reviewed some of Su Shi's poems and articles and found that they contained quite a lot of content that slandered the new law.

Su Shi was the literary leader of the Song Dynasty. He had countless fans behind him, and his poems were widely circulated among the people. The emperor wanted to reform, but he satirized the government and badmouthed the New Deal. He could not keep consistent with the propaganda of national policies and had a counterproductive effect in guiding public opinion. This was disloyal to the emperor and a serious crime of slandering the emperor.

The reformists were so organized that the problem was very serious, and Shenzong immediately ordered the arrest of Su Shi and thoroughly investigated the case.

Su Shi was arrested and severely interrogated. He did not hide his views and said that he just had views on the reform, so it was inevitable that this meaning would be revealed in his poems.

Since the suspect himself confessed, there is no need to say that the crime of defamation and slander was found guilty, and Su Shi was imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion, waiting for the final verdict.

Dozens of officials were implicated in Su Shi’s poems, and they were all arrested and censored. This was the famous literary prison in history—the “Wutai Poetry Case.”

Wutai is another name for Yushitai. Because the official office of Yushitai in the Northern Song Dynasty was planted with cypress trees, and crows lived on the trees all year round, it was called "Wutai".

One of the most important tasks of the censor in the Song Dynasty was to supervise officials. Whether a censor is qualified or not depends on how many officials he has impeached. If there is no impeachment memorial for a long time, then the official is incompetent.

It doesn’t matter if the censor makes a mistake in impeaching an official. The emperor will not hold him accountable. However, if he does not impeach an official, he will not fulfill his responsibilities, and he will be held accountable and removed from office.

When there is nothing wrong, the people in Yushitai will find faults with each other and look at no one of the court officials who is pleasing to their eyes. They will beat this one today and impeach that one tomorrow, so that the officials will not be able to live in peace.

Let alone officials who have real stains, the censors will rush in and impeach them to their heart's content.

Su Shi's poems often contain inappropriate thoughts. Once caught by Yushitai, he will not let them go easily.

The "Wutai Poetry Case" is a literary prison created by the censors. The prisoner confessed, but how he was sentenced has become a focus of controversy.

The reformists who had no dealings with Su Shi suggested to Shenzong that Su Shi's crime should be punished by death and should not be leniently spared.

An operation to rescue Su Shi was launched at the same time. They believed that even though Su Shi was wrong, his mistake would not lead to death.

Among the rescuers, there were both conservative leaders and reformists. The two forces struggled with each other and quarreled fiercely, but in the end no unified opinion was formed.

The final decision on how to deal with Su Shi rested with the emperor.

Although Shenzong wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, the "chicken" was too hot to handle. He hesitated, sometimes clenching his fists, sometimes gritting his teeth, and finally he could not make up his mind.

After Wang Anshi, who retired at home, heard about this incident, he wrote a letter to Shenzong. The sentence "Killing soldiers when peace is prosperous" made Shenzong understand how to deal with it.

Thinking of the rules left by the late emperor to treat scholars well and not to kill them, Shenzong thought that if he broke the rules, he would be criticized by future generations and his own moral character would be ruined, so he made up his mind to be given a lighter sentence.

It was precisely because of Wang Anshi's rescue that Su Shi was able to escape.

The death penalty is exempted, but the living crime cannot be forgiven. So Shenzong issued an edict to demote Su Shi to the deputy envoy of Huangzhou Tuanlian and accept the supervision of local officials. It probably means a sentence of several years in prison, suspended execution, and residential surveillance.

At the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Taizu set a rule not to kill scholar-bureaucrats. The emperor of the Song Dynasty adhered to this rule for hundreds of years and never killed a single scholar.

Wang Anshi said, "Why do you kill scholars when you are in a prosperous age?" This was to remind Shenzong that the ancestral rules should still be followed and not to "kill scholars" easily.

This is also the reason why many far-sighted people among the reformists insist on rescuing Su Shi.

After all, everyone is in the same scene, and the situation is changing, and no one can guarantee that there will be a time when they memorize words. Once the court starts the "guilt for words (writing)" mode, things like this will happen in the future. It will happen one after another, and you will inevitably become a victim.

Therefore, rescuing Su Shi is equivalent to protecting oneself and defending the status and dignity of scholars and officials. This is a big matter and must be done.

The far-sighted people among the reformists, such as Wang Anshi, go further in their thinking, see things more clearly, and transcend political differences and personal grievances. For a common purpose, they Try your best to rescue Su Shi.

A generation of literary giants escaped an unthinkable disaster.

Shenzong spared Su Shi, and as a result, he became a literary giant of a generation.

While serving his sentence in Huangzhou, Su Shi wrote famous works such as "Chibi Ode", "Hou Chibi Ode", "Nian Nujiao·Chibi Nostalgic" and so on.

Su Shi's life as a "prisoner" in Huangzhou was difficult. In order to supplement his family's income, he led his family to open up wasteland and farm land on the hillside east of Huangzhou City, so he gave himself the nickname "Dongpo Jushi". No. Today we often call Su Shi Su Dongpo because of this.

Although Su Shi's life in Huangzhou was a little harder, it was also peaceful. He loved the mountains and rivers, sang poems and wines with his friends, and lived a relatively poor but absolutely comfortable and thoughtful life.

Shenzong died, Zhezong succeeded to the throne, Empress Dowager Xuanren listened behind the curtain, and the conservative faction gained power, and Su Shi was fortunate enough to be recalled to serve in the court.

However, this time, he saw that the conservative faction was desperately suppressing the reformist faction regardless of the indiscriminate nature of the matter. They abolished the new laws regardless of whether or not, and his own opinions were not taken seriously, so he criticized the conservative faction in power. This approach caused doubts, even disgust, and worries about the future of the dynasty.

Su Shi has implemented the new law in the local area over the past few years and has a deep understanding of the pros and cons of the new law. He feels that although the new law has some problems, it also has reasonable aspects and should not be completely denied or banned. It should be screened and retained selectively.

So, Su Shi wrote to the Empress Dowager Xuanren, saying that although the former emperor's reform had some mistakes, it was not without merit, and it was wrong to discard the new law. Besides, the new officials who came to power were corrupt, perverted the law, and wantonly violated the ancestral rules, which was more harmful than the reformists. What is the difference between these rogue officials and the perverse reformists?

After submitting this memorial, Su Shi completely offended those in power. At this time, he was neither favored by the reformists nor conservatives. He became a complete dissident and was isolated.

Su Shi was in trouble at both ends and was not a human being inside and outside. Seeing that he was in an embarrassing situation, he asked for a transfer to work somewhere else.

The conservatives were eager for Su Shi to leave and quickly facilitated the matter. The transfer order was quickly issued, asking him to become the governor of Hangzhou.

When Su Shi arrived in Hangzhou, he worked hard on everything and got it done immediately.

Seeing that the West Lake in Hangzhou was seriously silted up and endangering the production and life of local people, he led the people to dredge the West Lake and built the famous Su Causeway, leaving a beautiful cultural landscape to future generations.

Legend has it that the famous "Dongpo Pork" was a delicacy created by Su Shi at this time to express condolences and reward the meritorious engineering personnel.

After Su Shi took office in the local area, he concentrated on government affairs and benefited the people. Wherever he went, he left his political achievements. When he was demoted to Yingzhou (now Fuyang, Anhui), he dredged Yingzhou West Lake and built a dam, which was named Yingzhou West Lake.

After Zhezong came to power, he had no good impressions of the conservatives at all. Su Shi, who was nearly sixty years old, was demoted to the remote Huizhou (today's Huiyang, Guangdong). Here, Su Shi spent money and effort to dredge the local West Lake and build a long embankment.

Su Shi took the lead in dredging the West Lake in three places throughout his life and built three "Su Embankments". West Lake in Hangzhou is a gathering place of humanities and a famous tourist attraction. The Three Pools Reflecting the Moon and the Sudi Causeway at Spring Dawn are well-known, so people are most familiar with the Sudi Causeway here.

As for the West Lake and the two sections of Sudi in the other two places, not many people know about it. But to this day, these two little-known "Su Causeways" still play a role and have blessed the local people for thousands of years. Local people spread word of mouth about Su Shi's good deeds.

This is why the reputation of gold cups and silver cups is not as good as that of ordinary people.

After middle age, Su Shi became more and more clear about love and hate, but he did not act with the usual impetuousness of literati. Wherever he served as an official, he was diligent and caring for the people, pragmatic and hard-working, and did many things that benefited the people. Even though he was demoted to the barbaric land of Danzhou (today's Hainan Island), he did his best to vigorously develop the local area. The cultural and educational undertakings have raised the local culture of Hainan Island to a higher level.

Not long after Su Shi left Hainan Island, a student of Su Shi named Jiang Tangzuo won the imperial examination. This is an unprecedented event in the culturally backward Hainan Island.

Su Shi wrote a poem because of this: "The sea has never cut off the earth's veins, and Zhuya is unprecedented."

Su Shi spread the cultural seeds of the mainland to the isolated islands in the vast ocean. Later generations called Su Shi the pioneer of Danzhou culture. This is where the seeder and the sower come from.

It was not until Zhezong died, Huizong succeeded to the throne, and granted amnesty to the whole world that Su Shi was pardoned.

But he no longer had the strength to walk home to take a look at the homeland he once knew and loved. A generation of literary superstars died on the way home.